Christmas Dress(es) 2011

If you'll remember from prior years one holiday tradition Yours Truly is taking advantage of while our girl is young involves finding just the right Christmas dress. This adventure is one that we often start early (to be more specific, this year's dress was actually purchased on clearance the day after Christmas 2010).

I love how the forest green color looks against the Little Miss' light complexion and dark hair. She likes the shiny taffeta, sparkle, soft velvet trim and bows. We had an adorable pair of gold ballet slipper style shoes to complement the dress but apparently our girl does not yet know one sometimes has to sacrifice comfort for fashion; she complained that they hurt so we stuck with basic black (can't blame her).

One dress was not enough as the Little Miss also ended up receiving a sweet hand-me-down silk dress from her cousins. The red, black and white was perfect for our Nutcracker outing.

Another tradition my good friend Joani and I both enjoy this time of year is to photograph our girls together in their Christmas dresses. We were able to get a few pictures of them last weekend during our annual Christmas caroling dinner party at the Curtis house.

Love these two girls! They sure had a good time playing. Joani also made our girl's day when she gave her super cute cutouts of all the Nutcracker characters. Pretty much one of the more creative gifts ever (not to mention the patience all that detailed cutting would require). Did I mention that Joani also quilts, sews, scrapbooks, crafts, decorates cakes, enjoys cooking, decorating her home and is a terrific mom and talented chemical engineer?! She seriously amazes me. I may not come close to her in artistic or intellectual talents but I have rubbed off on her with my Christmas and Easter dress hunt addiction. Her daughter Allison is actually wearing one of our girl's former holiday dresses and we will surely be sharing these other dresses in future years!