Happy day after Thanksgiving friends! Thought I would give you a break from the Black Friday madness (my inbox was SO full this morning!) and share some Holiday style.
Every year Johan and I sit down and set a budget for Christmas. Every year we blow that budget. Not because we’re making it rain, buying lavish gifts for our kids (or ourselves for that matter) or being totally irresponsible but usually because we forget to include the more hidden holiday expenses. Like Christmas cards, a fancy date night, stocking stuffers or something cute for everyone to wear on Christmas. As I’m guessing many can relate, it adds up. In a hurry.
So this year I’m trying to take more of a proactive approach starting with our Christmas party outfits and decided to create an itsums board (more info on itsums below). While Christmas day is spent mostly in our P.J.’s and then whatever new sweater and joggers we unwrap, our Christmas Eve festivities are a little less effortless. Every year we get together with Johan’s big family and enjoy a traditional Scandinavian meal. It’s the highlight of our holiday season and the perfect excuse to wear something cute and festive.
There are just two requirements, 1.) outfits also have to be comfy enough for a long night of merrymaking, playing with cousins, wrestling uncles and eating a few courses of delicious food and 2.) versatile enough that everything will be worn over and over again.
It can be a little tricky, but here’s a peek at outfits options including links!
POPPY: bows, top, dress, socks, shoes
TILLY: dress, necklace, boots, socks — Tilly’s dress might be a bit casual but she’ll wear it all the time after and a couple of sparkly accessories does the trick for Christmas.
GRIFFIN: joggers, shirt, bow tie, sweater — Sort of dying over this outfit. Griffin has unexpectedly taken a liking to neckwear and I figure my days of putting him in a sweater with a dog on it are numbered so… bring on the bow ties and puppies! A trendy pair of jogging trousers adds some cool kid vibes and balance to the outfit.
OZZIE: thermal, sweater, jeans – If you’re in need of layering pieces this winter, the thermals from peek kids are a staple in our home for the little and big kids.
SHOES: 1/2/3 (my boys will most likely be in their cleanest pair of sneakers but thought I would share other options that would work with any of the outfits)
MRS.: sweater, skirt, clutch, pumps
MR.: blazer, shirt, jeans, shoes
You can checkout my board and budget over on itsums HERE. If you see items that don’t have prices it’s because we have something similar in our closets or I wanted to include an option for something already on the board (like the 3 pairs of leopard shoes I added!). You might also notice that we are a bit over budget (ooopsies) so I’ll be checking Target to see if they have anything similar for less.
A slight adjustment to our budget might be a good idea too since it’s my shoes and Johan’s blazer that seem to be throwing things off and we have a few other dressy holiday events to attend and not a lot of options in our closet. Also, the thought of Johan in a velvet blazers makes my heart flutter and you just can’t put a price on that, LOL.
If you’ve missed my previous intros (1/2) to this brilliant online budgeting, planning and inspiration site you are in for a treat. Itsums can be used for everything from planning holidays, Birthday parties, vacations, and wardrobes, to home dec and remodeling projects. It’s super helpful for people (like me!) who are more go-with-tha-flow and probably addictive for the more detail oriented folk. I love that I can keep track of everything in one place and the budget aspect keeps my feet on the ground.
I plan on adding boards for Christmas gifts over the weekend too. Would love to see what you guys are summing so leave feel free to leave links to your boards below and if you would like itsums to feature you on their site or social accounts, be sure to use #itsumsholiday so they can find your projects!
Cheers to making the holidays special without blowing the bank!
XOXO, Rae
[…] So it wasn’t a surprise that her party outfit picks were perfection. Check out her blog here post here to see […]