Wish List & Traditions >> Claire Hall

This has been such a fun series for us.  It has also been so awesome to get a little peek at what's on some of our favorite ladies wish lists this year.  It's been hard to put a wrap on this series, because we have been having so much fun with it, but we are ending the series with a bang!  ;)  Welcome, Claire!  Claire is such a charm!  We met Claire via Instagram about a year ago and her feed is on our daily stalk list.  Well, I guess we don't really "stalk" her anymore, because she has become such a dear friend.   Claire has a way of making everyone feel special - she is such a sweet heart!  We know you will love this girl as much as we do, so if you aren't already following her on Instagram, Go!

Enjoy!

++for mama++  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

++for cub++  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

About:

My name is Claire and I am better known as @kawaiigirl79 on Instagram. I love kids fashion and pretty and colourful interiors. I live in N.Ireland with my hubby and 2 kiddos Noah, 5 and Ruby, 3. I am a working mum and I love blogs and Instagram!  I love shopping so it was fun to pick out my Christmas wish list. Since my son only wants anything Star Wars or angry birds themed for Christmas, I decided to choose some things for my daughter and myself.

Traditions:

We don't really have any out of the ordinary traditions really. For the last number of years we take it in turn each Christmas. One year we go to my parents for dinner and then the next year we go to my husbands parents. As much as I love this, I want to try to start a new tradition where we stay at home on Christmas Day and can take our time opening presents in front of the fire, knowing we don't have to rush off anywhere. I want to cherish this time and make memories of our own in our own home. Of course we will visit our families, or they will visit us, as that is what Christmas is all about eh? Maybe one day I can host Christmas dinner at our house? Too bad I am a terrible cook and we are vegetarian! Ha

Wishlist & Traditions >> Shaynah Dodge

There are a few people on Instagram that I could look through their feed all day. Shaynah is one of those people. She is very fashionable and her boys are just as much as she is. She takes the best photos of her kids and always has something to say (good stuff, inspiring stuff).  I love her strong personality and her love for her family. Shayna also has the blog Pirates and Peonies where you can find more of her great photographs, along with what the next 'big thing' is. She is so on top of children's fashion and lifestyle, and women's fashion too. She is a big inspiration to us here at Urban Cub and we hope that you are excited as we are to feature her in our Wishlist and Traditions series. 

Enjoy! 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

About:

My name is Shaynah I am a style influencer and blogger over at Pirates and peonies.  If I am not home cozying up reading books with my 3 boys and husband then it is likely that I am at Anthropologie. We live in the suburbs in the Midwest but like to act like we are a hip urban family. I have eccentric style and a quirky sense of humor and love to laugh more than anything in the world. I am often hoarding coffee table books, hats, and ankle boots or stock-piling photo inspiration on Pinterest. You can follow along my daily journeys Instagram where I am known as @Ruffledsnob 

Traditions:

I love the holidays! Nothing is more wonderful that a cup of cheer and a twinkling Christmas tree. I am a lover of traditions and an advocate for love and laughter - all, of which, you can find plenty of in our home during the Holiday season. I could go on and on about traditions, but I will spare you and just share our favorite 3. 

1. We love Christmas lights! Every year we do a car tour and drive around looking at the beautifully lit homes and tacky blown-up snowmen. It is beautiful and white in Minnesota during the holidays and the homes look fairytale-esque, which makes the icy drive worth it! We get out and walk around the homes that are extravagantly decorated and dream of how Santa will sneak in. We finish the night off with hot cocoa at our favorite coffee shop - it is something that my husband and I look forward to just as much as the boys!

2.During the month of December we play along and do "Elf on the Shelf" which is where we hide the boys' elves around our home and make them do silly or mischievous things each morning. The boys wake up in a fit of fury trying to see what the Elves are up to while they were sleeping! Sometimes the Elves forget though, and they wake up in a panic to be sure and not be discovered in the same place as yesterday. 

3.On Christmas Eve we give the boys one gift to open which is always new jammies! One must look clean and cozy when Santa peaks on them while dropping off their gifts!

I feel that you don't have to spend a lot to make the Holidays special, you should just find fun ways to spend time with each other and take the season in. It is truly a time for love and giving of the heart. Seeing the Holidays through the boys eyes and talking about Our Saviour's birth is truly magical. 

Happy Holidays! Shaynah xx



Thank you so much Shaynah for sharing your list and traditions with us! We loved getting to know more about you and your family!

Wish List & Traditions >> Danni Remender

We are so excited to share our Wish List & Traditions guest with you today!  We found Danni on Instagram a while back and have become hooked with her daily feed.  She not only is a huge inspiration to us, but her kids are adorable and always dressed to the nines, she is hilarious, and her daughter is a mini picasso.  Danni and Hello Apparel recently joined forces to bring Edie's artwork to life.  You can check out the full By Edie collection here, it's SO good!  Danni also teamed up with Fawn Shoppe to bring you Edie's 2013 wishlist.

Enjoy!

 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

About:

Danni Remender, living in Newport Beach, California with my comic book writing hubby, Rick and 2 children Edie and Tommy. I'm a work at home mum, running my husbands business during the evenings while consulting and styling for children's brands part time. 

Holiday Traditions:

We keep it low key during the holidays. We make a Bûche de Noël each year and decorate it as a family; no doubt this years will be a despicable me one :) Edie and I will continue our tradition to go see the nutcracker together. It's a smaller showing with high tea.

Wish List & Traditions >> Urban Cub

We are excited to kick start a new series for the upcoming month of December.  We have 4 amazing guests that will be joining in to share what is on their wish list this year and what their holiday traditions are each Christmas season.  Today we will be starting off the series and will be sharing our wish lists and traditions with you all!

Brianna's List :

                                                  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7                                                           

 Brittany's List: 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7         

Brianna's Traditions:

We have a couple traditions that we do around the Christmas season and we do them to keep us in focus and remind us what Christmas is all about.  Every year our church hands out shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, which is put on yearly by Samaritans Purse.  Last year we involved Everly in this as much as possible, but she was still pretty young to really understand.  We are excited to do it again this year as she understands a lot more now.  We want to remind her yearly that Christmas is not only about receiving gifts, but about giving gifts as well.  We will take this time each year to go shopping for children that are less fortunate then us and allow her to pick out Christmas presents for these children.

This year we are bringing in a new tradition.  Everly has a "thing" for birthdays.  After her 2nd birthday she became a bit obsessed with the birthday song and sings it on repeat daily.  I told her, "You know who you will need to sing this song to soon?  Baby Jesus!"  And she quickly asked, "Birthday cake?"  So for some, you might be baking cookies and leaving milk out for Santa, and that's great too!  But this year, Everly and I will be baking a cake and as a family on Christmas day we will celebrate the Greatest Gift of all; Jesus' birth!  :)

Brittany's Traditions:
Growing up my parents didn't really have any traditions for us as a family, just the usual wake up and open presents on Christmas Morning. As a child this was all that I really cared about anyways. This sufficed for us though. We were always together around the holiday's and that was really the important thing. Since growing up without any traditions, I really wanted to have that ritual with my family when I had one. So I have started a few things around here hoping that most of them stick, but not expecting my outrageous attempt at making most everything a tradition!
The most important ones for us this season is picking out a Christmas tree together, and doing an Advent Calendar. We will be out of the country this year around and on Christmas, so I thought we would kind of introduce the Advent calendar with a bang! We aren't doing presents, just doing a spruced (no pun intended) up version of the calendar. We aren't going to have a lot of presents to open on Christmas Day, instead she will be getting on every day leading up to Christmas Day! I have enjoyed doing that this year. Making our Advent Calendar myself, picking out all the fun gifts and wrapping those fun gifts up. The anticipation for December 1st is slowly coming to an end and I couldn't be more excited to start this with Scarlett.
A few other things that we are going to try is decorating the tree as a family, The Elf on the Shelf, making Christmas cookies, and helping another family who is in need.
I think the most important thing for me is that we are all together. As long as we are together that is honestly a gift enough for me. There is nothing better than being with my family and making these memories with Scarlett. I hope that she will cherish this stuff as much as I do!

XOX
Britt and Bri

How about you guys?  What are the items on your wish list that you are just hoping you get?  Or what are some things that you celebrate and do every year around Christmas time?  We would love to hear!