Christmas Decor

December is here and the halls are decked! I keep things somewhat simple but I do enjoy the lights, the tree, the music, the nativity, etc. here is a glimpse into our home, ready for Christmas.

The tree
We have a prelit artificial tree. We adorn it with sentimental ornaments. We started with the ones that John and I grew up with. Now we add to them every year with ornaments that the kids have collected. John's mom has gotten them one every year. Then of course there are the ones that they bring home from school, you know, the macaroni and glitter kind. Hey! That would have been a great blog name! Macaroni and Glitter!

 

Here is Emma's little corner of the tree where she clustered all her ornaments together.

I'm so glad I bought this Hallmark Countdown Ornament last year. We love it! It tells us precisely how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds until Christmas Day!

The tree skirt
John's mom gave us this special gift as soon as our family started growing. She had it embroidered with our names, and every year she takes the girls' handprints and stitches the outline onto the skirt so that we can show them how much they've grown!

Laila:

Emma:

Nativity Scene
Ok, we haven't graduated to a grown up nativity scene yet. Ha! Here is our Fisher Price Little People Nativity Setting that we still play with. I don't have a good explanation for why Joseph is at the top of the manger instead of the angel. I just left it the way the kids had it last time they played with it. I also just realized that a littlest pet shop dog visited baby Jesus too. :)

The pencil tree
Just a 5 footer, but the girls can practically decorate it by themselves!

The banister
I bought a 15 ft garland at Dollar Tree and it fit absolutely perfect from end to end! I added a strand of lights and ribbon. Then I used clear command hooks to hang our stockings. I am going to attempt to make new ones for John and I out of sweaters;  We shall see how that goes. If it goes well, you will know it because you will see a blog post on it. :)

The "mantel"...aka the china cabinet...since we don't have a mantel I get to improvise!

3 wine glasses filled with red and green berries

Glass bowl filled with red and white balls
(I believe the technical name for these is "decorative filler balls" in case you were dying to know)

Subway printable found HERE...

Centerpiece
Just some stuff put in a vase, nothing too elaborate.

Front door Wreath
I made this last year using red and white yarn. I also added 2 clear snowflakes on each side. They were table decorations from a friend's December wedding.

Christmas Card Display
I love to see how other people display their cards. I have this hanger from the Christian bookstore that has 3 pockets, but I don't like how I can only show the tops of the cards once they're down in the pockets. So I am trying to think of something new. Maybe some kind of frame with mini clothespins?

I also have plenty of snowmen around the house that get to stay out til Feb or March. That way, the house doesn't seem so bare when all the Christmas decor comes down. I'll spare you all the pictures of those since I'm sure you get the idea.


I also have a few things I want to make so we'll see how many crafts I get to in the next few weeks.

Tis the Season!