We hope that the holidays are wonderful for you this year. In their very own way.

We know that celebrations and Christmas and the holidays… can be hard. They can be filled with pressures and stress and travel and difficult for those that have suffered a really hard loss. Or maybe for those who aren’t a part of a “picture perfect” family situation. {Who really is?} Life can honestly be pretty brutal sometimes. It can throw some real blows.

We’ve found that it’s in the imperfect, and even painful moments that we find the real beauty of life. 

We hope that you take a second to celebrate the bittersweet of this year. The wins, the losses, and the grateful moments with what you have. We hope you relish in the joy and appreciate where you are, no matter what that looks like for you.

We’re really reflecting on our year,

This cranberry spritz is inspired by my favorite cocktail—the Aperol Spritz.

The slightly bitter taste of cranberry and Aperol go perfectly with champagne or Prosecco bubbles. And cocktails with bubbles always feel right for a holiday get together or New Year’s Eve. Cheers!

Related: 40 Fun Cocktails to Make at Home

Cranberry Spritz Ingredients:

• Champagne or Prosecco
• Aperol
• Cranberry Juice
• Orange Slices
• Fresh Cranberries
• Cranberry Ice Cubes (optional, but so fun!)

How to Make a Cranberry Spritz:

Combine the champagne or Prosecco, Aperol, and cranberry juice over ice in a wine glass. Garnish with fresh cranberries and orange slices and serve chilled.

If you want your drink to feel extra festive, you can freeze some fresh cranberries in an ice cube tray beforehand to add a really pretty presentation element.

This drink is pretty simple to make—just one or two servings (use a mini bottle of champagne if that’s

I have a Christmas confession to make—I’ve never had a tree skirt before. I don’t mean I’ve never made a tree skirt, I mean I’ve never had one in general.

This year, I thought I’d jump on the tree skirt train and start with three easy no-sew options for my first year.

The good news is that these tree skirts really are so easy to make, but the bad news is that (unless you have three trees) you have to pick just one!

Related: No-Sew Glitter Star Tree Skirt DIY

Supplies:
-fabric (felt or faux fur in our case)
–hot glue gun
-matching ribbon
–fabric scissors
-ruler and marker

OK, here are the overall directions for your tree skirt. I’ll give you the variation details for each specific one below.

Step 1: First, we are going to cut a big circle out of our fabric. An easy

Hi! It’s Mandi here to talk to you about how to avoid overspending on cute decorations at Target this holiday season.

OK, so really this post is about how to make your own “porcelain” holiday tree light set just like the ones I almost spent $70 on at Target.

It might not have been my biggest “Oops, did I buy that?” moment at Target, but it was certainly the most avoidable.

After putting two of their larger LED holiday trees into my cart, I began to reach for two smaller ones before it occurred to me … I can make my own set for less than the cost of one! Here’s how.

Materials and Supplies Needed:
-8″ cone template (left + right), 6″ cone template, 4″ cone template
-4 pieces of heavyweight cardstock
–parchment paper
–non-stick rolling pin
-small blade (X-Acto knives are great