Christmas Decorating-Our Bedroom

On the coffee table in our bedroom is a plaster of Paris Nativity I purchased 30 years ago. It was a kit that came with the paints and you finished it yourself. My husband has a much steadier hand than I do and so he painted it for us. There was also a stable to assemble included with the kit. Through the years our children all played with it and now our grandchildren do. The paint has chipped in a few places over the years, but the kids have always played with it tenderly and it has survived intact. It is the sweetest Nativity I have ever seen. 

I love a live Christmas tree. Nothing beats that sweet smell of Christmas. We wanted a really tall live tree to go in our great room and two years in a row that live tall tree we bought decided to take a tumble after it was decorated! At that point, I gave in and said, if it's gotta be tall, it's gotta be artificial. So, my husband and I agreed that our bedroom was the perfect place for the live tree we both wanted in our home. 

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Decorating-The Entry

I guess this is really the room I should have started with, since it is the first impression you get of the house when you enter. I bought two small trees for either side of the furniture here and this is the first year that I have decorated them-sticking with my red and gold theme. (I have to confess at this point-I don't think you could find a red or gold ornament within a 50 mile radius of my house now! I have been stalking the shelves.)

In 1983 my in-laws were into painting ceramics. They made us a Nativity, which, to this day, is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. Their attention to detail was perfection.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Decorating-The Dining Room

The dining room is always so fun to decorate. I love setting a pretty table. About 31 years ago my mother gave me some Pfalzgraff Christmas dishes. They are white with a Christmas tree on them and I think they are called Christmas Heritage. Over the years I collected more and more. I have lots of serving pieces, including casserole dishes, a coffee server, and a two-tiered cookie plate. Several years before they quit making it I found it at an outlet store and bought LOTS of dinner plates. I have over two dozen now, which is just about right--we will have 20 here for Christmas dinner this year.

I love my plaid tablecloth-it keeps the room from feeling too formal to me. This year I added the charger plates to the table. I think I am liking them. I love to have the table set during the holidays-it looks like a dinner party is happening soon. 

Again, I got an idea off of Pinterest. I loved a chandelier that I saw, so I used it for inspiration. I folded a garland in half, twisted it together and then wound it around my light fixture. I hung various size red ornaments at different lengths from red ribbons. I also added a wider ribbon and more ornaments in the garland. 

This table is long and requires a large (or long) centerpiece. I have learned through the years that a couple of candlesticks just don't cut it here. I bought these gold candles at Michael's 60% off last week. I was tickled to death! Again, greenery wound on the table, interspersed with candles of varying heights, and gold ornaments mingling throughout. Nothing real original, but I thought it looked pretty. 

Last year I found a Christmas tree that fit perfectly into the corner of the dining room. We enjoyed having it there while we were eating and it is the only tree that can be seen from the front of our house. This year's decorations are red and gold (of course) with a simple ribbon garland. 

It will be fun to have Christmas dinner at this table. But, with 20 people here, there will be two more tables to set. I will work to make them just as festive. 

Happy Holidays.

Christmas Decorating-The Great Room

Every year I say I am not going to leave anything until the last minute. That I am going to be ready early for Christmas. That I am going to have time to just sit back, relax and enjoy the season. HA! It never happens-and I am not sure that it ever will. 

I know I go overboard at Christmas, but with six granddaughters, it is so fun to decorate. The girls just love it. And I have to admit that my husband and I enjoy it too. 

I put up 8 Christmas trees in my house this year. It took me 12 days to get it all done! But, when all of the Christmas lights are on in our house, it feels like a Christmas wonderland and the little kid in me comes out. 

I decided to go with a gold and red "theme" this year. The first place that I decorated was the fireplace and mantel in our great room. The mantel has greenery with white lights, wired ribbon, gold pillar candles and gold glass ornaments. 

This is a close up of the mantel. 

In the fireplace I put more greenery, ribbon, and red ornaments along with the candles. I got these candles at Michael's (they were 50% off). They hold tea light candles that burn for 5 1/2-6 hours. I love them because they flicker and glow so beautifully when lit. This was not an original idea-I saw something similar on Pinterest and thought it would be fun since we never build a fire in this fireplace. I got these live poinsettias at Home Depot on Black Friday-they were only $1.00 each---score!

Here is a close up of the fireplace. You can see the candle glow-it amazes me how much light they give off. 

Next I moved to the banister. I put the same greenery on it every year, but I decorate it differently. I have put pinecones, cinnamon sticks and berries in it. I have done it with red and white stripe ribbon and red and white ornaments-a candy cane effect. I have also learned over the years to mark my greenery where I swag it. I use Command strip hooks  on the spindles and hook the greenery from them.

This year I used the same ribbon that I used on the mantel and red and gold ornaments.

Then it was time for the tree to go up. This is a 12 foot tree and comes in five sections, weighs over 125 pounds and requires an 8 foot ladder! It is no easy task to assemble and decorate. But this year we got it done in just 5 1/2 hours. This tree has all of our family ornaments on it-all the ones we have collected over the years-the ones the kids made in school and we bought on vacations. It's an extremely eclectic mix of decorations. I love decorating this tree-it's a walk down memory lane every year.

Tomorrow is a peek at my dining room. If I can't be quilting, I have to show you what I've been up to. Besides, I love this time of year!!

Happy decorating!