Even T knew that watching a train go around and around a Christmas tree was a better show than the Chargers-Broncos game!

As I mentioned, this past weekend was the time to break out the Christmas and holiday decorations, and we went full-throttle above and beyond even our usual get-er-done pace.

Our house lights once C got them up and running (including the tree)!

On Saturday C managed to find the house lights, so he got up and hung those up. Thankfully we have pre-set hooks on the house eaves, so that makes it a wee bit easier for C to finish that task. Sadly though, C forgot to test his lights beforehand and one string– part of the “tree” on the swing set – was a no-go, so we added a new string of lights to our shopping list for our outing Sunday.

T watches as the nice gentleman at Lowes lops off the end of our new Christmas tree!

And that outing on Sunday was our trip over to Lowes, where we got our Christmas tree! While we normally go and get our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, I think we forgot to check the actual dates and notice that Thanksgiving came a little earlier than usual this year; it seems we now will have a nice challenge in keeping this tree green and hydrated for several days more than we might be used to. I’m pretty sure we can do it, but I do hope the weather tapers back just a bit on the thermometer (just seemed wrong going Christmas tree shopping on an 85-degree day, ya know?).

T helps me light up the tree.

Tree's lit!

Once we got the tree home, T was very eager to help start decorating – immediately! I explained to him that we first have to get the lights out, test them (yes), and put those on first. As soon as he was on board with that plan, we got to work and got the tree lit up nice. T was a great helper following me back and forth around the tree hanging the lights.

T hangs ornaments - a first for him this Christmas season! Yay!

T enjoying his Christmas train (that Santa got him two Christmases ago) and his portion of the tree that he decorated.

Then out came the tree ornaments. In the past few years with T in the house, I’ve been hesitant to put anything on the tree that might break (meaning, all my gorgeous glass ornaments), but this year I decided it was time to break some of those back out. As I unwrapped a few one by one, T exclaimed, “WOW that’s so beautiful!” He also kept exclaiming at every turn as he hung ornaments, “Look at our beautiful tree! I can’t wait for Christmas!” T again was such a great helper, so great that he in fact decorated the entire bottom half (two-thirds?) of the tree solo!

A closeup of the re-lit outdoor "tree" - complete with "star" on top!

Meanwhile C managed to fix up all the outdoor lights, and we’re now all systems go (plus a star atop the “tree” with a nice short strand of white lights I found amongst the tree ornaments and lights).

Once our efforts were complete, T says, “So when are we going to decorate the WHOLE HOUSE?!” OK, kid, thankfully I let you go to Dollar Tree now for holidays. So we also picked up some garland for the windows and some other knick-knacks to appease T’s need for even more decorations. More to come though, I’m sure.

Our Christmas tree - aside from presents and goodies - is complete. I know the bottom half of the tree looks a bit bunchy, but no way I'm moving a single thing. T did a fantastic job!

Ah, Christmastime is here. There really is something special about this time of year with a kiddo in the house. Whether it’s seeing T’s pure joy while decorating the tree or hearing his excitement over the latest holiday TV special we’ve DVR’ed, I just seem overwhelmed with the joy of the season even more so and much earlier than usual this year. It’s not even December, RMT’ers, and I am giddy with glee in anticipation of Christmas! In fact, I think I am going to enjoy the time leading up to Christmas even more than the day-of itself, if that’s even possible.

Is it too early to bake Christmas cookies? OK, maybe it is… but it’s never too early for Trader Joe’s Peppermint Joe Joe's!