Christmas Eve Tradition

The last couple of years I have made a tradition of taking photos of the kids and I in front of our Christmas tree on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. We have moved since last Christmas and our tree is in the middle of the house and there's not as much natural light coming in as with our last house. I still wanted to take the photos and set up the tripod with my 2 sort of willing subjects to get these photos of us for Christmas Eve 2011.

Snow Flake Brokeh

Two years ago I attempted to take photos of my Christmas Tree lights getting the brokeh to be in the shape of a heart. I saw a tutorial on Kevin and Amanda's blog and gave it a go but couldn't get it to work. On her blog today she mentioned the tutorial again so I gave it another shot and this time used a snowflake punch to give it the shape. It is more fiddly than it looks and I didn't do a particularly good job at taking photos however they are showing pretty snowflakes. Might invest in one of the little kits next year for Christmas instead of trying to make my own.

Origin of the word "BROKEH" for those photography buffs:-

The term comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け or ボケ), which means "blur" or "haze", or boke-aji (ボケ味), the "blur quality". The Japanese term boke is also used in the sense of a mental haze or senility.[9] The term bokashi (暈かし) is related, meaning intentional blurring or gradation.

Coloured Twinkle Lights

I found a box of coloured lights today in my Christmas stuff so we had a little play around with them in some late night photos after the kids bath time.

O Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree.....

I saw this activity on a blog recently however I can't remember which one. The kids were saying they were bored this morning so I put them to work with some crepe paper and the Christmas lights so they could turn each other into a Christmas Tree. Here's the before and after....so cute.

Candy Cane Love Hearts

I bought some Candy Canes to try the love heart idea out however the kids were pretty keen to get the photography over and done with so they could eat them. There was a lot more of "just one more photo", " you can't eat them until I get a good one" etc. In the end I thought these were quite cute and then they opened them and proceeded to eat them. In the top photo James was trying to give Sienna antlers on her head which she thought was funny.

Looking back 2 years ago

It's hard to see the kids growing up when you are with them day in and day out but once you take a look back on some photos from December 2009 you soon realize they were once small. They look so tiny and cute reading the Christmas Books I just want to give them big kisses and cuddles. I love these photos.

December Daily - Day 18

Today's activity was centred around wrapping the presents. I had specific ideas how I wanted this year's presents wrapped however I ended up going with some wrapping paper from IKEA (gotta love that store) and little cards for the front of the presents. I have one more present to buy and wrap and then I'm done. Tomorrow I have to express post some presents to Melbourne and Perth so they arrive in time and this week I need to do some baking of some Christmas slices etc. My sisters and I all make different slices and bring them to Mum's house on Christmas morning and then to my place for Christmas lunch and any other family gatherings over the holidays. I am famous for my "Belgium Chocolate Slice" which I have been making for many years now. Funny thing is I only ever make it at Christmas time, it's sort of a tradition with my family even though you can make it anytime during the year I always save it up for Christmas. How are your Christmas activities going? It always seems like a frantic rush in the end for some reason.

December Daily - Day 17

Yesterday's December Daily featured the things my kids love doing. James loves constructing and Sienna loves playing with the dirt. Click on the photo to enlarge to read the journalling.

December Daily - Trip to the City

I never go to the city as my life is lived in the surburbs and it has been years since I have ventured into Brisbane city itself. We get to Southbank often which is just over the river from the city however, today we headed for the Queen Street Mall to see the Myer Christmas windows and have a ride on the little train. Here's the collection of photos from our little trip.

December Daily - Day 13

It's hard not to be putting this together as the days go by but I am getting all the pictures sorted in anticipation for the kit arriving very soon from the States. Here is Day 13 which was spent at Rainbow Bay, Queensland, Australia.