Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! (with Shannon Acheson)
*Give Away has Ended*
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Welcome to my 13th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!
Years ago, I had an idea that has since grown into a fun and fabulous annual tradition. For 12 days in December, I have a guest share about a Christmas topic such as their favorite Christmas memory, movie, food, or tradition. They also offer a giveaway of the day. To enter to win it, all you need to do is answer a “quick question” of the day in the comment section and you will be eligible. Easy!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Although all you need to do to enter is comment here, I will also be snooping around on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, looking for people who are promoting the giveaway by sharing an image along with the hashtag #12daysofchristmasgiveaways When you do so, you will be entered a second time for the giveaway that day!
Additionally, there is a grand prize for one person who comments on all 12 days, so set a daily alarm on your phone from now until December 18th and join the fun!
This year our Grand Prize is worth over $225!! It includes:
- A leader kit of my What Matters Most Lifeway study of Philippians, including the teaching DVD’s and one Bible study guide.
- A Wheatfield Woman ESV journaling Bible from Wheat and Honey Co.
- A pink cable knit throw (other color options available)
- A pour-over coffee dripper
- A half pound of Fortress coffee, a company started by two fellow alumni from my favorite college on earth Spring Arbor University
- An insulated pink shimmer mug (or color of your choice)
Ok…up first is a new friend of mine. Shannon Acheson is an author, home design and lifestyle expert, and creator of the popular website Homemade Lovely! Be sure to follow her on Instagram for some fabulous ideas.
And now, here’s Shannon!
Day 1: Christmas Eve Tradition
Since my husband and I didn’t actually grow up celebrating Christmas, we’ve had to create our own Christmas traditions. A couple of my favorites that we return to again and again are opening one gift each (always pajamas) and our stockings on Christmas Eve, and also making and eating cupcakes to celebrate baby Jesus birth (we do this a little less often now that the kids are older but it was definitely a highlight when they were young). We look forward to all these simple traditions every year.
Now, for my giveaway!
I mentioned opening pajamas and stockings on Christmas Eve. Is there something you usually do on Christmas Eve each year? Go to a candlelight service? Open new slippers? Watch a movie? Order pizza and drive around looking at Christmas lights? Tell us what it is in the comments and you’ll be entered in today’s giveaway. Remember, if you want to enter to win the grand prize, you must comment on and share all 12 days.
Day 1 Giveaway
Thanks Shannon! For first prize, Shannon is giving away a copy of her new hardcover book Home Made Lovely I have this book sitting on my coffee table right now and I love working my way through it. It will give you tons of ideas and loads of inspiration for making your home welcoming.
Everyone wants a home that is beautifully decorated and clutter-free, but most of us are unsure how to get there without breaking the bank. In Home Made Lovely, Shannon Acheson takes the overwhelm and guesswork out of styling and organizing a lovely home.
Home Made Lovely is a mind-set: Decorating should be about those who live there, rather than making your home into a magazine-worthy spread. This book will help you:
· decorate in a way that suits your family’s real-life;
· declutter in seven simple steps;
· perform a house blessing to dedicate your home to God;
· be thankful for your current home and what you already have;
· brush up on hospitality with more than twenty actionable ideas that will make anyone feel welcome and loved in your home.
In Home Made Lovely, Shannon meets you right where you are on your home-decorating journey, helping you share the peace of Jesus with family members and guests.
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Shannon Acheson is a mostly self-taught designer, decorator, writer, and stylist. Although she has completed her interior design training, she’d much rather teach you how to decorate your own home than do it for you. She is the editor and designer behind the design and lifestyle company and blog HomeMadeLovely.com. Her happy place is in the suburbs of Toronto, where she is a Homebody with a capital H, a Jesus girl, a happy wife to Dean, and a homeschooling mom of three teenagers. Learn more at www.homemadelovely.com.
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Don’t forget to answer today’s quick question in the comments below!
NOTE: Affiliate links may be included. We only recommend products we know our readers will love!
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAYS RULES
- U.S. Addresses only please.
- You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 20. Each day will be linked below for easy reference.
- One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
- To enter to win the Grand Prize (worth over $225 and includes: A leader kit of my What Matters Most Lifeway study of Philippians, including the teaching DVD’s and one Bible study guide; a Wheatfield Woman ESV journaling Bible from Wheat and Honey Co.; a pink cable knit throw (other color options available); a pour-over coffee dripper ; a half pound of Fortress coffee, a company started by two fellow alumni from Spring Arbor University; an insulated pink shimmer mug–or color of your choice), comment on and share all 12 posts. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave!) and tag me @karenehman.
- All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Monday, December 21, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes.
Day 8 with Chrystal Evans Hurst
We make gingerbread houses.
We watch The Nativity Story and open pajamas
We watch a movie called The Very First Noel- a cartoon with Andy Griffith. It tells the Christmas story in a poem.
We celebrate Christmas Eve with my fiancée s family and each year have chicken and dumplings.
We let our kids open one gift on Christmas Eve! Then it’s usually a mug of hot cocoa in front of a Christmas movie!
Get together with my husband’s family 30+ of us, and go to church
We usually try to focus on the meaning of Christmas in some shape or form. We may be traveling on Christmas Eve or celebrating with family nearby, but it’s always a focus on the true meaning.
I light a bayberry candle and let it burn itself out.
Christmas Eve candlelight service?? And opening one present from the true.
Christmas eve. We all would get dressed up. We went to evening service at church. Then back to our house for a big dinner with my family and my in laws. afterwards the kids would open gifts and enjoy each others company.
On Christmas Eve, we have been known to have family over, have a big dinner, go to Christmas Eve service at church, and open one gift. This year, we are reinstating the tradition of having family over and opening all the gifts with that part of our family. And we will be watching a Christmas Eve service online.
Our Christmas Eve is usually spent with family, having a delicious meal, and then driving around to see christmas lights while sipping hot chocolate. Then we come home watch a Christmas movie, and play board games. Then its off to bed.
Our Christms Eve has been spent going to our Christmas Eve candlelight service….and funny side note….we usually end up carrying out our two children at the end as they had fallen asleep on the church pews!! So thankful we can still attend this heartfelt service this year!!! God’s blessings to everyone this Christmas season!
We live out of state from both of our families, so we have often been traveling for Christmas. We love to let the kids open one gift Christmas Eve, and cuddle up to a movie in our matching family PJs…we can do that wherever we end up that year!
Growing up, my extended family (aunts and grandmothers) came to our home on Christmas Eve and everyone kneeled around the room and prayed. I can remember as a child thinking that they would never finish their endless prayers so we could open presents! We never spoke of Santa Claus, only the birth of Jesus. I most always received a new gown from my grandmother (she made all her granddaughters one) and a doll from my mother. Other than that, perhaps one or two small presents.
As a young child, I was always allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve. My daughter just turned 3 and is finally starting to get Christmas. I’m really looking forward to starting new traditions with her.
Every Christmas Eve we have my husband’s mother (and his dad when he was alive) over for a light lunch and gift opening before going to the Christmas Eve service. THEN, after church, we go to IHOP for Christmas Eve dinner! The tradition began when we moved into our new house 17 years ago at Christmas. We had 3 small children – the youngest was 6 months old. That first Christmas Eve I really didn’t want to cook and we decided to go out to eat. The only restaurant that was open was IHOP! The kids loved it and we’ve gone every year since.
Christmas Eve for the last 30 yrs involved me going to my grandparent’s house for a family party then afterwards going home to my parent’s house to wait for Santa. However this year will be different, as this is the first year my husband and I will be staying at my own house to wait for Santa now that we have our own little boy to start new traditions with. I’ll miss the old days of Christmas past, but look forward to new traditions and memories with my 1.5 yr old son.
We get together with my husbands family on Christmas Eve. We share a meal and open presents.