I made a lot of fun decorations this year. I didn't want it to look like Christmas exploded in the house, but I do like having little touches (or even big touches) in different areas of the house. I really love surprise touches like the elf on the shelf idea.
I put our sled on top of the entertainment center with a bubble wreath that was given to us and some lighted garland. The sled doesn't get much use in our temperate climate so it has lasted a long time. It was my dad's when he was a little boy.
I hung ornaments in the large dining room window. There is a lighted glass box in the bottom of the window. As you can see the trim needs to be painted luckily that is a new year's present!
The stockings get too hot on the fireplace (we aren't so temperate that we don't need heat :-)) so we often hang them on the stairs. This year instead of a large garland, I used ribbon and greenery clippings. I found some very lifelike artificial poinsettias at the pottery that I placed in my polka dot basket. I love the color combination.
We try these gingerbread kits off and on but always have fallen walls. My family won't let me use hot glue so I decided to make the house over a period of several days. I did the walls one morning, then added the roof eaves that evening. The next day I decorated the house and yard additions. The last day I decorated the roof and finished the yard. So far nothing has collapsed!
The dining room built-in made a nice place for those little decorations that need to be out of the way from little kitties and little kiddies. The santa and sleigh is from the 1960's and was something my mother grew up with. The ornaments on the green tray are made of cinnamon and applesauce. They are easy to make and make the house smell heavenly.
In our town, the Ronald McDonald House sells luminarias as a fundraiser. Neighborhoods ask residents to buy them and everyone in town lights them at 6 on Christmas Eve (weather permitting).
Santa will get an egg nog and a Christmas tree cake this year. We found this delicious egg nog made by Homestead Creamery and have bought nearly 10 bottles since Thanksgiving. Some of that went to parties, but a good portion has been just for our enjoyment. Santa will love it too! Santa's reindeer get some lovely carrots. Hopefully, they will remember that they always get a treat at our house and fly to us faster!
