December Daily - Days 22-25 (and a look at my chunky little book)

Hello and Happy Saturday!! This is the first of TWO posts today and I catch up a little bit!! I had planned to get this post up yesterday, but I lost the light and couldn't get these last pages of my December Daily photographed until earlier today!! I always love this project every year but I also love when my books is completed and can be put on the shelf next to the past years albums!! Some years take me well into the new year to finish. This year, I think the smaller size really helped me finish right on New Year's Day!!! So, with that being said, this post is going to be photo heavy like the past few, but I've got the last few days of my book to share along with a look at the full, chunky book all tied together with some ribbon!!

Day 22: You may remember from Day 21 that I thought I might add a tab to the outside of the 3x4 page, and I decided to. I didn't take a pic of Day 21 again, but there is a tab on that side of the page too!! This page highlights an awesome Christmas Card we received from my mom's cousin and her husband!! It's a flip up page too. You may also remember that "all is calm" photo from earlier in my book. I decided to move it here because it created a great top to the flip up page. I also added an avery tab to indicate that it was a flip up page.

When you flip it up, it reveals a photo and writing about the photo. In the Christmas Card we received several OLD photos of my grandparents. Such a treasure and I loved it!!

This is how days 23 and 24 will sit in the album!! One has lots of writing while the other has none but is full of traditions, old (top) and new (bottom)!!

 Day 23: I loved this 4x6 card from the SC 25 days class, so I trimmed it down to fit my album. It doesn't include 25 wishes as it might suggest, but rather the story of day 23 and enjoying a lazy morning with my hubby before I went to work (and had to work late). We made pancakes and eggs and it was great to just spend some time together at a point in the season when things get really crazy busy at work for me and really slow at work for him.

Day 24: I kept it super simple for Christmas Even, and eventually Christmas Day as well!! We both had to work, but his day was slow and ended pretty early. My day was crazy busy and ended around 4 in the afternoon! For the first time ever, I made a family cookie recipe that's about 4 generations old. It was my great grandmother's on my father's side for Hungarian Pastries. My mom used to make them every year when I was growing up, one batch with walnut filling and one batch with apricot filling. I was never a fan of the apricot filling so I just made mine with the walnuts! I was excited to have gotten the recipe from my parents this year, as I haven't had these since I moved out and down to FL in 2000!!! We made them together which was also great!!! New Christmas Eve tradition for sure, to go along with our traditional selfie and watching of Scrooged!!

Day 25: The big day!! I have a few pages for this day of course!!! Started off with that old October Afternoon Santa!! Loved it when I found it in my stash when I was pulling supplies for this mini and held it until the big day!! I wanted to use it on the page that marked the day...so that's what I did!! Opposite the Santa are a few photos from our morning at home. Our tree with the presents, watching Mickey's Christmas Carol before the parade with our traditional breakfast of cinnamon rolls, and one last Starbucks red cup (since they were open...and quite busy I might add).

The back of the 4 photo page includes photos from Christmas afternoon at my in-laws. Last year, I did an Insta Weather photo documenting the over 70* temps (it's FL) so this year I decided to do the same and it was only 58*. No chance of a white Christmas here, but much cooler than last year and kinda felt more right for Christmas Day than it did last year!!! There's a selfie with our niece and nephew as well that I couldn't resist taking and a photo of my hubby playing with another niece and nephew shooting nerf darts at my brother-in-law...the willing target (boys will be boys even at 41 and 36)!!! Then the opposite page is our traditional Christmas Day selfie in front of the fresh wreath on our front door (that finally started to smell nice in the days leading up to Christmas)!

I finished off the book with some more word art made with Rhonna's app. Just kept it simple!!

And these last few are a look at my finished book!! I had to tie it with some ribbon to keep it shut. It's still really chunky!! I stamped the label with some older December Daily stamps that I had in my stamp stash.

I was really happy when I added this little book to my December Daily shelf!! Another year complete...more memories made...more traditions upheld or started!! Can't wait for December 2015!!! Thanks for stopping by!!
deb