Holiday Traditions with Pottery Barn

Thanks to Pottery Barn for partnering with us on this post.

Holiday Traditions

As most of you all know, last summer we were featured on Pottery Barn’s, “My PB Story” campaign. This holiday season they asked us to share our holiday family traditions on their blog. I’m sure like your family, you have many fun activities this time of year. The wintery weather draws us more indoors and our home becomes a cozy nest in which to invite friends and family over for delicious treats, hot cocoa, movies, puzzles and conversation. Come join us as we celebrate our family traditions.

~ A Note About the Nester ~

I have such fond memories of my father driving our family around to view holiday lights. There was one lane in Long Beach, California where every home decorated their lawns with wonderful lights and vintage cutouts. My parent’s great family tradition has now transformed into incredible childhood memories that I will cherish forever.

Photo: Daidri Smythe

We would like to thank our awesome and talented, friend and photographer, Daidri Smythe for all her beautiful photos!

Cocoa Station

Photo: Daidri Smythe

Every year, I love to create a fun cocoa and treat station. An easy way to design one is to place cake stands on a table and then cover them with either a tablecloth or a furry blanket. The fur creates a wintery scene that accentuates the cocoa. Our tiered stand is so pretty holding all the delicious cocoa treats. Marci and I added the cute little chalkboard signs to label all the treats. It turns out that Marci is quite talented at creating chalkboard signs.

Photo: Daidri Smythe

This retro Santa mug is so cute, it is such a wonderful addition to our holiday collection.

Cocoa recipe:

Decadent Hot Chocolate
serves 4

This is a rich hot cocoa and is not too sweet.

Ingredients:

3 cups milk (add more milk if desired)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla powder

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk

Instructions:

Bring milk, cream, to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Remove from stove. Combine cocoa, sugar, vanilla powder in a bowl and add to cream. Then whisk till smooth. Return to stove and add the can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir and warm cocoa. Serve. Can be made 24 hours ahead of time. Refrigerate.

Homemade Marshmallows: You can find the recipe here: You Tube video

Movies

Photo: Daidri Smythe

I’m a softy when it comes to the holiday movies. My husband cringes this time of year since I will make him watch all the sentimental Christmas movies. Well, my daughter is exactly like me and she loves to hang out and watch these movies with her friends and family. Do you have some favorite movies? My daughter loves to build a nice cozy nest on our sofa. Most days she is snuggled with our piles of pillows and blankets. You might say, I have an unhealthy obsession with pillows!

Here is our list of both classics and new movies that we love to watch:

It’s a Wonderful Life

The Mistle-Tones

Sound of Music

Holiday Inn

A Christmas Story

The Muppets Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

Decorating the Tree

Photo: Daidri Smythe

My daughter and her friends love to decorate our tree. This year we have two trees, both of them are artificial since our son is seriously allergic to pine. We flocked one of our trees this year and we love the lighter look. You can find more about how we flocked it. Our new cable knitted mittens from Pottery Barn are so cute and fun. These new ornaments are already a favorite in our family. This year’s theme for our main tree is birds in the outdoors.

Photo: Daidri Smythe

These fun Swedish Gnomes, Tomte were given to me by my dear neighbor and friend. Here is a little background surrounding these cute little guys. Legend says, that you need to be nice to them so they are nice back. They originated out of Scandinavian folklore and were “house gnomes” who lived in or under the house. They would protect the children and animals from evil or misfortune. Until recently, they have taken on the role similar to the American Santa. I love how adorable they are and how they remind me of my Swedish friend!

Photo: Daidri Smythe

It is pretty wintery this evening and time for me to change into my soft flannel pajamas and pour myself a cup of warm cocoa. Thanks for joining us on this special night of traditions. Enjoy your days before the holidays and take time out to relax and spend some with friends and family. Holiday gift giving is nice, but our friends and friendships are unique and priceless!

Cheers,

This post is sponsored Pottery Barn. All words, photos, ideas and opinions about Pottery Barn products is 100% our own.

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Janine Waite

I named my blog Happy Happy Nester because I love everything related to the home. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my surroundings. Get cozy and stay for a bit, thanks for visiting!

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