Lots of Loot

I don't know about you, but we were very blessed by our family this year and received many treasures beneath the Christmas tree. I honestly loved everything I received, and so, I thought I'd share with you just a few of the trinkets given to me.

I put my organizational skills to use and tried categorizing the gifts to make it a little easier for ya. Here we go...

1. KITCHEN GEAR:
A random assortment of items including a Santa mug, red kitchen towel, meat tenderizer, iron saucepan (can be used on the grill - YUM), some pretty recipe cards, and a food prep machine - great for chopping/shredding/mixing.



2. CANDLES:
Always a great addition to my growing candle collection. I received some red and green candles, which I can use at Christmas time next year, but also some pretty candle holders, which I can use all year long.



3. FOR THE HOME:
This is one of my favorite categories! I got all kinds of decorative things to use throughout the house. The 2 baskets on the left came from Target. Can't wait to find good use for them. The chocolate and red pillows are from JCPenney and will probably be used in my bedroom (remember my red, green, brown theme for fall/winter?). The gray, paisley hand towels are for our 1/2 bath on the 1st floor (which is under renovation). And the woven table runner and ceramic bird jewelry dish are from PotteryBarn. Whew!



4. ORNAMENTS:
As you know by my Christmas tree, I love ornaments. So, I certainly couldn't let Christmas go by without receiving a few additions to my collection! Even our cat, Spike, got another personal little ornament for his collection.



5. ENTERTAINMENT:
This is the fun category! I received the Europe version of Ticket to Ride. I already own the US version of the game (highly recommended if you've never played it). I also received 3 books (I have a lot of reading to do), a Bing Crosby Christmas CD, and 6 DVDs (all musicals)... You won't find me bored in 2011!



6. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY:
...mostly in the form of a great variety of gift cards (and some cash too). Apparently I have some spending to do. Hopefully I can hit up the after-holiday-sales! I already spent a small amount of my PotteryBarn gift cards on 2 birch candles that were for sale.



7. CANDY:
Where does holiday weight-gain come from? Your Christmas stocking! Check out the sweets variety...




And can you believe there's even more that I didn't include?! Like I said, we are greatly blessed!


What did you receive as a gift that you especially liked this year? Do tell!