It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Come on in and I’ll show you what we’ve been up to!
The Palace Guard is on duty by the front door
holding gifts and a letter to Santa
Poinsettias, potted amaryllis and a forest of trees
are swathed in mini lights on the foyer table
In the family room,
a box of beaded fruit decorated with “Courtly Check” ribbon,
flanked with trees and a tiered stand,
decorates the mantel under a wreath of sparkling silver balls
MacKenzie-Childs ornaments {gifts from a special friend} dot the arrangements
and the Sweet Home Alabama cotton tree is decorated this year
with more beaded fruit and black and white check ribbon
This past week was filled with tree trimming,
gingerbread houses, and trains!
We kicked off December with old fashioned paper advent calendars for the boys,
with tabs to open each day until Christmas,
plus a large felt Santa with pockets* for small daily treats or notes
Saturday morning we trimmed the tree~
There was much excitement and everything came out
The ornaments on this tree are not pricey baubles,
many are handmade paper ornaments from school days past…
The boys are old enough now to recognize and remember certain ones,
giggling about things they made,
and hearing stories about when their Dad and Aunt DD were little,
and I just watch…
I let them do it their way
it might not be designer perfect, but it’s perfect to me…
Saturday afternoon the cousins came over
for our annual gingerbread house decorating party
This has been a holiday tradition for the past 6 years
and over time we’ve learned some secrets…
I buy the kits {Target and Trader Joe’s are great sources for house kits]
and Amazon has a huge assortment here
The kits come with some candy,
and I add additional candies and candy canes so they have plenty
To make things easy for the kids
I assemble the houses with hot glue
and give them canned colored icing for decorating
{The icing in the kits can be tricky to work with, and often requires set up time, especially for building the houses, so these tips help things go smoothly…}
Sunday, the trains came out
Another long standing family tradition,
going back to when HH was a small boy,
and now the construction is carried on by HHjr and his children
This year, the rug was rolled up and the tracks were laid on the floor of the “toy room,”
convenient for play, yet out of the way of the main traffic flow
So things are definitely getting merrier by the day…
Angels are singing around a glistening fruit and flower tree in the hallway
A mini Christmas village decorates the shelves behind the bar
The family room shelves are filled with “elves”
And the patio is full of Ho Ho Holiday Pumpkins
Thanks for stopping by today,
I am so happy to have virtual visitors!
*As an Amazon Associate anything purchased from the links provided may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Sundays on Silverado Love Your Creativity Over the Moon
Between Naps on the Porch, Celebrate Your Story,
All About Home/ Common Ground Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Turn About Tuesday
Full Plate Thursday Centerpiece Wednesday Creatively Crafty
Thursday Favorite Things Creative Cumpulsions Meal Plan Monday