Chalkboard Traditions

Our first Christmas with Addisyn has came and gone so quickly! We had such a fun time making memories with our main girl and of course we can’t forget the pup!

We started Addisyn’s Christmas traditions this year by braving the cold and taking her to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. It was a great evening where we wrapped Addy up in her warmest clothes with plenty of blankets, and enjoyed warm hot chocolate, meeting Santa for the very first time, the elaborate lights, and a show with dinner. Addisyn was a trooper and took in the sights. She truly lit up upon seeing Santa. I wasn’t enthused about the wait in line for something I felt she would care little about, but when I saw her eyes light up from playing peek-a-boo with an elf, and how she giggled at Santa, I was so glad that she was able to experience her own magic that night.  If only we could all have a little more magic!   Addisyn experienced several other traditions this Christmas season. Her very own elf, Popcorn, made a trip from the North Pole to introduce himself, Papa B and Nana ensured that she had her very own Christmas tree with colored lights, she acquired several Christmas classics (Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, and more), and most excitedly we started our Christmas Eve tradition with Addisyn.

We have decided that our desire for Addisyn is to have Christmas memories filled with both giving and receiving, a major emphasis on the giving. This year we made handprint Santa ornaments and gave canvas pictures of Addisyn to all of our family. We even made Aunt Mandi a personalized flag for her grave to go along with her Santa handprint. Our giving this year was cookies for our mail man who left us a delightful thank you note. I saved it for Addisyn’s baby book, hoping to keep a memento of something she “gives” each year. Obviously, celebrating the gift of Jesus, was the highlight of our Christmas season. We went to the Christmas Eve-Eve candlelight service at church, which allowed us to continue our Christmas Eve tradition by opening our Christmas Eve box early that night. Filled with pajamas for everyone, sippy cups for Addisyn, books, and Christmas movies; our Christmas Eve box was a blast. Addisyn enjoyed ripping the paper off the most, and Justin and I enjoyed getting our Christmas Vacation shirts and movie (…which I made him watch almost daily the week of Christmas). The best part? We put on our pre-washed pajamas, and read the Christmas story together with Addisyn. Her continuous oo-ing and ah-ing and pointing, as we read the story from her picture bible by the Christmas tree is one of my favorite memories already, and it was just weeks ago. We then left cookies and Ritz crackers for Santa (because they’re one of Addy’s favorites), and watched Christmas cartoons until our bedtime prayers. Gunner participated by stealing Santa’s loot and getting caught red-pawed. We are building a tradition that can keep excitement for our family going for years, and we have thoroughly enjoyed making those memories.

We enjoyed every second of Christmas, putting up our decorations weeks before Thanksgiving and taking them down on New Years Day. My favorite decoration this year has definitely been my chalkboard wall. After oogling them on Pinterest for months, I finally took the time to go all out and get it done. I was nervous as the first coats went on, shortly after Addisyn went down for her first nap, yet that nervousness quickly gave way to excitement. I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and had carefully selected the wreath and garland that would adorn the wall from the local craft store. I even managed to get it painted before Addisyn woke from her nap, MOMMY WIN! If you’ve heard how awesome chalk paint is, it’s that and even more! It’s quickly becoming my new favorite paint. I don’t just love it because it’s versatile and can be used in so many ways, (although it can!) I also love it from a paint perspective because it covers a lot of surface area, goes on smooth, and is very forgiving. I bought only a quart for my project wall, which is 10 ft. high by 5 ft. wide. I applied two coats, and even had some leftover for crafting. For a painting project that makes a big statement on a small budget, this is where it’s at. The best part about this project, it’s so easy!

Simply:

1. Check out the tutorials on Pinterest, YouTube, etc. for ideas that fit your space.

2. Sand/prime your surface. I painted over a gray wall that was previously painted with primer and paint. I sanded down some imperfections but didn’t spend a lot of time on this step. Obviously, the smoother the surface for writing and drawing on the wall the better.

Before:

3. Paint! I rolled on the paint with a roller on my wall to make the process faster, however I have since used the paint with a paint brush on wood and there are no brush strokes leftover. I applied two coats for good coverage.

4. When you’re done painting, allow the wall to dry completely and then you must “prime” the wall with chalk before writing/drawing on it. Which is simply turning a piece of chalk on its side and coating the entire surface. It’s important to not skip this step to prepare the wall to be ready to written and drawn on without leaving behind ghost lines of chalk once you’ve wiped it away.

By this point… I was two successful nap times in for the day where I got what I needed done and Addy was still snoozing, meaning more time with my girl when she woke up!

5. Last, place some decorations on the wall, or frame up the space around your wall. And get artistic. I chose to add personalized vinyl that I created to my wall, along with a wreath and decorative garland.

I’ve gotten so many comments on my wall and it’s been so fun adorning it for the holidays!

Justin did the honor of drawing our first mural of our stick figure family as soon as I was done with the wall.