The Christmas Dresses have Arrived...

When you have small children, you start planning for the holidays earlier and earlier.. Not that this is a bad thing, I am famous for scrambling at the last minute, and that doesn't mean I like it. I hate to shop, which is good because when I do, I think all the gifts can and should be bought, all at one store, in the space of thirty minutes. I have been known to do this at the bookstore, although I'm sure not everyone loves to get a book for a gift as much as I do. And since I read so much, I rarely receive books for gifts as everyone is afraid that "she's already read it"...

But I digress. One of the lovely traditions that my mother-in-law and I have begun is "the buying of the Christmas Dresses". Having these two gorgeous little girls is like playing dress-up dolls, a childhood activity that I loved. My mother-in-law, who has two sons, is probably enjoying this as much or more than I do. She is the world's greatest at finding beautiful clothes for her granddaughters to wear. She's a personal shopper of the very best kind, especially given that she does it at absolutely no charge!

She was the clear winner at the formal dress find for last year, although I did buy the girls some cuddly casual Christmas dresses the year before that actually got a lot of use because they could translate into the off season. (They were comfy Hanna Andersson red-and-white striped cotton playdresses with matching opposite color leggings, which I highly reccommend. I have gotten more use out of this type of dress than I can begin to say. And they wash so well and the colors stay true, so Katie will be the recipient of all of Sannah's daydresses when she gets big enough, if she can bear that they are actually hand-me-downs...)

Here are Anastazia's gorgeous Christmas dresses from last year:

They even came with a matching doll outfit utilized by Sannah's bitty baby, Juliann (named after her best girlfriend from daycare).

And here is the dress I found yesterday at Strasburg children's Christmas sale. I bought two - one for each of the girls. Anastazia will probably be disappointed that I posted this ahead of time, but I want people to get a chance to actually see the dress itself. That's hard to do when such gorgeous little girls are actually wearing it. You're so utterly blinded by the cuteness that you barely notice the clothes... I know, I know.. Brag much?

This is a picture I found on the web elsewhere, now that I look at the ones I bought again, I realize this is a previous year's version. Ours are red and green plaid and the smocking is all red, but the Christmas tree detail is the same.