Hostess with the Mostest

'Tis the season for holiday parties, or maybe you're simply going over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house for Christmas dinner. Either way, be a fabulous guest and take along a hostess gift, won't you??? One of my favorite ideas at the moment is the breakfast basket. After a night of entertaining, what a thoughtful gift to give your hostess, so that she doesn't have to put much effort into a meal the next morning. This one was done by Jenny Steffens Hobick, see her blog for details.

So, today my sister was throwing a Christmas Open House and the big surprise for Shimmer and Shine was that my Mom would be there! We visited her over Veteran's Day but didn't think we would see her at Thanksgiving or Christmas this year, so her stopover on the way to spend Christmas with my Grandmother was an unexpected treat!

Now my sister and I don't exchange Christmas gifts these days; but, she is always generous with gifts for Shimmer and Shine, so I wanted to take her a nice hostess gift. I decided maybe some extra bubbly might be perfect for her party or to have on hand for New Year's Eve. I couldn't find the Cupcake Vineyards Prosecco that I wanted to buy her, but I was able to wrap up my selections with a pretty idea I spied on Martha Stewart. Isn't this Champagne Bottle Wrap so festive?!?!

I added some of my favorite printable tags from this season and voila!

Who wouldn't want to receive a bottle like this?

Pack it pretty... and, CHEERS!!!

When we arrived back home tonight, Shimmer and Shine opened one of the last books remaining in their advent pile. It turned out to be a great little book called One Snowy Night.

This is a book that they forgot they even had... so cute with the fuzzy little hat on each page. Our book project has been one of the best things we have ever done. We read each night together and have enjoyed stories we haven't told in a long time, as well as, some new favorites that are destined to be classics in our home. I hope you have spent this advent season reading together, too!