The 12 Days of Christmas: Simple Simon

I am very happy to have Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Company joining me today. Now Elizabeth probably doesn’t need an introduction to most of you. Not only does she share her own blog with her sister-in-law Liz but together they run the hugely successful Project Run & Play and now Project Sewn as well. Like many of you I love the inspiration I get from following along.

I think the first project I ever found from their blog was this adorable pajama shirt tutorial and they have so many other fantastic tutorials. Everything these ladies make is beautiful and has such a clearly identifiable style. There’s always with a touch of vintage in there as well, just like today’s outfit.

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Hi everyone!  I am Elizabeth, one half of the duo of sisters’-in-law who blog at Simple Simon and Company where we love to sew.  We both have different sewing stories (I will totally call out my sister-in-law who got kicked out of home economics class for changing the pedals onto neighboring sewing machines!) but in the end, we both found a love for sewing things for ourselves, our kids and our homes.

And Christmas, well, I would LOVE for it to be entirely handmade in every aspect (wouldn’t that be awesome?!) but alas, I am not quite sure that my sanity could survive it.  And outfits….well, I always have grand intentions of making lovely outfits for all the kids every year….but well, it hasn’t happened yet.

So this year, in the aspect of going “simple” I made a Christmassy skirt that my girlie could also wear year round.  And for the boys…..well hopefully they are each getting a matching something….I just need to figure out what that something is!  (Luckily there are a few more weeks left….)

The skirt pattern is an easy one…a simple tightly gathered skirt on a fitted waistband and the tutorial can be found here as The Vintagely Modern Skirt).  The only change to this particular skirt was to add a 5″ side zipper in the side seam for a girl who finally likes her clothes fitted.  The fabric is home décor weight fabric that I picked up at Ikea and love that the weight holds the gathers so well.

And our Christmas plans for this year are like many other years.  We love to stay home for Christmas.  I think it’s the home-body in me.  Christmas mornings always start early…..with hurrying downstairs to see what the North Pole brought us.  After we have sufficiently played with our new toys, we have a big breakfast (homemade hot cocoa with egg casserole and cinnamon rolls) and then move on to our family presents.  The kids usually draw names for each other (which has been a fun, growing tradition around here) so they are always anxious to share what they made or bought for their sibling (usually both—there are usually a million little notes or pictures tucked into the store-bought gift).   And then we move onto other presents from family and friends alike.

We love to spend the day laughing, staying in pajamas until noon and then as a family making Christmas dinner.  We usually do a big turkey dinner early in the afternoon and then spend the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company.

It’s not full of frills or fanciness (which some years I dream of doing) but it’s our kind of holiday.  Food, family, and fun all together.

A couple of years ago I ran across this quote (I love quotes…in all forms) and I hope that when my children are grown that this is what they will remember about Christmases at home…..

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”
~attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

As a mom, it’s the gift that I want to bring the most….for my kids to remember the love.

Thanks ladies for such an amazing series!!!! I can’t wait to read about how Christmas outfits and traditions are done all over the world….such a fantastic idea!!!

~Elizabeth

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What a stunning skirt Elizabeth, I’m sure your daughter must love twirling in it. Your Christmas Day traditions sound perfect and cinnamon rolls for breakfast sound very tempting! Thank you for taking part today.

The lovely Natalie from La gang à Nat is Suz’s guest today. Click on the button below to see the beautiful outfits she has made.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.