This was our second Christmas in our home and in keeping with our hope for a simple holiday season, our decor was also simple. I desire to focus our energy on making the reason of the season, Christ, the center...and as our first Christmas with Annelisa the how's and why's of putting up our decorations became increasingly important to me.
That all being said, there weren't any signs of the coming of Christmas until the first weekend of December, and then it was only our Nativity that came out of storage. I love the Nativity that we have and cherish each piece given to us over the first five years of our marriage. It took time to collect through gifts. I'm very thankful now for having delayed gratification in this area as it allowed me to joyfully watch the scene unfold year after year. Each year I've displayed it on this same table from my husband's grandfather. I look forward to teaching Annelisa about the scene in years to come and giving her her own to interact with!
The next stage of Christmas was decorating the mantel. I love the full garland with white lights combined with our red and cream stockings! JOY marks our mantle and this simple word imparts so much hope for me in the season of Christmas! I want to be marked with JOY! Joy of Christ coming, Joy to share, Joy to give! Now that our family has four stockings to be hung, I searched Pinterest for ideas of how to "stretch" our three letter word JOY into holders for four, or maybe more...someday! The solution...a curtain rod that sits inside the hooks. I found this one for less than $8 at Target! It worked out beautifully!
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season, is the sending and receiving of holiday greetings. In my searches of Pinterest, I found a clever way to display all of the cards we receive It was very simple and turned out so well! Simple ribbon tied onto our cabinet doors with mini clothes pins to hold each card on. Next, year three doors will get the ribbon treatment as two couldn't hold them all!
Our last bit of Christmas, arrived on December 8th...our tree! We enjoy picking out a live tree each year and this year had great success at Lowes! Our tree cost less than $30 and never looked it! I'll add that in some years past we have spent three times that much for an equally good looking tree! The bargain price was a huge plus, especially with it still looking fabulous today! We finally decorated it the weekend of the 15th. Below are pictures of the three sides you can see and some close ups of some ornaments.
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| View from the Living Room |
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| View from the stairs |
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| View from the front door |
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| Ornament for Annelisa's first Christmas |
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| Ornaments we made with Annelisa's hand print and glitter! |
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May God bless you and your family in 2013!
