I have been dying to get Arabelle's pink Christmas tree decorated since the day I bought it (hunted all over BCS after Christmas last year for it). But I made a promise to myself that this year I would do a clean sweep before filling our house up with Christmas decor. I love Christmas stuff everywhere but as soon as January 1st rolls around I can't wait to put it all up and have a clean, clutter free house again.

This year I challenged myself to choose one small clutter zone to tackle per day, be it the silverware drawer or the video cabinet AND one large clutter zone per week like a closet and another closet....I'm not even going to list basement and garage because those are two areas I'm avoiding but will have to face by the end of this week.

So....all that being said I wouldn't allow myself to put Arabelle's tree up until I not only cleaned out her closet but her room as well. Let me just tell you....it was such motivation to get it done and such a reward once it was finished. I didn't feel like I was adding more "stuff" to her room.

Monday morning rolled around and my task had been complete for a few days so I put some Christmas music on Pandora, we baked Cranberry Orange muffins in our Pj's and decorated her room for Christmas. I had so much fun sharing in this experience with her. She loved all of the "balls" we put on her tree but she especially loved her frog. Each year we have purchased a Christmas ornament for her starting with the Christmas she was in my tummy, when she has a family of her own, my hope is that she will enjoy hanging all of her ornaments from her childhood.  I'm trying to reflect the stage of life she is in through the ornament and I knew nothing would fit her better this year than a big green frog. She loves to ribbit like a frog every time she looks at her tree. I'll try to post a video of it.

                                                   Clean Closet



                                                  Clean Shelves



                                                  Yummy Muffins


                                                      Helper


                                                   Vintage Balls




                                                       Ribbit



FYI- I used fresh cranberry's for the muffins rather than dried. I did not soak them in orange juice, just chopped them up. This has been my most successful batch of this kind.
FYI- Most of the vintage ornaments came from thrift stores and yard sales throughout the year. But, if you want them now do an ebay or etsy search and your sure to find them.