Welcome to Our December Home

Over the years, we’ve concentrated our Holiday Decorating to the inside of our home rather than the outside. At first I didn’t understand why that was and then I realized, Christmas is my holiday.

Come October every year, my guys spend days tweaking the yard and finding new ways to showcase their Halloween Spirit. The inside of the house, as always, is my area and it’s cute, not scary. Come Christmas, and the outside once again is guy-territory. Since I’m the one collecting the Holiday Decorations, for the most part it’s stuff for inside, not outside. The few pieces, beyond the twinkle of white lights, are things I’ve picked out. As we walk through our house, you will see that I need to give a little more attention to the outside because the inside is bursting at the seams.

A Warm welcome to our home, won’t you please come in.

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This year, in addition to the usual living room, dining room, nook and kitchen holiday decor, I’ve included our guest bath and hallway. Next year, in addition to expanding the yard festivities, I’m going to see what I can do with the bedrooms, too. Since the guest bath is also Kiddo’s bath, I wanted to respect his sense of manhood and not do anything too frilly or child-like. He was pleased, so I am pleased.

The hallway is filled with one-of-a-kind door wreaths. In an effort to support local crafters who have been hit especially hard with all the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, whenever we can find a Holiday Market featuring local work, we patronize them. That’s putting your wallet where it counts in this whole idea of in it together.

Our breakfast nook and kitchen are the usual spots for us to gather. Be it weekend breakfasts or greeting one another at the end of the day, at some point we are there together. A pot of hot cocoa on the stove is just one of the ways these rooms fill us with memories.

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I love the way the fireplace, the bookcase and the “Santa Table” came together this year. Whimsical without being too much. Homespun and warm. It’s taken over 30 years of collecting to pull it all together.

Naturally no Christmas Home would be complete without that warm glow from the family Christmas Tree. Trimming the tree is such a special occasion, don’t you think? Opening up the ornament box is like a window into the past.

I think my second favorite room in the house has to be the Bird Room aka our dining room. There is so much going on in that room, people spend time just looking around. There are the hutches, with something “holiday” on every shelf.

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The wine rack, Advent Table and bookcase are all in the spirit of the season. Even the phonograph and speakers serve as a means to display my ever growing collection. The window seat is transformed into a gathering place for a few of the 35 Santas I’ve amassed over the years. And to think, I gave away half of my collection about 10 years ago with the silly idea that I needed to simplify things.

I’ve saved the best for last. Our Christmas Table is set and waiting for guests to arrive. While this year there really won’t be any visitors, the invitation of the table and a promise of an elegant supper remains in my heart.

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And to think, all this began with a mess on the dining room table. My guys were befuddled looking at an ensemble of decorations that seemed to lack rhyme or reason. But in the end it all came together.

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Wishing everyone a warm, festive and memorable Holiday Season. From our home to yours, Merry Christmas to all and to all a blessed life.