Tag Archives: Christmas

A Bell Girl Christmas Tree

Growing up, putting up the family Christmas tree was always such a spectacle. My mom has always been into interior design, so when you add that fascination to her love of celebrating the holidays, you end up with one jaw dropping Christmas tree. A Christmas tree that would have the heads of Martha Stewart and Nate Berkus turning.

Given that my mom is such a fan of the holidays, it’s only natural that some of the fandom gets passed down to myself and four older sisters. That’s usually how it works, right?

My sisters and I live in various places across the US. My oldest sister Lindsay lives in New York City, Courtney in Ohio, Jamie and I in Washington, DC, and Katie in Indiana. Now that we no longer live under the same roof, each year we put up our own Christmas tree. Our trees usually vary in size, type, and decorations, but I’m sure my sisters and I can agree that they all have one thing in common – we put them up thinking about all of the years we decorated the tree together as a family in small town Ohio.

This year we are sharing our Christmas trees with you and wishing all of our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lindsay’s tree

Christmas_Linds copy

Courtney’s tree

Christmas_Court copy

Jamie’s tree

Christmas_Jamie copy

Katie’s tree

Christmas_Kate

Taylor’s tree

Christmas_Tay

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

Your Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for just the right gift this year for your friend, family member, or significant other? Well, you’re in luck thanks to Issuu – an online publication that posts thousands of digital articles that are all available to active readers.

Their 2016 Holiday Gift Guide is helping to make this the easiest shopping year yet. Below you can find some suggestions to get you started.

Top toys for 2016:
Hatchimal Hatching Egg
Cosmo Robot
Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar

Build and create toys:
Shape Mags Advance Starter Kit
Wonderhood Grand Hotel
Meccanoid 2.0

Wheels that wow:
Micro Kickboards
Penny Skateboard
PlayWheels Trolls Glitter Skates

Gifs for mom:
Josie Maran Argan Sugar Scrub
Madewell Tote
Duckfeet Arhus Boot

For the full 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, read through the online magazine here!

A Radio City Rockette Newbie

I have visited New York City countless times and even lived there for about five months for a summer internship. It’s easy to rack up the visits when you have two sisters that move there by the time you are 10 years old.

Given all of my visits, I’ve done my fair share of activities – the top of the Empire State Building, walks through Central Park, Broadway shows, golf at Chelsea Pier, games at Yankee Stadium – the list goes on and on. However, there was one thing that remained on my NYC bucket list, and that was to see the Radio City Rockettes.

A few weeks ago my dream came true and I found myself inside Radio City Music Hall (thanks Mom)! The entire experience was like no other. It all started with a preshow drink with my mom and big sis, Lindsay, at Del Frisco’s. My sister considers this move a preshow staple each time she sees it. An hour later I found myself stepping into the grand lobby with two story Christmas trees and decorations to my left and right. We soon made our way to our seats and the show started right then. Cue the orchestra, dim the lights, and here comes Santa Clause.

Each act throughout the show was a show stopper. There were shopping scenes, toys that came to life, a tour through NYC, fireworks, snowfall, and the conclusion gave you a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas (tears might have been shed). If you sat near me you would often see my jaw dropped, eyes sparkling, or constantly poking my mom who sat next to me saying, “WOW!” I’ve been to many Broadway shows and musicals, and I can honestly say that nothing has compared to the experience I felt while inside this grand music hall.

We exited out of the gold doors and onto 6th Ave, when I felt as if I should be skipping down the street and singing Christmas carols. It was like I was ten again and believing in all things Santa.

If you haven’t seen the show… go! It’s great entertainment for all ages. Take it from the toddlers to the grandparents that were seen in the audience at the show I went to. If you can’t make it to Radio City, pull up your Netflix app. Believe it or not, you can watch the Christmas Spectacular right at home! You won’t have the live fireworks or snowfall (unless your are seriously invested), but you can appreciate the story just the same.

I’ll leave you with a photo I took of my favorite act in the show. The synchronicity of these girls was INSANE!

Rockettes

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!