Christmas Hairstyles

I know people who cry when they get their haircut. I'm not sure why. Maybe they don't like their new hairstyle, maybe they were attached to their hair. I don't know. I'm not very emotional that way. I've done things I loved to my hair (I loved when I dyed it black) and things I've hated (spiral perm...I looked like a poodle). But it grows out...it's just hair. I also don't like spending a lot of money on haircuts. Seems like a waste when I don't really do anything with my hair. I like wearing it down. So I trim it (sometimes) in the winter to keep it healthy and cut it right before summer. Cutting my hair once a year seems reasonable and usually there's enough to donate to Locks of Love. My hair is just not that important to me, but it's definately imporant to someone going through chemo.

So wanting to teach Melodie that hair is just hair so she won't be one of those girls that crys over a bad haircut, and wanting to teach her that there are people who need things more than we do, we've never cut her hair. She is growing it for Locks of Love. She used to have bangs, and we did cut those, but she's decided to grow those out. We've also trimmed her hair, but never a major haircut.

I am not very girlie. So when Mel's hair started getting long, I had no idea what to do with it. I could do a half up, half down thing, pigtails and a french braid. The problem with Melodie's hair is I couldn't just brush it and then let it go. 10 min. later it looks like she was running wild through the jungle. So I turned to the internet. I found some great sites with great ideas for hair. My favorite is: http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/. The styles are cute and she gives clear direction. I also like: http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/, http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/, http://www.girlydohairstyles.com/. And then, of course, I search pinterest.

Melodie is really good when I do her hair. Sometimes she watches youtube videos while I do her hair because then I can easily switch to the instructions. However, if I'm making something up or doing one I've done several times then we do her hair in the bathroom. We've had some of our best conversations while I do her hair.

I know I posted holiday hairstyles before (4th of July Hairstyles), but I thought some background as to why I do this would be nice. I love holidays. I love doing Melodie's hair. Last year on pinterest I happened upon hairstyles that were themed to holidays and I knew I had to try. For Christmas last year I only tried one:

I took inspiration from here: http://millermanes.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-tree-and-giveaway.html but really felt the tree needed a trunk. I also wasn't ready to try threading the ribbon criss cross through the tree. Not bad for a first attempt.

This year I went a little crazy. First I did this:

I came up with it on my own. Melodie picked out the ribbon. It's a work in progress. Thank goodness people still got that it was suppose to be a candy cane. It would have been better with a twist instead of a braid, but I'm terrible with twists. I will definately try another one next year.

Next I tried a wreath.

I got my inspiration from here: http://redpunzel.blogspot.com/2009/12/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like.html. I changed it quite a bit. This turned out to be my favorite. I love how the bow looks from the front. Next time I'll work on evening out the wreath. Her hair is so much thicker on top that it made the wreath uneven. Still, I liked it and so did she. Unfortunately it didn't last like because Melodie ran into another kid during recess. The bow and pom poms didn't make it through the visit at the nurses office. You'll also see the lovely black eye in the next picutres.

Then I thought I'd try the tree closer to the inspiration that I used for the one last year.

I still think it needs a single trunk. But I love the beads as ornaments. Melodie loved the pom pom tree topper.

The Rudolph bun came next:

The inspiration came from here: http://princesspiggies.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-hairstyles-rudolph.html. This one I actually tried to copy, but I'm not very good at buns. I unsuccessfully tried the sock bun. The I just tried the bun the only way I knew how, but then Rudolph's nose ended up crooked. The kids at Mel's school loved this one. I am going to work on buns this year so it turns out better next time.

I did manage a sock bun for an ugly sweater party we went to:

but it fell out shortly after we got to the party.

And just to show how beautiful her hair is:

Next up will be hair full of hearts. Of course, the baby is due on Valentine's Day, so we'll see. But I hope I'm able to. I have some great ones I want to try.