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December 30, 2014

Celebrating What Matters Most

I have received information about the TYLENOL® For What Matters Most™ campaign from McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post.

This holiday season has felt a little different than the past. Christmas has come and gone and for the first time in a long time I don’t want it to be over. I’ll admit, in the past I have gotten so caught up on the perfection of Christmas that it’s caused me to be so stressed and busy that by the time the day after Christmas arrives, I just want to pack everything up, have a clean home and go back to a normal routine.

But this year, things have been different. Over the past few months we’ve watched several good friends go through horrible tragedies that no parent should go through. We’ve seen so much hurt and heartbreak and it has really put things into perspective for us. While the gifts are fun, and the decor is beautiful, this time of year is really about celebrating the reason for the season and being with family.

Fresh Snow FallThis year, I’ve tried to focusing less on ‘cramming it all in’ and just doing what feels right for our family and FOCUSING on our family. You may have noticed things have been a little quiet here on the blog, I had an entire Christmas post planned that I never got to and social media has been slow. It has been nice to really step away and just be in the moment of the holidays. We are taking our time with the little things  like decorating our Christmas tree, letting my daughter help with wrapping gifts and taking time to enjoy the first snow fall…. and for the first time in a long time, I don’t want this season to end.

Elle and Me SnowIt’s amazing how a fresh blanket of snow can feel so magical and bring so much joy to everyone of all ages. Right after Thanksgiving we kicked off the season with our first snow fall in our new house. Waking up to our field covered in a blanket of snow was nothing short of magical. When it snows in our town, it’s as if time stands still. We set all obligations aside, make snow angels, frolic and play…. the eskimo way :)

FAMILY TREE PIC 1And then the time came to get our Christmas tree. This is by far my favorite family tradition of the season. I’ve had a real tree for every single Christmas and that won’t be ending anytime soon. Every year we take a family trek out to the tree farm and cut down our tree as a family.  It’s such a fun tradition, we all get muddy and are generally freezing at the end, but we come home and warm up with a cup of hot cocoa and spend the evening watching Christmas movies and decorating the tree.

Tree Silhouette

This year we are celebrating the gift of life and experiencing Christmas through the eyes of these two.

These are just a few of our traditions that we enjoy each year. What are some of the little things you do as a family to celebrate what matters most?

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Feel free to pin the image above and visit TYLENOL® For What Matters Most to learn more about this great campaign!

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!

Filed Under: Blogging, Sponsored Tagged With: Taryn

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stacy Risenmay says

    December 30, 2014 at 10:12 am

    You and your family are so cute :)

    Reply
  2. Ashley @ Simply Designing says

    December 30, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    Love this post! I have tried to keep things a little more simple this year too and it has been the best!! I hope you enjoy the rest of your year and Happy New Year to you and your family!

    Reply
  3. Amy Anderson says

    December 30, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    I’m focusing less on cramming this year too :D

    Reply
  4. Vanessa says

    December 30, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    It really does help us to focus on what truly matters when we realize that others are dealing with so many hard things in life. You and your family are beautiful (inside and out!) and I’m so glad that you were able to get some time this month to just enjoy being together! Love to you friend!

    Reply

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Taryn Whiteaker

Hi and welcome! I'm Taryn and the voice of style behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. Sharing our journey of modernizing our European style home in Dallas. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list to get all the latest updates! Read more...

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