Hi Friends,

I can’t believe it’s already started snowing up here in Minnesota! I wasn’t really prepared for it but now that it’s here I can’t wait for all things Christmas and cozy! It’s almost time to break out my colossal coat, my hot chocolate mug (extra marshmallows), and all the Christmas music. Hey, I wasn’t named Holly for nothing. Today I’m sharing some of the things I’m most looking forward to this holiday season.

1.) Using the fireplace!

When we first moved in to our home, Zac convinced me to get an electric fireplace for our upstairs living room. This has proved to be one of the best things we’ve bought for our home. It’s the focal point of the room, looks awesome and even gives off heat. Now I just need one of those crackle machines to make it sound real!

2.) Reading All the Holiday Cards!

Growing up we had a little sleigh where we would put all the Christmas cards and I would curl up in the biggest chair and catch up on all the things I’d missed throughout the year, pictures, life updates etc. I love getting Christmas cards but I know they can be time consuming to send out. If you haven’t ordered your cards yet, let me give you a little tip. I recently discovered Basic Invite, a stationery site that makes it so easy to get all your cards sent out. They have the cutest designs and the best part about them is that all the colors within a design are fully customizable! That means down to the very last pinecone, you can select all your own colors (and there’s lots of colors to choose from) and instantly preview what it will look like. When you’re able to pick all your own colors, it’s easy to make your Christmas cards something you love! If you’re still not sure after seeing your instant preview, Basic Invite lets you order samples to see your card in person before you order a whole bunch. (Wish I would have had this option before ordering 300 of the wrong “Save the Date” cards before my wedding a couple years ago, oops.)

Basic Invite can also hunt down addresses for you via a shared link on your favorite social media account, store the addresses in your account and print all your recipient addresses on over 40 different colors of envelopes. So easy! You too can have beautiful, gold foil accented, custom photo holiday cards sent out to everyone on your list.

Right now, you can get 30% off all the holiday cards with code: holi30. I’ll wait here by the sleigh for your card. 😉

3.) Christmas Movies!

I love watching all my favorite Christmas movies this time of year: Home Alone, Elf, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, etc. It almost seems wrong to watch them any other time of the year so I end up packing them in to all my spare time, which is few and far between around this time of year.

4. Wrapping Presents!

Guys, I love wrapping presents! I want to make them look good, even if they’re going to be destroyed in about 10 minutes on Christmas. My favorite part is hunting down unique wrapping paper and accents. I usually try to get all my Christmas shopping done early, so that I can have more time to enjoy all the wrapped goodness underneath the tree.

What are some of your favorite things about this time of year?

Thanks for reading,

(This blog post was sponsored by Basic Invite. All words, photos and opinions are my own.)