It's a Wrap

Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas 2013 is over…Happy New Year!

The Tree and the Whole Scene

Merry Christmas!

Some Tree Details

Tree skirt by Ellen of The Chilly Dog.

The Talk of the Neighborhood…Our Front Yard

Here it is, the biggest inflatable sock monkey I could find….

And of course, we had to put some sock monkey ornaments on our tree out front. They came from Oriental Trading, and my daughter had a lot of fun putting them together.

The Stockings Were Hung...

We no longer have a fireplace (we took it out) but the stockings were still hung with care!

Stockings made by Ellen of The Chilly Dog.

Adoringly Gazing at the Tree

This menagerie is by the sled, next to the tree, adoringly gazing up at all the monkeys. 

Sock Monkeys Go Sledding

I borrowed my mom's huge sled as it makes the perfect vessel for a gaggle of monkeys. This is set up by the tree.

Mama, little baby, and daddy monkey

So many sock monkeys!

Sock Monkey, Light My Way

This cute little guy is right where we plug in the tree. He's the perfect accent and cover for the plug!

Under the TV

We recently got with the cool kids club and mounted our TV on the wall. Rather than do some sort of entertainment center underneath we decided a simple shelf is best. Right now it is also the perfect resting place for some holiday sock monkeys. 

A Monkey Everywhere You Turn

This is opposite the ceramic trees and monkeys in the froth entry…because of course there must be a sock monkey in as many places as possible!

Happy Holidays Nutcracker

My mom got this for me a few years ago, I love that he is holding bananas!

The Entryway, Continued...

After the front entry there is a very small hallway into the main big room of our house. I of course had to decorate it as well!

I know I showed pictures of the front entrance earlier but since then I have hauled in a giant blow mold Santa I scored at a flea market. I have six light up blow mold Santas and this is the largest one, the other three are the small sized ones at just over a foot high each. Those are in storage for next year, but I had to put at least one Santa out, right?!?

This is when you first walk in the front door…it takes a lot of cords to power the trees and Santa. I'm still thinking through how to best camouflage those before our Open House.

Then the lawyer's bookcase with more monkeys and yet another ceramic tree.

More pictures and monkeys and of course the tree and let's not forget the giant sock monkey lawn ornament…all will be chronicled here!

The Front Entryway

Obviously I have a thing for ceramic Christmas trees. My grandmother made the giant one on the left. I love the Christmas cactus, very unique. This shot doesn't even include the giant blow mold Santa I hauled in the house today. I'm crazy I guess.

Vintagey and Christmasey

Thanksgiving is next week, and we are wrapping up some home improvement projects, which means I will soon begin decorating in earnest! I always feel so sorry for Thanksgiving; Halloween comes, then Christmas is already out well head of 31 October...poor Thanksgiving seems to get lost in the shuffle. That's one reason why I'm not going full force on our holiday decorations until after Thanksgiving; I want to give the holiday its due. Plus, as a mom, I have seven years of turkey-themed school art projects to proudly display!

Still, it is hard to resist the lure of the sock monkey. The first one made its appearance last week. I've been collecting decorations from my mom as I want all the childhood ornaments and other ephemera I grew up with. She has some amazing things, including some ceramic Christmas trees made in 1974 (before I was even born!) by my maternal grandmother, whom I adored and miss terribly to this day. These little trees are quite trendy now. I just remember growing up with them, pulling the bulbs in and out of the tree. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them! Sadly the giant one my grandmother made is broken at the top so I am going to have to do some repairs. Luckily, though, the small one is in pristine condition. I ordered some bulbs and put it out immediately, with an elf monkey to keep it company. With it is a mason jar of Christmas pins.

I'm on the hunt for an all-white tree now as I have the perfect display in mind. I'll be looking for it at a thrift store or yard/estate sale, though, as the resell prices are a bit high for my taste. I've found two more green ones but alas, no white.

Soon, very soon, the house will be completely taken over by Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas.

Combining My Two Loves

Confession: I am a Pyrex-collecting addict. Seriously. It's shameful. I love the old school Pyrex from the 50s through the early 70s. I hit thrift stores on a semi-regular basis in search of it. I blog about it. That's just how I roll.

So when I saw this DWD (that's dishwasher damaged for the uninitiated, and it is death for vintage Pyrex) blue 502 at Goodwill I picked it up, even though it's not really collectible anymore. You see, it had a lid, and lids for the 500-series Pyrex are relatively hard to find. So I got a lid for my next lidless find, and I knew just what to do with the DWD fridgie.

Was there ever any question? This is my first "official" Christmas decoration. He's hanging out with some vintage glass ornaments I also thrifted. We're going through some home improvement that will be wrapped up soon and I swore I would not start decorating until it was done (as a means to make us hurry on up) but I just had to put this little guy out. 

Open House Time!

We are likely a little bit late but we have finally nailed down a date, time, and image for Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas Open House.

This is not even close to all the monkeys we own...

Of course we still need a menu, inflatable, and you know, to send the invite out. One step at a time. 

Someone Went a Little Crazy at Hobby Lobby

A lovely reader emailed me to let me know she is also doing a sock monkey-themed Christmas (hi Donna!). She also passed on some exciting info: apparently i needed to go to Hobby Lobby stat and pick up some sock monkey gear.

So I did so. The slippers pictured below are from Target but everything else you see is from Hobby Lobby. I got stickers, ribbon, dolls and a long receipt.

I had thought I would wait until Thanksgiving weekend to start setting cup our decor but now I am thinking that is just not enough time, plus I need to see what all I have as well as what gaps need to be filled. It's approaching fast!

Target's Annual Sock Monkey Slippers

I was making my weekly (who am I kidding, really it's every few days) rounds through my closest Target and saw these adorable sock monkey slippers. Every year the retailer stocks some version of these cuties but this year has to be the best yet. The backless pair have a cute little pom-pom hat. The flat ones with the back have far more cushioning than recent years. Of course my closest store was all out in both versions in my big foot size so it's off to another Target to make them mine.

Easy-peasy slip-ons for those middle-of-the-night wanderings

Cushiony yet small enough to wear under a cozy blanket

These will be perfect this holiday season and beyond. I of course am getting both, as I am a slipper addict. I can't wait to wear these while hanging out by the tree.

The Sock Monkey Holiday Gear is Trickling Out

As we all know the holidays are here. Well, at least the mall and the dollar store say so.

As does my local Fry's grocery. Little miss and I went in the other day to get some milk and found the Christmas decorations out and ready. The scent of pinecones filled the air (seriously, they had scented pinecones). And there were some sock monkeys to be found. Since I never, ever pay full price I will be waiting for a sale or promo.

At first my daughter spotted the two dolls, then she spotted the two in boxes behind them. Those light up and play musc. Upon further investigation we found another doll, this one decked out as Santa. I'm going to have to get all three.

My daughter is seven and a bit tall for her age. She wants this giant monkey in a bad, bad way. We already have one giant sock monkey so I don't know that we need to haul another into our small house. Plus, my husband this this one is kind of fugly. I will say this for it...it is very, very soft.

We finally got the sock monkey hats from Lowe's I blogged about a while back. I say "finally" as if we were so far behind schedule. In reality we were there on a Friday night (we are cool, I know), and my daughter and I put them on and never took them off. My husband decided to be a curmudgeon and passed on his opportunity to get a hat. He also helpfully pointed out it looks like we have hot dogs on our heads. 

What better way to commemorate Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas than with a dated sock monkey ornament? I saw this at the JC Penney home store. It's not yet on sale but I have no doubt it will be soon. This is a must-buy, no doubt about it.

How are your holiday plans shaping up?

A Gaggle of Monkeys

Part of our Halloween decorations…you know sock monkeys are front and center!

Pier 1 Strikes Again

I ran by Pier 1 the the day to check out any new holiday decorations and I was not disappointed...for you see I found this cute little guy over on the left. I have to say the most amusing part of my trip was not necessarily getting this ornament but was instead the Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays mashup going on throughout the store. It made for a good chuckle to move from one holiday to the next all in the span of ten feet or so.

Whimsical Sock Monkey Books

Sock monkey fever has clearly infected my daughter as she came home from school the other day with an amazing library book: Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star is Bathed. It was delightful and I knew we had to have it. So I headed straight over to Amazon only to discover it's apparently out of print. Yes, you can get it used or new (at an inflated price). I also learned there are two other books.

And here they all are. As you can see I ended up getting all three. I acquired mine via ebay as I like to see pictures of condition. These books are so much fun...seriously! I highly recommend!

Amazing Sock Monkey Stockings!

Ellen over at The Chilly Dog has amazed me yet again with her skill and talent. Recall I engaged her crafting skills for our epic tree skirt. I knew she could further wow us with some stockings, so I asked her straightaway if she would make some for us. I figured, why buy something like this:

When for a bit more I can get something made from hand, and with love. I was not at all disappointed with the finished product. There is just no comparison between the store item and the stockings below.

Look at the detail, it blows me away. They each have their own little knit hat and scarf!

I seriously wonder if there is nothing Ellen (aka The Chilly Dog) cannot do. 

Spotted at Lowe's

How cute are these sock monkey Santa hats? A reader tipped me off that Lowe's had some sock monkey holiday items and it just so happened I needed to make a visit for some home supplies. I instantly spotted these hats, which will be mine, oh yes. All three members of our little family will have one. On the list they go!

Sock Monkey Mugs...Found?

I was perusing large retailers online, entering in "sock monkey" as a search item like most completely rational people do, and lo and behold, look what I found at Kohl's:

This is a ceramic lidded sock monkey mug. Recall way back when I first started my family's quest to Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas we all decided we would need sock monkey mugs, from which to sip our hot chocolate while we gazed at our tree. Are these the mugs for us? I want to say yes but Im not so sure. They seem cute enough but they just don't seem overtly sock monkeyish, if that makes sense (it likely does not, I rarely do). I'm going to need to go investigate these in person. There's also a treat jar, which would be fun to have for the baked goods I will be making. And with Kohl's, everything is always on sale, it's just a matter of catching the lowest price at the right time. 

Fun for Kids and Adults

Putzing around ye olde internets I stumbled across these Nesting Sock Monkeys:

I of course purchased them post-haste. How could I not? I'm sure they will provide endless amounts of entertainment for kids and adults at Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas open house. 

Found at Tarzhay

I was cruising the Halloween aisles at Target and couldn't bear to leave any of these critters behind. And it didn't help that my seven-year-old daughter was with me, enabling me all the way to the register.

Halloween Monkeys Galore

I can't seem to locate an affordable, decent-sized Halloween tree to display my Halloween sock monkey ornaments. Never though, my hunt shall continue. In the meantime I've put them out on the entryway mirror. It's kind of fun to primp and preen in the glass while surrounded by monkeys. This is my intermediary solution until I can find the perfect display vessel.

Obnoxious? Perhaps. Epic? You Know It.

I live in a HOA neighborhood that is sometimes loosey-goosey, sometimes draconian with the rules. Luckily the setting out of holiday decorations is not prohibited. Last year several houses had inflatables. Given that we are planing Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas this will be the year we set out an inflatable as well...perhaps this one.

I noticed the website does not provide dimension. I'm thinking it's something along the lines of "big" which is, of course, epic. In any case, there is also this inflatable which is not quite as obnoxious but just as cute.

All Dressed Up for Halloween

Another sock monkey Halloween ornament recently arrived via the magical, mystical powers of ebay. What did we do before ebay came along? I can't even imagine. In any case, this little guy is all dressed up in a cute cape and mask, holding his jack o'lantern candy bucket.

I'm in the process of figuring out our Halloween decorations, which will go up as soon as we finish a small home improvement project. My daughter is extremely anxious to put out the Halloween sock monkeys and truth be told, so am I.

Run, Run Rudolph

While scrubbing various sites to see if I can magically intuit holiday sock monkey stock I stumbled across this little guy at Pier 1. This little guy is just too cute for words! His big red "nose" and antlers remind me of Rudolph, everyone;s favorite reindeer.

Sadly he is not available yet but he will be in store come October 13 or so. My husband put the date on our calendar so we can make sure to add him to our collection in a timely manner. I think what slays me the most about this ornament are the holiday lights in the sock monkey's antlers...as we all know, untangling a string of holiday lights often ends up with the person getting all tangled up.