'Tis The Season (yes, already)

By Hattie Foote

I just ripped down the spider web decorations while eating one of my kids Almond Joys out of their trick or treat bag, because its officially the holidays in our household. Maybe a bit premature, but I mean Costco had their Christmas trees for sale since September, so this isn’t THAT crazy! I like to get every ounce of cheer out of this season (insert clown emoji). So, consider this your sign to start your holiday preparations because Santa is on his way whether you like it or not!

As a photographer it would be insane for me not to remind you about holiday cards. Before kids, I never gave them a thought. Now sending and receiving them is one of

my favorite things, I love seeing everyone’s beautiful families grow up. I know from experience how stressful it can be to book photos, plan outfits, deal with annoyed husbands and crazy kids. If I could give you any advice it would be just take the picture. It doesn’t have to be perfect, in fact the imperfect ones are the actual perfect ones. It doesn’t have to be professional; you can take a selfie for all I care! Even if you end up not sending out cards, just post the picture on your social media with a caption from Christmas Vacation, always a crowd pleaser. I was so stressed about our first Christmas card, I wanted it to look like we were the perfect family, and because there is no such thing, my husband forced me to

use a real-life picture. People still remember it, and the memory continues to humble me to this day.

Ok, so this is an oddly specific thing I remember from my childhood, I read that Tori Spelling’s mom Candy Spelling had a gift-wrapping room in her mansion. I couldn’t believe it, that sounded so chic to me, and I just knew that one day I too would have a gift-wrapping room. Fast forward to present day and I don’t even have a bathtub in my house, let alone a giftwrapping room! Delusional, absolutely, and that is the last thing I want in my house now. Instead, I go to Seaside Papery for the most stunning wrapping paper you have

ever seen. Now THAT is my gift-wrapping room. While we are on the topic of gift wrapping FYI, Geppetto’s Toy store does gift wrapping when you purchase and that has been a big life saver for me.

Now with a few preparations out of the way we can sit back and prepare for the actual star of November, Thanksgiving! Something that is very near and dear to our hearts is the Coronado 5k Turkey Trot for Rady’s Children’s Hospital. We have been a sponsor for eight years, and it is one of my family’s favorite traditions. We were out of town last year, but we participated from Chicago, BRRR. I’m so excited to be home this year and participating with our community. Last year they were able to raise the most yet, $90,000! This year the goal is $100,000 and I have a feeling they will hit it. If you are interested in registering for the race, you can check out their website www.rchacoronadoturkeytrot.com. As soon as we finish, I am going to Turkey Trot my way back home for PIE.

I feel so thankful that I have this space to connect with my neighbors. I don’t have all the answers, in fact I don’t have any, but I do hope I can bring a smile to your face every once and awhile. Be good to each other, stay healthy, and have a beautiful holiday. See you on the streets! Woah, that sounds a little like a threat, but meant it sweetly! Love ya!