Although we’re already well into January, I thought I’d continue with my holiday posts and share some of my Christmas decorating. I ended up being busier than usual, it seemed, this season and I never managed to get these photos edited until this past weekend.
I really do love decorating for Christmas, and even though it was later than I’d have liked it to be, I was excited to pull all the trimmings out of boxes and decide how I wanted to decorate this year. The ornament in the photo above was a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Sylvia, in Germany. It’s a delicate little ceramic heart and I am totally in love with it.
This year I decided to do more of a wintry woodland feel on the mantel. I love these little silver trees I’ve had forever. They looked right at home with the pine boughs.
And this year we replaced the makeshift star I’ve used as a tree topper for years. Eric chose a beautiful angel to top our tree. I wasn’t sold on her when he picked her out, but she really looked beautiful crowning the tree. Her wings are pretty white feathers and the red and gold of her gown match our tree skirt.
Since 2005 (the first Christmas we spent together after our engagement), I have given Eric the annual Swarovski Christmas ornament. This year was no exception, and they always look beautiful reflecting the lights of the tree. And that green and red blown glass ball in the background? That is the ornament Eric bought me when we saw the Chihuly exhibit on our second wedding anniversary.
I just love seeing the tree all lit up and the stockings hung from the mantel.
Eric puts his Polar Express train around the base of the tree, which just completes the whole thing.
And my village grew this year! I have two more pieces than I had the last time we put it out. It took a bit of rearranging, but Eric is a master at space planning. He managed to get them all to fit on our side table in the dining room. (Of course, when we celebrated Christmas with my parents, I received another house, so we’ll be space planning again next year!)
As we’ve done the past couple of years, we put up a second smaller tree in the entry. I would love to replace this with a larger tree that fits the space better, but that’s a task for next year. And you can see my wreath of Christmas cards on the wall. It’s fun to fill that up as we receive cards from our friends and family.
The entry tree is full of handmade ornaments. I just love seeing them all together. There’s just something about handmade ornaments that makes me smile. Some I’ve made, and some were given to me. I intersperse red glass balls on this tree to fill in a bit. But, it’s nice to have a tree that is so different from our living room tree which is full of crystal and blown glass ornaments. There’s a train around this tree too!
Such a beautiful sight. And I just love the warm glow from Christmas lights – they fill my heart with joy.
