One Haven Maven

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Dec 06

HOW TO HAVE A CHRIST-CENTERED CHRISTMAS

Dec 06

If you're looking to focus more on the Savior this Christmas, then this post is for you!
Merry Christmas! I get so filled with excitement and happiness around this time of year.  For our family, the reason its such a joy-inducing season is not just because we have the chance to spend a lot of time together, but because we’re focused on HIM. Our kids are now 12, 11 and 8, but when they were toddler age we realized that we really wanted to place less emphasis on Santa and have a more Christ-centered Christmas.

Santa is fun and we enjoy that tradition. We still put out cookies and milk for Santa. He still brings a special gift for each of our children and fills their stockings. However, Christ was the first gift we were ever given and the one we should be the most excited about. Together, Mr. Maven and I brainstormed ways we could help our kids (and us) spend more time thinking about the gifts that Jesus Christ has given us and how we can share those gifts with others.

White Stocking

Here are some easy ideas for how to have a Christ-centered Christmas this year.This particular tradition began a few years after we decided to have a more Christ-centered Christmas, but it starts the earliest in the season, so I’m listing it first. A friend gave me a little white felt stocking to hang on the tree for Jesus. We decided to use that stocking for more than just decoration. Instead, each year on December 1st begins our month of giving. Strips of paper and pens sit under our Christmas tree. Each time one of us does something kind as the Savior would, we anonymously write it down on a strip of paper, fold it up and put it in the stocking. Our goal is to fill the stocking with good deeds by December 24th. On Christmas day, we read all of the ways we showed Christ-like love and kindness that month. It’s a continual reminder of who we are as God’s children and the kindness and love shown to us by God and his Son.

Sibling Gift Exchange

How to Have a Christ-Centered ChristmasFor children, Christmas is often all about presents and what gifts they’ll be receiving. We really wanted our kids to understand that Christmas is about giving and not getting. So each December, we take our kids to a local thrift store and let them pick out a gift for their siblings. At first, we were paying for the gifts, but now they use their allowance to choose something small, but meaningful for their brother or sister. They look forward to sneaking through the store, trying to make sure the others don’t see what they’re choosing. Often, they choose things like games, puzzles, books or yarn. Then on Christmas morning, Mr. Maven has them give the gifts they’ve chosen to their siblings first before they open their own gifts, so they can experience the joy that comes from giving. This is my favorite! Is it sappy that I’m getting teary just thinking about this moment?

Act Out the Nativity

Easy ideas for having a Christ-centered ChristmasNow, I realize this isn’t something unique to us. I know a lot of Christian families do this. It’s always kind of hectic getting all of the “costumes” together after our special Christmas Eve dinner (more about this in a future post). I put costumes in quotes because they consist of bathrobes and sheets and whatever usually the dog is the donkey 😉 So, we read the christmas story as found in Luke 2 and act out the birth of the Savior…and have a few laughs along the way.

Watch the Nativity

Here are some easy ideas for how to have a Christ-centered Christmas this year.Before we open any gifts at all or read the good deeds from the white stocking, we set the mood for the day. Our church put out a short video years ago called The Nativity which re-enacts the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of the Savior. We gather around and watch this video. The first time we did this, all of our children (including our dog) sat and watched intently and reverently as the joyful event unfolded on the screen. If you want the spirit of God to be in your home on Christmas morning, watch this seven and a half minute video. After the video, we’re lead to the next item on the list.

Opening the Gift

We have a Little People Nativity set that we bought years ago and though my kids are getting older, they still insist we put it out every year. I wrap up the baby Jesus from this set and place Him in the tree. After watching The Nativity on Christmas morning, we open the baby Jesus and put Him in the manger. A simple, but effective reminder that He was the first and most important gift.

Birthday Cake for Jesus

Looking for ways to focus more on the Savior this Christmas? Look no further. This post has simple ways to accomplish this very thing.

After a nice Christmas dinner, the kids help me make a birthday cake for the Savior. We usually don’t have time to make it fancy, but it’s always yummy. We serve it as a regular birthday cake, complete with candles and the “Happy Birthday” song. The kids blow out the candles together and then enjoy tasting their treat.

These simple little additions to our Christmas season have helped us to grow closer together as a family and build our faith. They help remind us that the colorful, wrapped packages, plates of goodies and decorations are lovely and fun, but what matters most is finding peace and happiness through celebrating His birth and living like Him.

My hope for you is that you can feel that peace and joy this Christmas season and enjoy every wonderful, memory-making moment with your family.

How to Have a Christ-centered Christmas

Is there something special that you do to focus on the Savior at this time of year? Please share! I’d love to hear about it.

(*Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little kickback if you buy something through that link. No cost to you, but it does help me to be able to continue creating awesome posts)

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Faith, Holiday Traditions Tagged: christmas, family, Jesus

Sep 16

FAMILY ROOM-MAKEOVER EDITION

Sep 16

Family Room Makeover

Four months ago, we left our home in the mountains and moved into our rental home. It’s an older home that needs a lot of love. This post is part of a Makeover Edition Series that I will add to often. I’m excited to share our own little “fixer upper” journey with you!

Here’s where we started:

Ugly Family Room

A long, narrow, dark room that’s really difficult to arrange.

We ripped up and replaced the pet-stained (ew!), worn-out carpet, scraped the popcorn ceiling, painted the ceiling, walls, trim and fireplace. Oh, and the mantel. Isn’t paint the best? It’s such a quick, easy fix and I love it.

After a lot of furniture moving and hours of sweat and tears, (ok, there wasn’t really sweat and the tears) it’s finally….in progress! (you thought I was going to say done, didn’t you!?)

family-room-2

We have the furniture where I want it and it’s partially decorated.

Mantel

The mantel was the first to be beautified in this room since the fireplace is the focal point. I knew I wanted to use my big mirror to anchor everything else together. I scored this mirror for $10 at a garage sale about 12 years ago. It used to have a cream colored frame, but I decided it needed to be black to “pop” against neutral walls.

The flowers and candlesticks I’ve had for a while. Everything else I’ve purchased recently.

Black and Turquoise Mantel Decor

Candlesticks & Candles: Hobby Lobby

yellow-bird

Hobby Lobby

faux-boxwood

Burlington Coat Factory

letter-m

TJ Maxx

Mantel

Mercury Glass Vase: Target, Hydrangeas: Hobby Lobby (these were a part a table centerpiece we used at our wedding 14 years ago!)

After the mantel was finished, I tackled the sofa table. This table has been in our family for at least 75 years, but is more like 150 years old. It’s one piece I refuse to part with, no matter what life brings! I’ve never actually used it as a soft table before. Usually, it’s the home for framed photos and stands near the entry way.

Family Room Makeover

Isn’t she pretty? I’ve secretly always wanted a sofa table and I had one all the time!

mirrored-tray

Green vase & greenery: Hobby Lobby, Peony in Vase: Target, Mirrored Tray: Ross

yellow-picture-frame

Hobby Lobby (they have the best selection of unique frames!)

lantern

Lantern: BHG at Walmart, Bowl: my Mom! I have no idea where she got them.

I guess I should’ve dusted the lantern before I took this shot…I didn’t realize it was dusty until I opened the photo in my editor. Oops! You’ll learn pretty quickly that I’m not perfect 😉

The rest of the room still needs some fixing, but considering that we moved in almost four months ago and during that time, my Mom was here for a month, my husband was working day and night, I’m cooking about 85% from our food storage (more about this later) we had camps, conferences to attend and school started…

The plans:

couches

  1. Finish cleaning couches. I tossed my couch seat covers in the washing machine and air-dried them and they came out mostly like new. I’ve been struggling with them for a few years now and was afraid of ruining them. I was pleasantly surprised! Now, I need to tackle the arms and skirt with my upholstery attachment on my carpet cleaner. Wish me luck 🙂
  2. Recover or possibly buy new throw cushions. These ones aren’t that comfortable and I need to have turquoise, yellow and gray in the patterns. I’m thinking maybe a mixture of flowers, polka dots and/or stripes.
  3. Repaint the stripe on the magazine tray. Probably turquoise, ‘cause it’s my favorite.
  4. Hang some pictures on the wall. If you look in the photo below, theres an empty wall across from the couches on which I want to create a gallery wall. I just need to figure out the design.

family-room-2

Gallery wall coming soon to a wall near you…or, rather..me

green-window

     5. Finally, I need to paint the window sills white and get rid of the green.

Well, there you have it. From ugly and stripped down to nothing, to pretty and getting there. I’m sure it will take a while to get everything the way I want it.  I’ll post an update when I’ve made significant progress.

Any thoughts on new throw pillows? Do you have a go-to store for new cushions? If so, let me know in the comments below. I’m pretty thrifty, so I hope they have good deals 😉

 
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Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Decor, DIY Tagged: decorating, family, makeover, mercury glass, turquoise

Apr 30

WHY I CHOSE TO BE A BLOGGER

Apr 30

Welcome

Welcome!!

Are you ready to hang out with me and have some fun while we learn, laugh and make our homes lovely places to be? I can’t wait! I’m so glad you’re here and I hope you’ll visit often!

First things first, I thought you might want to know why I wanted to be a blogger…

One of the scariest things to me about becoming a blogger is really putting yourself out there. The online world can be wonderful, supportive and exciting…and cruel, critical and harsh. I really thought about this blogging thing, as in, thought about it for 2 years!

Did I have anything relevant or inspiring to share?
Does the world really need another home & family blogger?

In the end, I decided to go for it and here I am!

Making home a beautiful, joyful, safe place is my livelihood and my passion. I’ve learned more than a few things along the way that will be helpful to you and I’m excited to share. If there’s something you want me to post about, just let me know and I’m happy to oblige if I can.

Here’s the scoop:

I plan to share incredibly delicious recipes, test-tasted by family and friends. Some will be quick and easy; some might take some time, but will be well worth it. We eat pretty healthy in our home, but we also love our sweets!

pizza

Since family is #1 to me, I’ll give you great ideas of how to strengthen your family through traditions, fun family night activities, parenting tips that have worked for me and more.

Mormon Helping Hands

I will state here and now, I am not a crafter. I repeat, I am not a crafter. Don’t expect cutesy little crafts for every season and whim. But….

We are do-it-yourself-ers in our home and I’ll happily share how-to’s on our awesome finished projects.

kitchen

I’ll also include some cheap and simple decorating ideas to spruce things up.

DIY

Finally, my LDS faith is my way of life. I am a Christian. I won’t be preachy, but I will share some things here and there related to that. You can expect some posts about prayer, teaching children about faith, fun activity ideas related to faith and more.

LDS Baptism

Many bloggers refrain from sharing personal posts with their readers. I’m not one of those bloggers! This is not going to be a “Diary of Lauren’s Daily Life”, but I will share things with you that I feel could help inspire you, cheer you or even prevent you from making a similar mistake. I’ve learned so much from reading my favorite bloggers stories and I want to pay that forward to you.t

I’ll post every Monday, Thursday and Friday.

I look forward to getting to know you! If you want to know more about me, check out my about page. See you Thursday!
 photo 25F5B747D7043C1592C3A421F716126A_zps0mi2bxex.png

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Blogging, decor, family, home, recipes

I’m Lauren, the wife, mother of three and homemaker behind One Haven Maven. I love dark chocolate, old movies and all things pretty! Stick around for a while and enjoy mouth-watering recipes, ideas to help you strengthen your family and discover some easy ways to make your house a home.
Read More…

Day in the Life Vlog: Laundry+Cleaning+Cupcakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9zN8RXPYHI&t=1s
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