a merry olives christmas with friends 2021

After an entire year of quiet on the blog, we are back to share our first COMMUNAL CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST FOR 2021!!! I had the idea last Christmas and excitedly kept it to myself all year. It almost didn't happen because I've been logged off IG since November, but after coming back for my birthday on the 20th (yay!) and my sister repeatedly asking me when the playlist was coming (love you Michi!!), I decided to go for it and am so so happy I did!

Thank you to everyone for sending in your responses! This is most songs I've had in a playlist yet! It's over 2.5 hours long, covers several genres of music, and has songs in three languages. Can you guess which ones? haha I hope you're as excited as I am to hear your picks!! I rearranged the order of the songs so some of your choices are not back to back, but some are! If you have Spotify Premium the best way to listen is straight through. If you don't, I believe it shuffles the songs for you.

My hope and prayer is that this playlist brings a little bit of cheer to you this season, even in the midst of loss, canceled holiday plans, sickness and pain in our world. 

This is why I am so thankful for Jesus - He is our Light, our Strength and our Song; He is the reason for Christmas and the hope we have and carry in our lives no matter what. Wishing you a very merry Christmas everyone! 

With so much love, The Olives

2021 Contributors: G, Fabz, Hannah, Renata, Priscilla, Kevo, Silvia, Jess, Michelle, Joe, Bianca, Lu, Ana, Ashley,  Tia Ana, Yonna, Merc, Kez, Juju, Julie, Ellie, Melissa, Thressa, 

Greg, Taylor, Kristen, and Milla and Les!

to the season ahead

2020 has been quite the year for all of us! So this Christmas, I wanted our card to encompass hope for what's to come! Because we have Jesus, we have hope. I am so full of gratitude this season! The best is yet to come.

**Thanks to Artifact Uprising for another beautiful card!

a merry olives christmas 2020!

Miami, 2019

You guys! CHRISTMAS IS HERE!!!

I know some of you have already started celebrating and your house décor has been up for weeks! I cast no judgment this year - we all need a little more joy in our lives and Christmas time tends to bring us just that! We have joy because we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! And to be honest, I don't know how we would have got through the hardships this year would bring without His real and tangible presence in our lives. Also, lighting up the tree, baking all the sweets, singing and dancing to Christmas tunes, getting together with family and gift giving and receiving also make this time of year full of fun and cheer! See what I did there? lol

Speaking of happy things, on this beautiful and quieter than usual thanksgiving evening, I wanted to share for the very first time, released earlier than ever before, our annual Christmas playlist! Woo!!! This year I went all out, adding bits and pieces of our favorite things into this playlist, and there are a few things to notice that make it even more special! For one, this is our longest song list in 7 years! We have 30 songs in total, honoring a very big 30th birthday coming up for me in a few weeks! Also, this playlist is dominated by female voices, from Tori Kelly to Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton too. It wasn't even intentional at first, but I noticed I was adding more and more female artists and decided to keep going as a celebrating of how far women in this country have come this year. Our first female vice president in 2020! YASSS

Another fun detail comes from Jonathan Groff and Leslie Odom being on the list because last month we FINALLY watched Hamilton on Disney plus and loved it so much! Thanks Julie, Dre & Ellie! I brought back some classic voices and songs I've chosen from previous years that I love so much like Hillsong Worships "Peace Upon The Earth" and added Gungor who is on most playlists I've made, and Bing Crosby too! There's an homage to Home Alone and somehow, I found a Christmas song from Barlow girl, who only a few girls from when I was 10 years old would appreciate! Jess, Angie, Fabz and Michelle...that one's for you!! It shouldn't come as a surprise that I could never go without some folky sounds, so She & Him and Handsome & Gretyl did just the job. Finally, one of the artists that got me through my lowest of the low season that 2020 handed me, Maverick City, released a Christmas album at midnight! And that was the final addition to our very meaningful and grand Christmas playlist.

I hope you enjoy our Merry Olives Christmas picks this year! Soak it up and play it loud, IT'S CHRISTMAS!

Can't get enough? Listen to our previous Christmas playlists here: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

a merry olives christmas 2018

Its here! Our 5th annual Christmas playlist has arrived, and its a good one. I brought some friend and family recommendations into the mix this year and love how it came out. We have Jessie J for the first time which Julie loves, The Oh Hellos who Michelle recommended, with a few of my favs who came out with Christmas albums this year (YES!) like Ingrid Michaelson and John Legend. I added one song from our Anthro Christmas playlist too! And of course, we have the classics like Nat King Cole, Andy Williams and for the very first time, Lionel Richie! We cant have an olives Christmas playlist without worship and folk music too, giving it a a pretty chill and worshipful vibe overall. Its our longest one yet, full of all the good stuff, and I hope you love it as much as I do and receive the feeling of hope through these songs. 

So many classic "Christmas" tunes have nothing to do with Advent, but my goal with these playlists is always the same, remembering the true joy of the season, Jesus coming and bringing everlasting hope to us all. The first and last songs are always a big deal to me when choosing the order. The first is typically super joyous, while the last encompasses the entire playlist. Here are the lyrics to the last song from our 2018 collection called 

"Baby Son" by the amazing John Mark McMillan:

We thought You'd come with a crown of gold
A string of pearls and a cashmere robe
We thought You’d clinch an iron fist
And rain like fire on the politics

But without a sword, no armored guard
But common born in mother's arms
The government now rests upon
The shoulders of this Baby Son

Have you no room inside your heart
The inn is full, the out is dark
But upon profane shines sacred sun
Not ashamed to be one of us

But without a sword, no armored guard
But common born in mother's arms
The government now rests upon
The shoulders of this Baby Son

Gloria, Allelu
Christ the Lord
We’ve longed for You
Gloria, Allelu
Christ the Lord
We've longed for You
Gloria, Allelu
Christ the Lord
We've longed for You

Enjoy it, blast it, sing your hearts out. Christmas time is here <3

Listen to our past Christmas playlists here: 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

how lovely are your branches

Our first tree in our new home featuring lots of blurry photos!

My first thought when we got home was,"we don't have much, but we have a tree!"

We care about the important things, obviously ;)

Everyone must've had the same idea the Sunday after Thanksgiving because this was our first time ever waiting in line to pick a tree! 

What felt like very long drive home after three failed attempts to find the right tree! The first three places we went to only had baby Christmas trees, but we may all remember what happened the last time we got one of those :))))) Needless to say, we like tall ones over here. This years requirement, full at the bottom...

^ My man ^

Perfect placement, I think we did good.

That first cup of coffee in the Christmas mug that is just CUTE!

and fun timer cam photos because they're the best!

HAPPY DECEMBER 1ST FAM! THE BEST TIME OF YEAR IS HERE!

Merry!

Merry Christmas eve eve to all! We cheated a little this year and used a year old photo from last Decembers NYC shoot with our fav fabianephotography for our Christmas card. I think it was a good decision. :) There's a lot to be thankful for, but above all is this: the best is yet to come BECAUSE Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago. 

Merry & Blessed

a merry olives christmas 2017

12 days before Christmas seems like a good time to finally share our annual Christmas playlist with the world! (better late than never right?) Truth be told, I had this playlist ready by the first week of December. Then G surprised me with tickets to Jersey to attend my bffs baby shower (I mean, sweetest man EVER) and everything else went out the window until the trip.

So, here it is! This years playlist is a little different than years past. Definitely more mellow and worshipful because personally, thats just been what my hearts needed this year; a lot of worship and surrender before God through so much learning and stretching. I still have questions and sometimes doubts, but now with the end of the year soon approaching, I celebrate the one who has been there with me, with us, through it all. I hope you enjoy...

 

Previous merry olives playlists:

2014 (Shhh, this one might still be my favorite. Just don't tell the others!)

2015

2016

a SoCal Christmas

This. Our first Christmas away from our families. It was strange and new and lovely all at the same time. Strange, not being with our loved ones in Jersey for the Christmas Eve service at church and dinner afterwards. Plus, opening gifts at my parents home then going back to Tia Ana's for lunch together again Christmas day. New, celebrating over three days. First, with the kids on the 23rd, then with my Tia and Tio on the 24th, and finally with a fabulous couple on the 25th whose lifestyle is traveling the world. Pretty fabulous right? Lovely, because we had breakfast outside all week and celebrated the incarnation of Christ together. May this be the first of many warm Christmases, and to next year - when we have our families near by. Oh I'm hopeful!

Christmas Eve sunset

 Tia made us an amazing dinner! Afterwards, we got ready to go to a candlelight service at a church g and I ended up disliking a lot. Let's just say, it was a church where you don't have to believe in Jesus or the Bible or anything really. We made the most out of the situation and by playing with our candles. Opps. :)

 Christmas morning!

just taking it all in.

We love Bob & Mary! They've traveled to over 100 countries in their lifetime and are still going strong. #rolemodels

nap time.

joyeux

I LOVE our Christmas card this year because it is so fitting of the past 365 days. We choose this card for many reasons. For one, we've traveled more than ever this year so finding something in French reflected that highlight for us. Two, in the stresses and trails God has continued to guide us back to more and more joy. In many ways this was our hardest, but best year. In the studying, traveling, landing new jobs, leaving old jobs, struggling to find a church to call home, working out our marriage and faith - in it all, God gave joy and hope. So we love this card! It's a testimony to God's great goodness and love. And for the first time, the front doesn't read "Merry Christmas" like the last three do. Sweet victory! (see our 2011, 2012, and 2013 Christmas cards HERE)

Hey Myra! She loves getting in on the holiday action.

Since I probably won't be getting back to the blog until then, Merry Christmas everyone! Our hearts desire is for the love of Christ to always bring you joy, in the struggling and the prospering. We thank you Jesus for hope, for joy, and for salvation in You. For becoming a man and relating to us in the most personal way possible. Emmanuel, God with us; we love you.

west is best: our first week

Unbelievably...it's three days till Christmas, we've been in Cali. for almost one week and my birthday has already come and gone. OH MY GOODNESS! Time, you are one slick creature of God. Thinking of time as a creature is so much fun btw! Think about it, God created time! Anywaysssssss we have been loving the Cali. life so far, although it still feels like we're on vacation and that we should be on a plane back to 30 degree weather in Chi any day now. But there's no ticket back and we're here in the 60's! Really, it feels like a dream. We love being in the LA area because there is so much to do and see. From dreamy sunsets at the beach to celebrity sightings - a lot has happened the past six days. On the constant, I have been snapping pictures on my iPhone of everything because I never want to forget our first week in the west coast; these pictures symbolize God's faithfulness to us once more and bits & pieces of our first few days.

* Huntington Beach *

I was VERY excited to be driving around Huntington! The beachy vibes in December throw me off in the best way.

 One afternoon we didn't have the car, we wandered through California State nearby Tia Ro's.

We found a cute Japanese garden on campus that had such charm

pre-birthday boat ride around Naples, then dinner the next night at Tia's favorite Mexican place which was amazing! Not pictured: having my first drink in years & getting pretty dizzy afterwards. :)

the sunset that night, to die for.

* 24th in Laguna Beach *

24  24  24  24  24  24  24  24  24  24  24

With quick pics before hitting the road. 

<3

My one birthday request was going to the beach, so G had the idea to spend the day in Laguna. Yep, he's so wise! Cold weather babies will relate (who grew up in true four seasons states) that being able to not not shiver on your day is a gift within itself! Adding the beach, to me, makes it perfection.

Accidental picture turned favorite,

Lunch at my favorite restaurant in Laguna, with a view.

After driving down the PCH during sunset we stopped at Huntington to get our toes in the sand.

* Sunday funday in Hollywood *

 One Church International in the a.m. As we were walking toward the entrance G sees Common outside talking casually to people walking out of the first service! Talk about being star-struck! When in Hollywood... :)

The Grove in the p.m.

^  This store. So expensive, and the clothes so gorgeous! ^

reallyyyyy wanted to take this pink hat home with me. But in best anthro fashion, we wait for a sale.

Trying on glasses in the Toms booth! Loved these.

Of course we found amazing Brazilian BBQ in the middle of the Grove with a long line out the door. Oh, we waited!

Week one, we liked you a lot. 

Andddd it's almost Christmas! Jingle bells, jingle bells...