A Holly Jolly Christmas

I was so excited when the day after Thanksgiving finally arrived. No, I wasn't interested in the Black Friday Sales or the crazy traffic here, there and everywhere. I was excited about decorating our home for Christmas. I had been waiting for it since September [I know...I'm a nut job].

It all started with getting out all of the ornaments. I didn't realize how many we actually had. Oh and by the way...can you tell which one is NOT an ornament? *Tehehe* Our Kitty was so not interested in the holiday cheer around the house.

Here is our beautiful tree all decorated and surrounded by presents! My Hubby and I like to get our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving so we don't drive ourselves crazy trying to rush everywhere to get presents so close to Christmas.

And now for a few close-ups of some of the ornaments on our tree...




Olivia is by far one of my most favorite literary characters.


I have this thing with fish ornaments...They just have so much character. Don't you just love the one with the big lips!

During our first Christmas, my Hubby and I found some really great penguin ornaments. Each has it's own personality.

This is a new idea that I came up with this year. In September my mom and I found an antique store that sold vintage Christmas postcards from England. Each one is from the early 1900s. So I decided they would make a really neat addition to the tree. I just sat them on different branches throughout the tree. Perhaps next year I will frame them...who knows. There's so much creative room to do something different with them each year.

Two years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a canvas with a tree painted on it. She got it from someone she works with and gave me the idea to decorate it however I wanted. So last year I turned it into our Advent Calendar. Each ornament unfolds and reveals a Bible verse that corresponds to Jesus' birth and the reason He came to earth. Each day, we read a different verse as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and remember that God loves us so much.

Here is the Christmas table runner I made earlier this Fall. I was so excited to finally put it out and it fits perfectly on this table. [Again notice the item that is NOT a Christmas decoration - I tell ya...that Kitty is somethin' else].

This is the Nativity scene that my parents had while I was growing up. My Dad built the actual manger. Each year, it was my job to set it up. Last year, my parents blessed me and Hubby by giving it to us since we didn't have a Nativity scene yet. So now we have Dustin's Christmas tree from when he grew up and we have my Nativity Scene that I had while I was growing up. It's so neat to have different things from our parents as part of our own Christmas.


Oh the ambiance of Christmas. And last but not least...

...Kitty...under the tree...Look at that look on his face. Could we say, "Bah Humbug!" He can't get behind the tree anymore b/c of all of presents. And again, that has upset him. Oh well. He'll just have to get over it and enjoy this festive time of year.