You're a Mean One, 2020!

The holidays looked a little different this year! Instead of visiting Santa, we opted to visit The Grinch. We prepped both boys for the photo op by watching the movie. Parker loved it! Harrison...not so much. For $50 we received all the digital photos (I edited them because they were a little dark), one printed photo, a souvenir ornament, a stinky green sock and roll of wrapping paper. Pretty great deal when you think about how much we usually pay for 5 digital photos with Santa at Seaport Village. 

I hope you can see our smizes behind our masks. Happy Holidays!

 

Santa Photos at Wee Gather

A Very Merry Custom Illustrated Holiday Card

I'm very excited to share our 2016 holiday card with you all! Scheduling a trip to Australia in the middle of holiday prep time really threw a wrench in my normal holiday planning. All my fave photographers had scheduled holiday mini-sessions during the weeks we were out of town and there was not enough time to prep and plan for a photo shoot when we got back. So as an alternative, I decided to have a custom illustration drawn for our holiday card.  We look great and I didn't even have to put any make up on! Our card was drawn by the talented Kathryn Selbert, a freelance illustrator that specializes in children's books, wedding invitations and stationary. To prep for our illustration, I collected recent photos of us and put together the outfit board below. I also sent Kathryn a link to my Instagram account so she could view more of our recent pictures.

2016 Christmas Photo Family Outfits by marychu featuring mens slim fit long sleeve t shirts

Free People tassel dress / H&m pants / Banana Republic leather high heel sandals / Gap mens slim fit long sleeve t shirt / Gap tartan pants / Boys' softspun robot crewneck sweater / Timberland Kids Groveton Chukka Leather and Fabric (Big Kid)

I placed the order for the illustration in early October and received our final print files in early November. Our cards were printed through Moo and will be ready to mail out at the beginning of December. I'm high-fiving myself for being ahead of the game! Having our card illustrated this year has been such a time saver. I didn't have to go shopping for outfits, schedule or travel to a photo shoot, worry about whether Parker would cooperate or get my hair or make up done. However the biggest perk is that we now have an original piece of art to hang in our home!

*By the time this post is published, Kathryn's cut off for custom cards this holiday season would have passed. Be sure to contact her early next year if you are interested in having her illustrate your family!

To see more of Kathryn's work, please visit the links below. 

http://www.kathrynselbert.com/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/kathrynselbert?ref=si_shop

https://www.instagram.com/kathrynselbertillustration/

Making a List & Checking it Twice: 2016 Holiday Planning Tips

Every year when Christmas time rolls around, my first thought is always, "Ugh, our families are SO BIG." Being one of 7 girls is a blessing but it also makes the holiday planning more complicated. There has been at least one new niece, nephew or brother-in-law every year for the past decade or so...and this doesn't even include Tuan's side of the family! The biggest challenges we face are keeping track of gift purchases for the twenty-something odd kids we shop for and planning all the various holiday parties. I'm sure many of you face the same challenges so I am sharing my tried and true tips on how to stay organized and keep yourself holly and jolly this holiday season.

1. Get a Christmas planner. These 20-30 page planners will help you track gift purchases, budget, grocery lists, activities, party menus and so much more. I started using a Christmas planner 2 years ago and have never looked back. Below are some of my favorite designs from Etsy. If you are going to be looking at this planner for the next month, you might as well pick a pretty design. Cost varies from $5-$10 and they are worth every penny. 

[PaperMousePlanners $6.00]

[Yellow Bliss Road $7.99]

[GrafikaStudio $7.86]

[missdesigngirl $6.50]

2. Use an online invitation system to invite guests and track your party RSVPs. Since I am an event coordinator by trade, I always find myself volunteering or being volunteered to organize holiday parties. I've come to embrace this duty but I do try to make my life easier by sending online invitations. Whether you are planning a cookie swap, white elephant, holiday movie viewing or ugly sweater party, there is an e-card for every occasion. Luckily for us, Paperless Post and Minted now offer beautifully designed cards that are available for free. Both sites offer guest management options that will be sure to simplify your hostess duties. 

Paperless Post 
(25 free coins when you sign up for an account)

Minted Online Cards 
(free during beta preiod)

2015 Santa Picture with Mall Santa

Here it is, Folks! Our 2015 Santa picture. I'm proud to report that there was no crying this year but there weren't any smiles either. This is the best photo we took, Parker looked terrified in all the rest. We opted to visit the Santa at Westfield UTC this year and I think it's safe to say that we will be going back to the Seaport Village Santa next year. 

Mom tips:

1. Pictures with mall Santa were more expensive (the basic package + digital copy was close to $50) and you only get a digital copy of 1 photo. With Seaport Santa you get all the photos from your session on a disc. 

2. We paid for the SantaFastPass and the workers weren't paying attention to whether or not people were in the fast pass line so we still had to wait. 

3. Mall Santa was too chatty. Clearly my child is afraid of you. Please stop asking for high fives.

4. The picture quality and photo background were not as good as Seaport Santa. 

Do you know of other good Santa photo opps in San Diego? Please leave a comment below.

I've pretty much been the worst blogger of all time the last few months. This is a fact. If you want more frequent updates, follow me on Instagram @parkerproject! 

Parker's 2015 Christmas List - Gifts for a 2 Year Old Boy

Below is Parker's 2015 wish list (with helpful links)! These are the items he would be most excited to find underneath the Christmas tree. The list has three major themes.

-Animals/bugs/nature
-Pretend play
-Building/construction

Other things he is interested in: octopus, crabs, spiders, books, sperm whales, going to the zoo, going to the park and boba.

1. Bug City. This is the one thing Parker is most excited about. He loves bugs! Hopefully this thing is escape-proof because Tuan does not like bugs. If you get this, you are required to help catch the bugs. Thanksssss.

2. Wild Kratts Power Suit. PURCHASED. Parker loves pretend play and he has been pretending to be the Kratt brothers from the Wild Kratts show. The idea of having creature powers is blowing his mind right now. If you haven't watched the show, you should check it out. I've learned so much about different animals. Yay PBS!

3. Dinotrux. Dinotrux is a Netflix cartoon about dinosaurs that are also construction trucks. It's all about working together to build things to improve their community. Parker is really into it right now. His favorite characters are Rivet (below) and Garby because he poops rocks. Duh.

4. Art supplies or the Artful Parent book. We love working on art projects!

5. Duplo Blocks. Thanks to grandma we have a ton of Legos in house but I have noticed that Parker still enjoys playing with the Duplo blocks more than regular Legos (they're easier to manage with his little hands). I think he would be most interested in the superhero sets.

6. Imaginext. Imaginext toys are awesome. They're high quality and have a lot of moving parts.. Parker flipped out when he saw this transforming batman robot thing at Target. Mama would be happy with any Imaginext toys.

7. Magformers. They're colorful, magnetic and allow you to build. Of course he likes this.

8. Gift cards to the San Diego Zoo for KinderTots classes.

9. Nickels for trips to Nickel City!

10. Planes, trains and automobiles. Parker's fascination with all vehicles continues! Construction trucks and airplanes are high on the list of favorites.

I hope the list was helpful! Of course the gift of your time would be the greatest gift of all. So maybe buy a toy and stay and play at our house. I promise I'll feed you. Happy shopping!