Sponsored with love by Marks & Spencer
Photography by Briana Lindsey Photography

You know what I love about the holidays? Oh so many things. Family time, travel, good food, delicious desserts, getting dressed up in family holiday attire, happiness...oh yeah, and did I mention holiday gifts? Those are pretty fun too. I don't know about you but we attend lots of holiday parties through the holiday season -- family parties, work parties, parties with friends. And if you're anything like me, you probably moan at the thought of choosing something to wear. Cute flat boots are my go-to this time of year but I like getting a little dressed up for holiday parties because it’s just fun!

I love shopping, don't get me wrong, but here's the thing: It seems that I can never find the right balance -- I want to wear something nice, but not too dressy because if I'm going to buy something, I definitely don't want it to be a one and done. I want to get lots and lots of use out of it, even after the holiday season.

Oh yeah, and I definitely don't want to be scouring the mall and every online store in the books to find an outfit for every member of my family. So I went on a hunt to find holiday party wear for my husband, myself AND Ava that:

1. All came from the same online store (because no one likes shopping with a toddler and especially, no one like dressing rooms with a toddler)

and

2. I could dress up or dress down for wear now and through the holidays and then turn into casual wear for months and years down the line.

Sounds like a pretty unrealistic feat, huh? You better believe I'm a super mom because I totally found the best of both worlds at Marks and Spencer.

Yep, I found holiday wear for my entire family, dressing us from head to toe, AND I found so many items we could dress up or dress down and I'm going to show you how we did it.

Holiday Attire for the Entire Family

Me: I purchased this gorgeous long sleeve grey dress with the most perfect gold accented buttons and dressed it up with a rose gold necklace and the most gorgeous pair of heels you've ever seen.

Frank: We dressed up a collared shirt and slacks with a pair of dress shoes and a wintery sweater. (Psst...they've got non-iron shirts AND a 30% off deal going on right now for men's luxury shirts so hurry on over and snag a couple!)

Ava: We took this darling corduroy pinafore and dressed it up with a pair of tights, boots and that darling ruffled long sleeve shirt.

Take a peek at these holiday party looks and then scroll on down to see how we dressed them down (using the same clothing items) for lots and lots of wear far beyond the holidays.

Dressing it Down

We used the same items of clothing you saw above but dressed them down so we can get lots of every day use out of them even after the holidays. Because of course, we don't want a one-and-done situation happening and I'm sure you’d all have to agree with that one.

Me: I threw on a cozy white scarf and the comfiest boots I've ever owned to dress down the outfit I'll be wear for holiday parties this season.

Frank: To dress his outfit down, we took off the sweater and rolled up his sleeves. And you can even throw on a pair of less formal shoes too!

Ava: We changed out her shirt and took off her tights and you could even throw in an adorable beanie and mitten set too!

Take a peek and see how we did :)

Voila! We did the impossible and you can too. Marks and Spencer makes it oh-so-easy for us and they're going to be your new best friend...I'm sure of it!

Happy Shopping!

And if you've already shopped for those holiday party outfits, don't forget about those holiday gifts too ;)