12 Days of Christmas! I Christmas House Tour Video & Giveaway. {CLOSED}

Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas!
I am SO excited to share with you guys that every day for the next 12 days, I’ll be vlogging (think day in the life, waaaay oversharing, Q+A videos), sharing the video here on Crumbs (and on youtube!) and holding a giveaway of my favorite things!
Here’s a peek at some of the Christmas decor in our home. So sorry if I make you nauseaus with my shaky camera skills and poor editing – I’m still learning! There are a few things I left out because I have constant #mombrain and either forgot or wasn’t able to get it together in time. Things like my favorite mini Lenox nativity set (I have no idea where to place it this year, since Max will shatter it), the Pottery Barn Kids advent/Christmas countdown calendar (that is sewn completely crooked but I refused to send back because I opened it ON the first day of advent and was determined to have a cute calendar… ), our favorite Christmas pillows and outdoor lights, etc. I wanted to wait until everything was perfect, but if I waited, I knew I’d never do it and I’ve wanted to make videos FOREVER now.
The first year we were married, Eddie surprised me and bought a tree, decorated it and made his man cave apartment a winter wonderland for us. It was actually the second tree he bought, because the first was waaaay too big, but final sale. So we ended up with two trees! That year, we put up two trees and bought lots of ornaments at Michael’s and Joann’s. That’s where the majority of our ornaments are from, along with a few Martha Stewart from Macy’s that are about eight years old and some new ones from Michael’s this year that I bought for the white tree.
I bought the white tree last year at Treetopia on sale after Christmas. The copper/blue tree is from Target this year, and by far my favorite one. The red/green decorated tree is from Frontgate and will hopefully last us a million years.

My mom made our house incredibly magical when I was growing up. In fact, she still does and I’m hoping that I can get a video of hers before these 12 days are up! She’d stay up all night for days to turn the house into a Christmas wonderland for my brothers and me. It was the most magical time EVER.
Needless to say, I’ve been a complete Christmas freak since I was a kid. When school started up again, I’d wake up early and go downstairs just so I could sit by the Christmas tree in January before we got on the bus. It was my absolute favorite!
Eddie and I were determined to make our house as Christmasy as we could for Max this year. Eddie decorated gingerbread houses for eight hours because he is a perfectionist, and even set up his own tree downstairs in the basement that I didn’t get to capture. It has been so much fun and I love sitting under the lights every night.
Enjoy! And scroll down for giveaway #1!











GIVEAWAY!
Every day for the next 12 days until Christmas I’ll be giving away some of my favorite things. I want to show every bit of my appreciation for you guys sticking here with me for over seven years, reading the rambles that I write and making my recipes and leaving comments and supporting me 100%. Even when I write horrific run-on sentences and use 34 exclamation points in one post. And say “literally.” Ugh.
THANK YOU so much for being here. You changed my life and I am forever grateful for you.
Today I’m giving away a mirrorless camera! If you read my favorites post, you know I use one all the time and I even shot a few pieces of the video here with mine. I was super excited to giveaway the Samsung nx300 that I always talk about, but unfortunately it’s no longer available. Instead, I’m giving away the comparable Sony alpha a6000, which I’ve even considered switching to. This giveaway is not sponsored or affiliated with anyone and is given by me. It is open to EVERYONE EVERYWHERE! Wahoo.

To enter: leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite holiday memory!
For a second entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.
For a third entry: follow howsweeteats on instagram. Leave a comment telling me you did so.
The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!) so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo


1,439 Comments on “12 Days of Christmas! I Christmas House Tour Video & Giveaway. {CLOSED}”
I have followed you on insta for quite some time now!
And now I am following your youtube channel!
My favorite holiday memory is piling into the car with my family and driving 10 hours to visit my grandparents for Christmas. We would sing carols and watch Christmas movies on the little tv with a VHS plater that my mom cleverly attached between the two front seats of the van with bungee cords. Gotta love the 90s.
P.S. Thank you for the giveaway! I am subscribed to your channel on YouTube and following you on Instagram too <3
My daughters 1st Christmas, 34 yrs ago.
She was born on December 6th and she was still so tiny, but I remember how her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the tree lights….and I just knew that every other Christmas before this, would pale in comparison.
Up to that point it was always what ‘I’ wanted.
After that, it never would be again.
And that’s okay, because having her and her brothers that followed, and now my 2 grandsons – well, the best part of Christmas will always be watching that magic sparkle of Christmas lights in their eyes.
Me and my sister getting roller-skates and playing outside for the entire christmas holidays.
My favorite Christmas memory is singing (off tune, no background music) carols with my family, then reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. I can still pretty much recite that book from memory!
I follow you on Instagram :)
I bought matching sweat shirts for my whole family with an inside jok on it. We were adorable!!
My favorite memory is my mom always made us sit at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning and we couldn’t go downstairs until we heard Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer start playing!
I follow you on Insta :)
and I subscribed to your YouTube channel!
Subscribed on YouTube! (Made an account just so I could)
Youtube and insta- subscribed!! ?
I totally drool over your Instagram daily and adore your writing!
My favorite Christmas memory is the elf that my dad created for my brother and I as kids. (Waaay before elf on the shelf was a thing) his name is Sqiggy and he would leave us letters and little christmas related gifts all through out December!! I still have all the letters and love reading them now as an adult! My daughter Penelope is right around Max’s age so I can’t wait to carry on the tradition with her and create new memories!
Gahhhh awesome giveaway! My favorite memory is Christmas morning as a kid – waking up, going through the stockings, breakfast and then the gifts (one by one!).
My favorite holiday memory is when my parents took my siblings and I to Connecticut (we live in Georgia) for my grandmother’s last christmas. We never travel up north for Christmas and it was so special to spend the holiday with our whole extended family, especially my amazing grandmother.
Going to midnight mass is my favorite Christmas memory, especially those years when we came outside and it was snowing
met my wife on Christmas Eve 1979 never looked back
I follow you on instagram!
My favorite Christmas memory is the decorating party we have the weekend after Thanksgiving. My family all comes together that weekend to officially kick off the holiday season, and we bake treats, pull out all the Christmas decorations, and play our favorite Christmas music while we decorate!
I just subscribed to your YouTube channel, and I’ve been following you on Instagram for a while. You even commented on a post of mine once and I was so starstruck!
My favourite holiday memory was snorkelling with whale sharks in Mexico 2 years ago. I am terrified of the deep sea but am so glad I did it
One of my favorite holiday memories is going to Christmas eve service with my family
A fantastic misty Milford Sound in New Zealand when we had dolphins swimmingand playing beside the boat for about 30 minutes.
My Favourite Christmas memory is 9 years ago my husband proposed to me after hiding the ring in my Christmas cracker.
My favorite holiday memory is my uncle making bacon wrapped brown sugar and cinnamon chicken thighs to have as an appetizer for Christmas dinner and watching everyone devour them! I now make them for my family and I love that every year I forget how GOOD they really are until I smell them getting bubbly in the oven and take that first bite. My sister always tries to get me to make them throughout the year but I can ONLY make them for Christmas dinner. :)
I totally feel you about getting up early to sit by your mom’s Christmas tree as a kid. My mom also went all out on holiday decorations. I’d actually beg my parents to let me sleep under the tree with the lights still on, all glowy and beautiful. Of course, they’d end up scooping me back to bed a short while later, but it’s still a magical time of year. Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite Christmas memory is now from two years ago, our daughter’s first Christmas, and watching her crawl around all the wrappings and tissues from Santa ;) Seeing the holiday through their experience makes it all the more magical.
My favorite christmas memory was always cutting down a tree in the woods and decorating it at home with my family.
My fav holiday memory is opening pjs on Christmas Eve. I plan on having the same tradition with my future children!
I think my favorite Christmas memory was the year when my kids helped decorate the tree and the house when they were 3-4 years old. And the joy at unwrapping presents on Christmas morning.
I follow you on instagram!
I follow on instagram!
My favorite holiday memories revolve around simple traditions. Having my entire family at my parent’s house (4 siblings, plus all their kids now!), going to church on Christmas eve, and driving by “the house” that goes all out on Christmas lights.
Definitely hot chocolate by the fire!
I follow you on instagram, of course! I look forward to my notifications that say you’ve posted!
Going to canada as a child to visit my auntie for Christmas
I loved decorating the Saturday after thanksgiving every year! So I still do it with my own family.
And I do follow you on Instagram ?
Your house looks stunning.
Your food is visually stunning. My kids and I love to make Christmas crafts!
My grandparents lived across the street growing up. We would open presents at our house on Christmas morning the run across the street and spend the rest of the day playing with our new toys and eating delicious food. ?
As a child we would decorate the tree as a family and would always drink eggnog and eat pfeffernusse cookies as we did so. I still make my husband do it to this day!
(I already follow you on Instagram, and I just followed you on YouTube. :) )
Hi Jessica! I left you a comment on YouTube this morning completely oblivious to this giveaway. I have your notifications on because I’m a YouTube freak. I love your videos! You’re doing a great job, no shakiness from what I see. Maybe I’m just as ADD as you lol…I’m off to Instagram to share this exact same comment so pick me, pick me! Xoxo, your faithful follower/food blogger soul sista <3
My favorite Christmas memory is making sugar cookies with my grandma every year- now I make them and give out cookie boxes :)
My favorite memory is decorating the tree with my mom and brother every year!
I subscribed!
I follow on instagram!
Love seeing the different trees and ornaments!! So festive. I have now signed up for following you on You tube. Thanks!!
My favorite holiday memory is spending Christmas Eve evening at my grandparent’s house!
My favorite holiday memory is waiting at the top of the stairs with my sisters before opening presents.
I follow on Instagram
I subscribe on YouTube