Holiday Home Tour

I have emerged from hiding to participate in JenontheEdge's Holiday Homes Tour!

Welcome to my house!


It's a good thing I bought the poinsettia garland and the wreath last year. We had to pare down our Christmas quite a lot this year, so no new decorative items this year!
Where I live, we have to put decals on the windows to see snowflakes!


Come on in!


The first thing you'll see is the Christmas tree! (It's real - a Noble Fir.) It's a bit smaller than usual, so we put it up on a pedestal of sorts, and I found some fabric in the basement to use as a makeshift three skirt.


We have a six-month-old male kitten in our house. He is presciently named "Turbo." He is not allowed outdoors at this point. All of these things add up to:
No ornaments on the bottom portion of the tree! No breakable ornaments on the tree at all this year (those we left in the storage box)! And still, I have to put portions of the lights back on every day. A Christmas Tree is like Disneyland for a kitten!

Here is my new ornament for this year. Luckily, it was purchased in Quebec City in June, when The Hubby and I visited for our anniversary trip-without-kids ("luckily" because that was before I knew we'd be having a moratorium on unnecessary expenditures)! Ah, Quebec City, one of my favorite places on Earth!


In that picture you can see part of last year's new ornament. It's the retro toy ornament - what Fisher Price's Little People looked like when I was a kid!

The Christmas Tree is located in our living room, to the right of the front door. We have windows on either side of the front door, so you can see the tree and its pretty colored lights from the street!

Also in the living room is the mantle, an important location for Christmas decorations!


The stockings are all handmade. Mine was made for me by my great aunt when I was a baby; all of the others were handmade by me!


The Nativity was given to us by The Hubby's Grandma when we were newly married. Several years ago, the angel's hook broke and she fell and her wing shattered. So my Nativity has a fallen angel (actually, technically, a missing angel). What do you think that means?


The Hubby's Grandma gave us a set of, like, ten Christmas bears one year. Each year I find them someplace to inhabit during the Christmas season. This year, I put some on each speaker.


The sofa table against the wall has my son's birthday cards. His birthday was Dec. 14, and he turned four. It was a highly successful fourth birthday. So successful I didn't manage to blog about it!
The accent table has the card holder. I love getting Christmas cards! I have a few friends who write their Christmas letters in poem, which I love. I have done that myself in previous years - but I haven't written a letter in a few years. Just a photo card, and I'm lucky to get that done in time. This year, it looks like people will be receiving ours on the 26th.
In addition to the card holder, we also have toy Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Reindeer. Fisher Price Little People, as a matter of fact!


This is my formal dining room. The chair covers are great, aren't they? The Hubby's Grandma gave a set of four to everyone in the family one year. So we go to each others' houses, and we're greeted by those same chairs! They really Christmas-ify the place in a hurry! You can also see the children's school Christmas crafts on the door. I love those and keep them from year to year to add to the door!


My mom made that table runner out of some fabric she had left over after making my daughters some Christmas dresses a few years ago.


I put the Christmas Checkers here this year:


Hanging from the china cabinet knob is a reminder of what we should be doing during the Advent season:


Here's the breakfast table: placemats made by my mom, a candle centerpiece made by Big Girl in Kindergarten, and a little train candle holder.


Next to the breakfast table, greeting us in the morning? Our countdown and The Boy's advent chain!


There are no Christmas decorations on the second floor, except for these stockings I put up on the landing.


Here's a recipe for you:
Take one hallway shelving unit, full of family photos.
Stick the Christmas figurines The Hubby's Other Grandma gave us in front of the family photos, and tuck silk poinsettias and holly in every available spot.
Done.


The earth-toned decorations went in the bathroom this year. A little scene in the corner of the counter, and a Santa pulling a sleepy reindeer in his sleigh on the wall shelf.


The counter top decoration is a snowfamily of five. "Count Your Blessings." As the mom in a family of five, I love it!



This little hand towel goes well in this bathroom.



In the family room, we've got the kids' decorations. A little tree they can decorate to their hearts' content, a toy Nativity set (Fisher Price Little People again!), and matchbox music boxes! Oh, and a paper 3-D snowman Big Girl made today!


We can't let you leave without noting our doorway decorations! We've got Rudolph and friends over the dining room door,



slip-sliding reindeer over the family room door,




And mistletoe over the living room entry way! Caught you, now I've got to kiss you! (((smak))))
The neighbor boy and his dad went fishing over Thanksgiving, climbed into a tree to collect mistletoe, and then the boy and his sister packaged up the mistletoe and sold it for $1.00 each. (But they gave us ours as a gift.) Cute, huh?

As you leave, you see the front door again, and the window on this side with decals the kids put there. So the front door windows have the tree on one side, the decals on the other.


Bye! Admire my kids' art on your way out!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

And now that we're back outside again, I see that the lights have come on! I put some around the front door, and some on the ground along the walk. Cheery!