I admittedly go a little overboard when I decorate for Christmas. I love the "reason for the season," and enjoy bringing a little bit (okay, a lot) of Christmas into nearly every room.
You'll notice my recurring love of themes in these pics, especially in the 8 different Christmas trees that I decorate each year. It's a bit of an addiction at this point, and the entire house takes a lot of time to complete - about 30 hours in total. I listen to Christmas carols as I work, and it's a worthwhile labor of love that helps invite the Christmas spirit.
I hope this post brings you some good ideas and even some joy.
This tree is home to all of the glass ornaments I've collected over the past 25 years. Most of them were purchased (or gifted) as a specific memory, so they're always especially meaningful to hang on the tree.
I love using my glass apothecary jars for every holiday, and Christmas is no exception. These ornaments and jingle bells all came from Walmart, so they were inexpensive, but I think they make a statement because they're grouped together.
I have to confess that the idea to hang mini wreaths with festive ribbon on my kitchen cabinets came from watching one of my seasonal guilty pleasures: Hallmark Christmas movies.
The living room tree is all about colors that complement its surroundings: bronze, copper, brown, and gold. The tree itself isn't very lush, so a garland of poinsettias helps to fill it in.
Aren't grandchildren just the best? I love adding their newest photo with Santa to my holiday decor.
I also like replacing my everyday candles with seasonal finds, like these giant ornaments.
This quote serves as a good reminder each year.
I enjoy putting out my miniature villages, but every year some mischievous elves (in the form of grandsons) equally relish moving around the pieces for me to discover after they've gone home. This year in my village, I found an umpire going for a sleigh ride, a child selling farm animals instead of wreaths, and a child threatening to throw a snowball at the priest. I have a collection of photos of my grandsons' village modifications, and they always make me laugh.
The nativity is undoubtedly the most important part of my holiday display.
This tree bears some explaining. It's my favorite by far, because it shows off every ornament handmade and given to us by our children and grandchildren. It also displays our photo ornaments, and ornaments that specifically remind me of my grandparents. In fact, my grandfather made the chapel base - probably in the 1960's (it was gifted to me by a cherished aunt). Be sure to scroll down to the pics I shot at night, where you can see light shining through the chapel's "stained glass windows." I always say that if my house were burning down, these ornaments and the tree base would be some of the first things I'd try to rescue.
You know how, sometimes, it's the little things that bring you a lot of happiness? I just love these stocking holders. The photo doesn't do them justice; they're amazingly detailed and ever so pretty. They make me happy every time I look at them:
Another cherished possession: this note from a Christmas long ago. It was written by my husband:
This chest holds more precious memories: a ceramic snowman cup with a candy cane handle (hand-painted by my mother in 1974), a cheery cross-stitched "Noel" made by me, a photo of Santa with my son as a young boy, and trinket boxes gifted by friends many Christmases ago:
This tree, in our theater, was so fun to make! I used a film reel and faux "Oscar" for the topper, red movie tickets for the garland, popcorn and candy ornaments, and real clapboards for the base:
This tree was another fun one to make; it's in our gym, and consists of a Yankees hat topper, baseball- and baseball mitt-shaped lights, sports-themed ornaments including baseball cards, and a handmade baseball-themed skirt. My tutorial for making a similar skirt is here: Post: Edit (blogger.com)
Even our wine cellar has some themed decorations, like this wreath embellished with a wine-drinking Santa, and real corks:
The last fun tree, shown here, has a real wine bottle topper, garland made from real corks and grape-shaped wooden beads, wine-themed ornaments, and a small barrel filled with corks for the base:
In case you haven't seen enough already, I couldn't resist adding photos of everything lit up at night. There's something special about Christmas lights, isn't there? I've lost count of how many timers I use this time of year, but at 5:00, they suddenly start to turn on all of the lights inside and out, just like a little bit of Christmas magic.
Did you notice the light streaming through the "stained glass" chapel windows? My grandfather used black electrical tape and either colored cellophane or contact paper to simulate stained glass. I added the little wooden door to hide the LED bulb I place inside the chapel each year.
