Friendly Fill-Ins on Flashback Friday

Are you having a festive Friday? We sure hope so! After all, it's the last Friday before Christmas. To help you get even a little more in the Christmas spirit, we have for you some holiday Friendly Fill-Ins today. In case you missed the fill-in statements yesterday, I'll share them again here. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.


1. My holiday plans include _________.

2. I can't wait to see _________ open his/her gift from me.

3. All I want for Christmas is _________.

4. _________ is the best way to spread holiday cheer.


I filled these in myself, and my answers are below in bold.

1. My holiday plans include baking lots of festive goodies.
(I love to bake, and for years now I've been the Christmas baker in the family. What's more, I have a relatively large extended family, whom we'll be seeing this year, so I have a lot to bake up. I'll be spending this weekend and early next week making multiple pumpkin pies and pecan pies, and a variety of cookies. I usually focus on gingerbread cookies, shortbread cookies, and peanut butter cookies decorated to look like Rudolph. I also make one dessert that I don't truly bake myself, and those are Nutter Butter cookies that I decorate to look like Santa. A picture of some of my Nutter Butter Santa treats from a past year is below. I'm no expert when it comes to decorating with icing, so you can probably imagine that some of my Nutter Butter Santas look like things from your worst nightmares.)

2. I can't wait to see my furbabies open their gifts from me.
(I enjoy giving gifts to all of my family members, but the joy my kitties and pup show when they receive something new and special makes me happier than I could ever describe. I also always get gifts for my parents' clowder of a dozen, and seeing them enjoying their new goodies also brings me great joy. Pretty much, seeing furbabies happy makes me happy.)

3. All I want for Christmas is a healthy and happy family.
(This is the best gift I could receive any year. I want nothing more than to spend time with my furry and human family, and for them to be healthy and happy. More often than not, I do get this gift, and that makes me feel so very blessed.)

4. Being kind is the best way to spread holiday cheer.
(Giving and receiving gifts, watching Christmas movies, hearing festive tunes, seeing Christmas decorations, and all that festive jazz certainly does make this season merry and bright. When it really comes down to it, though, I think the true way to really spread the magic and cheer of Christmas is to be genuinely kind to others. Anything from smiling at a stranger to giving to those in need can work all sorts of Christmas magic.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Your festive Eddy fix today comes in the form of more flashbacks from a Christmas of the past. This is in part because this year Eddy really has not been willing to cooperate when I ask her to let me snap festive photos of her. In addition to that, I also wanted to share the below flashback photos because they're some of my favorite Christmas shots of Eddy I've ever snapped. As you might be able to guess why from the second photo, the flashbacks below are from the last Christmas I ever hung ornaments on the Christmas trees in the house.

Merry Christmas season!

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Festive Flashback Doodle of the Day

Today is the last flashback doodle we'll be sharing before Christmas. After all, for the remaining days leading up to Christmas, I want my sketchbook and blog to be overflowing with new, never-before-seen festive doodles. So, for today's final flashback doodle leading up to Christmas, I wanted to pick one from last year that had all sorts of festive imagery. What I found in the archives was this here:

Well, it would seem that my style has stayed relatively the same since last year. That doodle of the past looks a lot like some of my doodles of the present. We hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

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Tip of the Day

This festive time of year, our homes are often more likely to be full of potential dangers. After all, we often deck the halls this time of year. Today's tip is to take this into consideration before leaving your furbaby home alone or in any way unattended. Before you leave your furbaby alone, do consider the decorations you have out and what risks they might pose. What's more, especially when your furbaby is left alone or unattended, be sure to make the house a safe place for them to stay. For example, unplug the Christmas tree lights and other similar decorations so that your furbaby cannot harm themselves. Of course, also make sure that no candles are lit when you are not present. Also think about small parts and pieces of decorations, especially if your furbaby is a chewer or is known to eat anything and everything. Move any such decor out of your furbaby's reach when you are not home or able to monitor them. Of course, it is best to always have decor with small or in any way dangerous parts and pieces well out of reach of curious paws and mouths. If need be, simply don't put out such decor in the first place. Or, only put out such decor in rooms or spaces where your furbaby does not have access. Long story short, before you leave your furbaby home alone or otherwise unattended, always be aware of the decor you put out for the holidays and what danger such decor might pose. As needed, when your furbaby is not being monitored, remove, turn off, or in some way render such decor a non-risk.