Holiday Giveaway (Closed)
This weekend, I finished up my holiday decorating; I’m officially in the Christmas spirit. So, I’m absolutely thrilled to announce my first holiday giveaway! This year, I’ve teamed up with four fabulous female-owned shops to give one of you an extra special celebration.

Pillowcases by MINI-malist. The giveaway includes a $50 gift card toward the shop.
One lucky winner will receive all of the following prizes:
- A $50 gift card to MINI-malist
- A midi loom and yarn kit in bold, neutral, or pastel from J.Villa Workshop
- Calligraphic mug, ornament, and an extra Christmas surprise from Pretty Sugar Co.
- An 8×10 photographic print in an 11×14 mat from photographer Ashley Schaffert

At left: Midi Loom/Tool/Yarn Kit from J.Villa Workshop, one of the giveaway prizes.
How to Enter
To enter for a chance to win:
1. Head to Instagram and follow me, as well as all participating shops (links below).
@tracingpaper
@minimalist_shop
@jvillaworkshop
@prettysugarco
@morninggloryblog
2. Leave a comment on this post, listing your Instagram handle and telling us what your favorite holiday tradition is.
Hurry, hurry! You only have two days to enter. The winner will be chosen at 8pm EST on Wednesday, December 14th. Good luck!

At top: Print available in the Pretty Sugar Co shop. At bottom: Hand-lettered ornament and mug, both giveaway items.
MORE ABOUT PARTICIPATING SHOPS
MINI-malist
At MINI-malist, we aim to design and manufacture functional and timeless children’s clothing, accessories, and home goods with the motto, “less is more”. Our children’s clothing line bridges both genders and provides functional clothing that both kids and parents love. The newly launched home goods line utilizes simple shapes in unique patterns to sophisticate one’s home/nursery.
J.Villa Workshop
Joslyn Villalpando started J.Villa Workshop to bring her craft love to a wider community. She curates craft gatherings around the city of Chicago: weaving in a brewery, embroidery in a cocktail bar, block printing in a pie shop, and more! There’s nothing better than coming together to make something with others.
Pretty Sugar Co.
A designer and calligrapher, Gina’s passion is to create elegant wedding stationery, home goods, and all things pretty. A lefty, she creates all of her hand-lettered items, from prints to mugs to household decor.
Ashley Schaffert
Ashley Schaffert is a Buffalo based photographer and writer. She finds inspiration in the beauty of landscapes and aims to capture the moments that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Turbulent print by Ashley Schaffert, one of the giveaway prizes.
GIVEAWAY RULES
Only open to U.S. residents, age 18 and over, sorry! You may only enter the giveaway once. Duplicate comments will be deleted and disqualified. The winner must comment on this post (answering the question above) and follow @tracingpaper, @minimalist_shop, @jvillaworkshop, @prettysugarco, and @morninggloryblog on Instagram. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram. By entering, you confirm that you are at least 18 and agree to Instagram’s terms of use. Winner will be chosen at random from the comments and will be notified within 48 hours after selection.
{All photos of prizes provided by shop owners and used with permission.}
December 12, 2016 @ 8:25 am
@heartsandthoughts.com
Keeping ethnically traditions alive with the kiddos. They loving learning and have fun with things like Swedish wooden horses, advent candles and Krampus even! Yikes!
December 19, 2016 @ 12:20 pm
That’s so great, I love that!!
December 12, 2016 @ 8:51 am
Love this! I followed everyone on IG (@sj_gill) – keeping my fingers crossed for this one!
December 12, 2016 @ 8:52 am
Oh! And my favorite holiday tradition is getting and giving Christmas Eve pajamas to wait for Santa in 😉
December 12, 2016 @ 9:48 am
This is the best Jess! My favorite holiday tradition is stockings! I’ve always loved to find tiny little perfect things for people, and I get to do it so much for the holidays! My IG handle is @des_amb_moore
December 12, 2016 @ 12:38 pm
My favorite tradition is our self on the Shelf, Curtis returning. Baking Christmas cookies and watching Christmas movies or the my kids. 🎅💛🎄
December 12, 2016 @ 1:15 pm
My favorite holiday tradition is going home to family and going to the Xmas eve service at church. I love when we all sing Silent Night with lit candles, so pretty! @Kate016x
December 19, 2016 @ 12:21 pm
That’s mine too, Katie! 🙂
December 12, 2016 @ 2:13 pm
My favorite holiday tradition is starting NEW holiday traditions 😉 from making new ornaments for the tree, to collecting snow globes – it’s the perfect time of year !
December 12, 2016 @ 2:14 pm
@cricket_renee
December 12, 2016 @ 2:13 pm
@cbear126
My favorite tradition is opening gifts at my grandparents house. My grandpa always waits till the end and pretends like he forgot something. He brings out one last gift for my grandma. It’s not really a “surprise” anymore but it always makes her and the rest of my family smile.
December 19, 2016 @ 12:22 pm
How sweet is your grandpa! <3
December 12, 2016 @ 2:16 pm
@sblat9
What a cute idea Jess! My favorite holiday tradition is my parents annual Christmas Eve party! Both sides of my family, all of our friends and neighbors come over. It’s just great to have everyone I love under one roof spending time together (with lots of food, alcohol, and craziness too)!
December 19, 2016 @ 12:24 pm
That sounds like the best, Sam! Hope you have a great celebration this year!
December 12, 2016 @ 3:02 pm
What a great idea!! My favorite holiday tradition is spending Christmas eve with the family! Every year each “kid” – no matter the age 😉 – gets a brand new pair of Christmas pajamas and it’s the one gift I look most forward to each year! (Instagram handle: @TaylorLeigh_G)
December 12, 2016 @ 4:23 pm
This is the fist Christmas that I am not with my family.. so I am very sad and I am going to getting out new Christmas pjs and making gigerbread houses.
xo
December 19, 2016 @ 12:27 pm
Aw, I’m so sorry! What a great idea to start some new traditions for yourself to make it a wonderful holiday regardless. Merry Christmas!
December 12, 2016 @ 4:43 pm
Hi! I love eating crab cakes on christmas eve! @breeanelyse
December 12, 2016 @ 6:50 pm
I love singing carols!
December 12, 2016 @ 6:50 pm
I love singing carols! My Instagram handle is sarahbearcrafts!
December 12, 2016 @ 8:04 pm
I cannot believe how beautiful and sophisticated these pieces are! It’s so cool to see you collabing for giveaway! Keep up the great work!
December 19, 2016 @ 12:27 pm
Thanks Lucy!
December 12, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
Jess, I love this post!
My favorite holiday traditions include both those from Christmas and Hanukkah.
During Hanukkah I loved having my grandmas latkas and lighting the candles with her.
At Christmas time, my favorite traditions are decorating the tree with my sister and mom while dancing to Christmas songs. We also have Christmas breakfast every morning with my grandparents, and get bagels from our favorite bagel shop in town!
@porps636
December 19, 2016 @ 12:28 pm
Sounds fantastic, Jess! Yum!
December 12, 2016 @ 9:21 pm
No question, baking traditional family cookies is my favorite tradition!
December 12, 2016 @ 9:29 pm
Julseverett on Instagram!
Favorite Christmas tradition is a new one I’m starting this year I’m giving my children a T-shirt that says “be kind” and asking them to do one kind thing every month during the year of 2017 write them down put them in an envelope and put it on my Christmas tree for me to open next year .
December 19, 2016 @ 5:50 pm
What a lovely and thoughtful tradition to start!!
December 13, 2016 @ 6:50 am
Love your blog, Jess. And I also love your mom, but that’s another story for another time : ) Our family’s/my favorite holiday tradition would be getting our Christmas tree right off our tree farm. When the day comes, Dad fires up the tractor; we scramble to find the hand-saws (no chainsaws permitted); a pot of something (chili, soup, sloppy joes) simmers on the stove for our “warm-up” meal afterwards, and bundled in our tree-finding finest, we take to the woods. The trees that make the “cut” (horrible pun, sorry) are ones planted by our own hands years before. The farm usually offers up at least three trees a year to fulfill family and extended family needs, but we’ve had years where five-plus trees left the farm. Not sure if it is the gathering together, the time to talk as we walk to the woods, the unexpected sighting of deer or wild turkeys, or just that we are getting our Christmas trees; all these aspects and more play a role in making this tradition a favorite. And come spring, we plant at least ten more pines to ensure the tradition can continue. The cyclical aspect is so comforting, as is the meal waiting for us when we return from the woods. My IG account is @susannutter11 Merry Christmas!!
December 19, 2016 @ 5:53 pm
I love this, Susan. What a beautiful tradition! I’d love to start something like this for my own children to enjoy someday. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for reading. And, I agree…my mom is pretty great too! 🙂 Merry Christmas!
December 13, 2016 @ 12:25 pm
This is so fun!!!
My favorite holiday tradition is kind of a bizarre one: my Mom has started silly string fights after the gifts are opened for the last 3 years in a row, and it’s a blast! I love seeing the kids look at her completely bewildered that they are not only allowed to spray each other, but encouraged! It’s not even a Christmas-y tradition, but it’s always a great time.
December 19, 2016 @ 5:53 pm
Oh my gosh, how fun is your mom?! I love that!!
December 13, 2016 @ 1:02 pm
@brooklynofvt My favorite tradition is to take my grandmother out to lunch to her favorite crepe restaurant in Quebec City- just two gals out on the town. She can’t really leave her home anymore as she just turned 97 (!!) so this year I”’m thinking of making crepes in her tiny kitchen instead. I’m looking around for linens that match the restaurant’s so I can recreate as much of the “feel” as possible :))
December 19, 2016 @ 5:54 pm
Awww, that is so sweet, Catherine! Enjoy the time with your grandmother.
December 13, 2016 @ 1:39 pm
@jfitzsie– eating my mom’s fudge while decorating the xmas tree 🙂
December 13, 2016 @ 2:51 pm
This is an awesome giveaway! Love finding out about these local shops. My favorite holiday tradition is seeing my family, going ice skating, and decorating the house. That’s more than one but I have too many to choose one. My Instagram is @chessabond
Francesca
December 13, 2016 @ 3:34 pm
Love all the female entrepreneurs!!
Besides trimming the tree and secretly loving the holiday radio stations, my favorite holiday tradition is to prepare 12 courses for our spirited Christmas Eve. Tradition has it that we eat at the sign of a first star, and when I was a kid I was always on the lookout for it.
December 13, 2016 @ 10:03 pm
My favorite Christmas tradition is when my Mom gives my sister and I our first gift on Christmas Eve and it’s always a brand new ornament and Christma pajamas 😁 IG- @theroamingbuffalo
December 13, 2016 @ 10:41 pm
@acullenstale
I am a new follower to your insta page! My favorite holiday tradition would have to baking sugar cookies and decorating them with the kids to leave for Santa Christmas Eve night. It’s always so much fun and I love seeing how creative they are. Truly magical.
December 19, 2016 @ 5:56 pm
Thanks for following, Stephany! What a fun tradition – I always loved doing that as a kid myself!
December 14, 2016 @ 12:03 am
I followed everyone on insta (britt_lynn4)! I watch the classic Christmas Vacation movie with my family every year! We actually just watched it tonight. Merry Christmas and God Bless!!
December 19, 2016 @ 5:56 pm
That’s my favorite too! I could probably recite every word. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas, Brittni!
December 14, 2016 @ 8:28 am
My favorite holiday tradition is walking our dogs on the frozen lake on Christmas Day!
December 14, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
My favorite tradition is my boys choosing and wrapping a gift to give each other. On Christmas Eve they exchange them just like my sis and I did as kids.
December 14, 2016 @ 6:02 pm
My boys buy a gift for each other, wrap it and exchange on Christmas Eve. Instagram homebloggingmom
December 14, 2016 @ 6:03 pm
Candle light service at church on Christmas Eve!
December 14, 2016 @ 6:04 pm
Also followed all on instagram @josiahsmommy85
December 14, 2016 @ 6:13 pm
My favorite tradition is going to Christmas Eve mass and then munchies and m board games with the family
December 14, 2016 @ 6:35 pm
My favorite holiday tradition is baking excessive new treats with my sister after months apart! We love to make a mess and catch up all at once. Sweet memories as we transition into new phases of life.
Insta handle: @mallorystoecker
December 19, 2016 @ 5:57 pm
That’s such a great idea, Mallory. How sweet! Enjoy the time with your sister.
December 14, 2016 @ 6:36 pm
My favorite holiday tradition is putting up my Christmas tree the day after thanksgiving when my brother and sister and I are all home together from college! @auraoflauraa
December 14, 2016 @ 6:57 pm
We love visiting the local Christmas Tree Farm, listening to holiday tunes all month long, and indulging in all the sweets!
December 14, 2016 @ 6:58 pm
@melissaclickphotography