Crazy Christmas Hat Party!

It'll be 2018 in a couple of hours, but first let me share with you some pics from our annual family Christmas party. This year, our theme was CRAZY CHRISTMAS HATS!

Merry Christmas!

And here's our Christmas card this year! If you want to see more photos and outtakes from this DIY photoshoot, click HERE. We're currently at the Bellevue Manila where we had a staycation to celebrate Christmas Eve! Will post more about that next time.

But anyway, hope you're all having a wonderful time with your family and loved ones. MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

DIY Christmas Photoshoot 2017

And our annual Christmas card photoshoot continues! Again, I decided to DIY it this year thinking it would be easier since the kids are older... wrong! ;p

DIY Christmas Photoshoot

Delightful DIY with Dutch Mill Delight

Our Candylicious Christmas Tree

I finally got our Christmas tree up! Ever since we moved in our house last 2011, our tree has had the same decor of gold and purple balls and flowers. I still like it, but then last year I saw these candy decors in SM that were so cute! I didn't buy them then, but then after Christmas I saw they were on SALE! So of course I ended up buying haha. ;p

DIY Christmas dinner decor ideas

Christmas is just around the corner and for sure most of us will be hosting parties and reunions in our homes. So I've rounded up 10 easy DIY projects that will definitely add some sparkle to your houses and dinner tables this holiday season.

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party!

Every year, my hubby's family has a theme for our Christmas party. We've had Hawaiian, cartoon families, baduy outfits, weird hats, etc. This year, the theme was UGLY SWEATER!

At first, I was not liking this theme because I couldn't find a sweater that was ugly enough haha! But then, this type of party is apparently popular in the States and upon doing some research, I found a lot of ideas online. I wish I had more time to really get into this project though, but I was super busy wrapping gifts and doing last minute errands.

Anyway, I just made this snowman sweater for hubby and used an ice cream cone for the nose. Sorry, medyo bastos haha! Pero it was a big hit with everyone lol! ;p

For Miley, I just sewed on small ornament balls on the collar of her shirt and added this small Christmas sock which I got from National Bookstore. Then the blue tassels on the shoulders were added by hubby's cousin. Pero ewan ko, hindi naman naging ugly, cute pa rin tingnan e! ;p

Hubby bought Sabe's shirt in Old Navy and we find it super funny haha! Hubby's a big fan of Will Ferrell kasi. I just added some more Christmas balls to the shirt para mas baduy hehe!

And me? I just found this shirt in Landmark a few days before and bought it for P199. Pwede na pang Ugly Sweater since it looks kinda Christmasy coz of the colors and it's something I definitely would NOT wear in real life haha! Was supposed to add all sorts of Christmas balls to match with the polka dots but again, walang time!

 Here are some of the Ugly Sweaters people made. Pati si Grandpa career e lol! ;p

And the highlight of the night for me was this game we played where you throw a coin and whatever number it lands on corresponds to a certain prize. The catch though was that most of the prizes were really old! Sakto with the "ugly" theme of the night talaga e. As in panahon pa ni Mahoma hahaha! Anyway, our loot was 2 bottles of peanut brittle (what were the chances that Sabe and Sky would both get this talaga?), a sandwich maker (hubby), a glass bowl (Miley), and P100 for me! Ok na nga un mga nakuha namin compared to the others e! Un iba, velvet jewelry box (na may mga stain na), alarm clock (na natunaw na un battery), and you get the picture! It was really so funny and fun! ;p

Haaay, I can't believe Christmas is finally over! Ang bilis! Anyway, from my family to yours, keep enjoying the rest of this holiday season and the last few days of the year. Cheers! :)

Gift wrapping on a budget

I've just started wrapping Christmas gifts a few days ago and it's really something that I enjoy and find therapeutic.

I started with the gifts for Miley's classmates and school staff and I love how everything turned out. I used kraft paper (P6.50 a pack) and Manila paper (P6.00 a pack) to wrap everything, then just jazzed them up using the decorative/washi tape I got from Divisoria (6 pcs for P100!). I didn't even use gift tags for most of them, since I just wrote the recipients name right on the paper using colored markers. :)

Manila and kraft paper basically costs the same, but I like the color and texture of kraft paper better.

I bought the washi tape a few months ago and didn't really have any with a Christmas design. But the beauty of using decorative tape is you can totally get creative and mix and match different colors and patterns! Here are some of the ways I decorated each gift. The possibilities are endless and each package is completely personalized! :)

Here I am practicing my scripty handwriting. What do you think? haha! :p

I was able to wrap 12 gifts using about 2 packs of kraft paper. And at P6.50 a pack, that's like P1 per gift! Add the decorative tape (which you don't really need much of per package) and I think I spent a total of less than P5 wrapping each present! Yey! See, you totally don't need to spend so much to make your gifts look cute. Anyway, you can also check out my post last year for other gift wrapping ideas. Enjoy! :)

DIY Paper Christmas Trees

I had friends over for a Christmas dinner a few nights ago and decided to make a little something for the table. I came across this tutorial for paper Christmas trees and decided to try it out. =)

Since the trees are small, I just whipped out my leftover cartolina from my sunburst mirror and some wrapping paper.

I glued the wrapping paper to the cartolina to make it a sturdy base. Don't forget the back side as well.

After you've cut out your first tree shape, you can now use this as your template.

Then cut the shapes out!

Cut a slit in the top and bottom half of each pair of trees that meet in the middle.

Then just slip the trees together!

I used my trees as accents for my table setting. The tutorial I got this from placed a small star on top, so you can even use that as place cards by writing the name of your guest on the star. =)

Here's the entire table set-up for our dinner =)

I'm sure everyone's enjoying their own get-togethers and parties with Christmas so near! =)

Getting crafty with Christmas wrapping

Our dining table has now been transformed to my official gift wrapping station. I try to get a little bit done everyday so I don't end up cramming when Christmas is finally here. ;p

I really love wrapping presents. I'm a believer that the way a gift is wrapped affects how you see the gift. But as much as I want to go all out and be like Martha Stewart, I simply don't have enough time with 2 kids running around all day. But I try my best so here's a few tips and ideas on being resourceful and creative when wrapping presents. =)

First of all, I think I'm a hoarder. Or I just like keeping things for future use someday. One thing I never throw out are those ribbons from gifts we receive. Sayang naman right? =)

But one thing I hate are those unsightly creases when you untie the ribbon. If you use it again to wrap another gift, it's so obvious that its been used before. So what do I do?

I iron it! I actually just use my flat iron and it works just fine. Just run the iron a few times over the creases, just like you would over your hair, and the ribbons are as good as new! ;p

Another thing I like using aside from normal gift wrappers is manila paper. Not only is it cheaper, but you can also get more creative! Last year, I drew stuff and wrote the recipients name right on the paper, so no need for tags anymore. You can also use magazine pages or even newspaper to wrap your gifts. Nothing beats recycling right? =)

While browsing through the November issue of Southern Living, I came across this great DIY article on Christmas wrapping by Marielle Nadal and Nikki Abelardo of Craft MNL and decided to give it a try.

Here's my "snowflakes" from magazine pages...

What do you think? Not bad for my first try right! Anyway, can't wait to finally finish wrapping all the gifts and then give them out. Christmas is so near already! =)