Merry Christmas Eve Eve

 Merry Christmas Eve Eve or, as I probably should have titled this page, "I Am Speechless!". I know...that will be a first but, it's not because I don't have anything to say or that the cat got my tongue-it's just that today is the last chance I will have to get the rest of my 2025 Christmas house tour onto this blog and, it is going to be a LOONNNGGG one. If I chit chat, none of us will get through it. If there is something just screaming to be shared, I will. Otherwise, come with me and let's get this done!

Next we're on to the dining room.

I just realized that I have two stars hanging from the shelves on this niche and they're both from my cousin. The one up top is wood and covered with buttons from our grandmother's button box and the one over the nativity is one that she "felted" for me.

On to the sunroom.

Let's head into the family room.

Almost finished I promise...on to the guest bath.

And a quick jump back to catch the patio.

Whew! In all of the years that I have had my blog, I have never let this happen before...and I am going to try very hard not to let it happen again. The point of sharing my decor and crafts is to hopefully give you some inspiration but when it comes to you five minutes before the "day", it really isn't much help. Lol

I'm blaming how late Thanksgiving was this year-and, honestly, that is part of it but I also took on a bit more this year that took up a lot of my time. I have enjoyed every minute of it which is what kind of kept me away from here, but I am going to be better.

I am off to get the Christmas tables set up. We will have 18 people and I like us all to be seated somewhat close to each other so this always takes a bit of "creative" furniture moving. And then I'm going to try to get my appetizer sweet and sour meatballs made as well as my "Forgotten cookies" as most of tomorrow I will be at daughter #3's house. She also felt the crunch this year and thought she had an extra day this week so they made lots of cut sugar cookies and then invited everyone over to help decorate them. The only problem is that the only day she had free is tomorrow and she completely didn't realize that it is Christmas Eve. And so, we will be there decorating cookies and playing games and then head out to a nice dinner before Christmas Eve church service. Should be a pretty full day but I will be with all three of my youngest grandchildren all day so it can't be much better.

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas. I am having a number of the family staying a few extra nights so I'm not sure when I will be back but when I am I will share my Christmas photos and then we will dive into a new year and Valentine's Day! Stay safe and stay tuned. And, again, accept my apologies for the length of this post!

I Spy

I am back and just about ready to get us through the rest of our 2025 Christmas tour. I have the last of the pictures still to edit but thought I would visit today and play a little game of "I spy". A few things have been tweaked or added to in places we have already visited so let's see if you can spot them.

The first is from the primary bedroom and they were there when we toured but just not so close up. I went back to these because I find myself stopping and looking at them so often. They are the little angels on either side of the smaller photos in the foreground. They are actually meant to "hang" on a candle but I didn't use the candle this year but still wanted the angels so I just slipped them around the frames. They were my moms and I remember her bringing them out every year. The one on the right must have suffered a "broken leg" somewhere over the years but she got put back together and can still sit pretty every year. Their little wings are wired, glittered fabric so, even after ALL of these years, they can still be adjusted to flutter away. Those small pictures are just a sampling of old pictures from my first Christmas and then early Christmases from both my hubby's and my early years.

And then there are two things that I simply forgot to put out this year until I spied an old photo and realized they were MIA.

The first is a picture that we bought at one of the "Festival of Trees" that we went to in Savannah. We used to try to get there every year and this particular year the artist was there signing the pictures so we just had to grab one. It's hard to get a decent picture because of where I hung it but it sure brings back so many sweet, special memories of those trips and our favorite city!

And then there is this guy...who is a favorite of mine and I'm not sure how he got forgotten.

He has never been in this spot before but since every other spot in the house was already spoken for, this is where he landed...and I love him here! I think he has found his new home...until I forget him again and then we shall see where he lands next. Lol

 So that brings you to today. I am still running behind but I don't care as all of the "heavy lifting" chores are done so now all I have left is the fun stuff-like visiting with you. We had our "Girls" Lunch on Thursday and, as always, it was a highlight of the year!

Jen came over on Wednesday and we decided on table settings and food and drink areas. Lucky for her, I have LOITS of "stuff" so she was able to mix and match to her heart's content and being the decorator that she is, she loves to do that! "Mom, no one does "matchy matchy" anymore"! Lol

We came up with this. She brought over a big box of fresh greenery so we put some in the faux centerpiece and didn't mind it sticking up too high because by then we had decided that we wanted the food all on the table so the centerpiece would be moved once it was time to sit down and eat.

Jen did most of the food as well. Our menu consisted of beef tenderloin, my broccoli/cauliflower/cranberry/pistachio/bacon salad, dilled potato salad and rolls and butter with a chocolate/peppermint cake and petit fours for dessert.

And, of course, we started the day off with a champagne toast and delicious appetizers!

We used these napkins for our appetizers. They are the same appetizer napkins that I have used every Christmas since 1987. Back then, my husband and I chaperoned a cheerleader sponsored Christmas dance and we offered to get the napkins made for the food table. Either those high school kids used their sleeves instead of napkins or we just ordered WAY TOO MANY because I still have a bundle of them left! The girls got such a kick out of seeing these and, of course, that opened up conversations about the dance, boyfriends, school, trips, our pool, and on and on and on. Lucky for me that I got ALL of the house clean and ready because those girls went through every square inch of this place and had memories of every one of them. The laughs and giggles that came from this house that day made my heart so happy!

So now I am down to baking, wrapping, watching holiday movies, etc. And, somewhere in there we will get this tour finished. I'm off now to make my lists but I will be back before you know it. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.