Both last year and this year has been the years of the purge and I've let go of a lot of holiday stuff that was either getting pretty old, wasn't my style anymore or I was just damn tired of it. What I purged had no sentimental value to me and it felt rather good weeding through everything. I was able to downsize out of three totes of stuff, even with the few new pieces I purchased.
The first thing we do is the tree. Until four years ago, we had an artificial Frazier Fir that was as beautiful as it could be for being fake, but unfortunately, one of our cats found it in the basement and decided he was going to pee all over it........well, it's a good thing we had already gotten many years of use out of it, because there was nothing we could do but throw it away.
We decided that we weren't going to buy another artificial tree, we wanted to go back to have a real live tree in the house during the holidays so that is what we have done and we haven't regretted our decision.
Here's a few pictures of our tree in various light -
The tree skirt is quilted and was a gift from my mother. It's one of my most prized Christmas items and I can't imagine my Christmas tree without it. There must be 20 different Christmas fabrics represented.
The wall hanging shown below is new this year. I wanted a few news things to just freshen up the decor. The Santas on the right are a couple of Jim Shore Santas that I've collected over the years and the candle urn is out year round. At Christmas I just switch out the candle and filler and place a candle ring around the base.
I also decorate a ladder shelf in our family room with various favorite Christmas figures and fun.
The Santa riding the reindeer and the the little Santa that spell out JOY have with us for most of our marriage.
The glass jar of pine trees is one of the things I made this year. The glass jar is from IKEA. Pretty simple.....a bag of fake snow and those little fake pine trees that people use in villages....easy peasey!
I place a miniature lighted tree on one of our IKEA bookcases and another easy decorating idea is to use a candle ring at the base of your table lamps.
This stack of baskets and boxes in on one side of our fireplace. The small red and silver fabric weaved basket was made by a girlfriend 20 years ago and it holds are stocking hangars. The round box holds our Christmas music CD's and the top basket holds our stockings and silly hats that we wear on Christmas morning.
Flanking our fireplace is my "Cindy Lou Who" trees that I bought at Pier 1 after Christmas for 75% off a few years ago and we love the whimsy of them. The Christmas lettering above the fireplace on the stone is a removeable sticker. Excuse the fur stain on the rug that goes by Kirby.
I also string a Christmas ornament garland across the top of the built in book case/fireplace and a couple of years ago, I made the BELIEVE garland from a Basic Grey paper collection. Can you guess what movie is on the television?
The is the view of our hallway from the front foyer. In past years I've displayed some of my Jim Shore Santas on my foyer table, but this year, I decided to put all different types of Christmas trees. So I went through my totes on the search of trees and found enough to display together.
The #4 crock is there year round, I just plunk a rustic woodland tree with a wooden garland in it and surround it with fake poinsettias (no real in our home, poisonous to cats!) The Longaberger basket that is on the lower shelf also makes its year round home there, but it's usually filled with a cat rather than pine cones and giant ornaments.
Here's a closer look at the different Christmas trees on the table - the tall green one with the long stick in the front center is new this year.
Moving down the hallway, I hang one of my mother's quilted gifts to me. It gorgeous and the detail is amazing, I can't even count how many different fabrics she used. Those 3M command strips come in handy here.
At the end of the hallway is our kitchen/family room area. The first thing you see beyond the dining table is our deckpatio door and small hutch to the right. I string my Christmas ball garland across the top and hang my favorite berry wreath and a cute felt Christmas I found at clearance at Target a couple of years ago.
The hutch stores pet supplies in the bottom and my candle/wax tart addiction in the top shelves and it's fun to decorate during the holidays. Other than the small Santa lamp on the right, it changes up every year.
I bought the Starbuck's Advent Calendar this year because I loved the design of the magnetic board with the 25 tins. There have been caramels in each tin and I hear there is a surprise in the 25th tin. On the top shelf next to the Christmas Subway art is my Fitz and Floyd Cookie Plate and Mug that was a gift from my mother early in my marriage and it's been used every year since to leave cookies and milk out for Santa. Here's a close up of the set, it's really beautiful.
On the wall between the deck/patio door, I have another new piece I bought this year at Gordman's.
Across the eat in area where the small hutch is located is our beverage bar....alcoholic beverage bar. It's fun to decorate for the holidays too! On the top of the bar, I'm displaying the cross stitch tray my mother made and gave to me our first Christmas in this house.
On the top of the wine rack is the cross stitch my mother made me for my 18th birthday that says "Merry KrisMoose". The house on the left is one of those Doodlebug houses that I altered in one of Basic Grey's Christmas collections. There's another small fake poinsettia and a spray of berries. The lantern resides up there year round. There's also a bottle of wine decorated in a cute reindeer outfit.
I have a collection of Christmas cheese knives that I think is fun to display.
Another simple holiday touch is to add red berries to plants you already have.
Another new decor piece this year is from Target. I loved the cobalt blue.
In the corner of the opposite side of the kitchen, I re-located a topiary I use year round and tied a red bow on it. The sign is another recent purchase. I can't believe I got it for $4 bucks.
Going back to the front of the house from the kitchen is our den and it's where Fred's desktop computer and the wireless printer is located. I also keep our permanent book library here. I don't do a lot of decorating in here, but I try and make it festive. I just placed some Christmas art up on the top of Fred's computer desk
Of course, the Grinch is watching over my children's book library......... :)
Below the Grinch is my gourd snowmen that were an incentive to earn when I sold Longaberger and I love their uniqueness so I had to have them. They are almost a decade old.
We have a small ladder shelf in our den that I like to display a few things on. This year its a new piece that I made from a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper, a canvas and mod podge. Below it is our personalized snowmen family that I bought the first Christmas after Connor was born.
and finally, just to dress it up a little, I added Christmas trees and a Christmas sign to my fairy garden that sits in the den during winter...
I've scaled back a bit this year. I usually put a tree up in our master bedroom on the window seat, but didn't this year. I usually wrap our staircase with greenery and have a beautiful spray on the bottom newel post, but because of the newest member of our house, we thought better of it this year, but next year I will again.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed my tour!
