The Tour Continues

It doesn't look like I will be getting a chance to really talk about my Christmas decorations this year as life continues to get in the way. I thought I would show you the pictures I have taken so far and hopefully tomorrow I will get some of my favorite room, the family room.


I love this old fashioned Santa. A friend made him for me many years ago and I liked him so much, I "borrowed" her idea and made him for everyone else on my list. He reminds me of the old Santas everyone used to decorate when I was a little girl - YES, I AM that old!

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I love my nativity. Most of the figurines are from the first nativity my husband and I bought when we were first married - 45 years ago! I just starting using my mom's stable as she no longer has room to set hers up. My original -which I still have- was cardboard and I love it but I feel a connection to my mom's this year. I have contemplated buying a new, fancier set many times, but somehow the original speaks louder to me and has so much more meaning as I can vividly remember my husband and me choosing each figure carefully and buying only the few we could afford (they weren't expensive! It's just that we were in college and POOR!) and then adding to the set over the next few years. And every year since, it has held a special place in our home.



This year, the kitchen is pretty simple. Of course, my gourmet pig is dressed for the season.

This Santa candle is on a shelf above the sink. The arrangement next to it holds one of my oldest Christmas memories. It is a pinecone "skier" that I remember buying when I was a little girl. I bought it at Woolworth 5 & 10 and there is a 10 cent price stamped on the bottom. I always had a tree in my bedroom and I took such pride in buying new ornaments for it every year. The ironic thing is that when one of my girls was a junior G.S., their troop made ornaments as gifts that looked just like him. It still hangs on our tree in the family room.

It is hard to see, but the serving plate in the background was a gift I gave everyone the year the family took us skiing for our anniversary. I wanted something to commemorate the event, so I bought lots of plain plates and ceramic paint. Each member of the family was asked to come up with a Christmas icon that would be "theirs" and paint it on each plate over the week we were there. At first a couple of the guys balked a bit as they thought they weren't artistic enough. But, with a little prodding, everyone took to the task and I love our plates more than any generic souvenir we could have purchased! Plus, it's amazing that we managed to come up with that many Christmas icons! Even the kids participated and I love them more than any expensive china anything I may own!




The rest of the room is pretty much as usual. I like to decorate with serving pieces that I will be using during the season. That way I don't have to hunt for them when needed.

This candle is on the sill over the sink. The little Santa & bag are salt and pepper shakers that are quite old. My mom found them for me many years ago. I especially love them because my mom wasn't much into antiquing but she knew how I loved special Christmas treasures so she found these and completely surprised me with them. They are one of the first things I put out every year and remember the thought so much more than the cost - a good lesson for us all.

As you can see, things were kept pretty simple and basic this year. Lots of red and green and natural elements. I use white lights in the more formal rooms but tomorrow we will head to the family room and sun room where I use the colored lights because those are the rooms where you will most often find my grandchildren and I love the excitement that those lights seem to give. Stay tuned for more!