And the festivities begin...

Note: I am apologizing in advance for any picture overload you might experience from this post!

Last night was my first official holiday gathering of the Christmas season. Hubby & I seriously have lots of plans in the next few weeks & I'm so happy to be able to share in the holiday season with so many wonderful friends & family. Before I get to all the goodies from the cookie exchange last night, I wanted to show some pics of our Christmas decor as it's finally finished.

Tree in the front yard...it was so beautiful with the yellow/orange leaves still on it and the lights shining!

The completed version of all our outside decorations! Way to go Hubby!

And now onto the inside of the house...I tell myself every year I'm just going to add a little bit of Christmas cheer & leave my normal decor out; however, that never happens as I just love Christmas and rather enjoy having my house completely decked!

Entryway table
One of my new purchases this year...I just love these silver sequined deer!

Our beautiful (even if artificial) tree...we don't have a theme to our tree, it's always just a collection of our ornaments from over the years. We have 3 different Hallmark collections, ornaments from our vacations, ornaments I've made & just various ones I've purchased over the years...I love it and it has so much personality!

The shelves in our living room

Our dining room shelf...I made the JOY letters with scrapbook paper, cardboard letters & spray paint! The potted artificial poinsettia is also new...I love the glitter around the top of the pot!

My cake dome/platter filled with ornaments and some snow! This worked perfectly as a centerpiece for the cookie table last night.

Some funky trees in our bedroom

A festive grouping next to our mantle...the only thing that hasn't happened is the hanging of our stockings...mainly because we don't have any stocking holders! I'm hoping that if I leave them here long enough then Hubby will get the point!

Our mantle...I mixed it up this year & am super happy with how it turned out.

Now on to the cookie exchange festivities...

Yup, that's me taking a picture of myself in the bathroom showing off my cute little apron--my mom bought it for me in honor of the party! I just love it!

My cookies...Mint Crinkles--you can find the recipe in yesterday's post.

The spread after Round 1. I had 7 of my most favorite ladies in the world come over & we had some fabulous goodies. I provided goody bags for them to take home extras!

The whole group....mainly it was girls from my small group/church but also some friends from college. It was the perfect group & we had such a blast!

And now for a funny picture...sorry my hand is in your face Mel! Can you tell that my mom & are related?!?

I was discussing my Swiffer Sweeper & they thought it was the perfect opportunity for a photo! Apparently I look like I could be in a commercial!

It was such a fun evening & a great time to have a girls night out. God has blessed me with such incredible women who support me & lift me up each & every day.

This weekend is busy as well, the holiday festivities have officially begun!