Christmas Vignettes

My Christmas "Things To Do" List is dwindling away, thank goodness, and I took the time early this morning to walk around the house and enjoy the peace and quiet, basking in the warm glow of the lamps and Christmas tree lights. As I admired my decorating handiwork, I decided to take a few pictures of some of my favorite things.

Here is our tree, which is a real Fraser Fir. Although it takes up half the breakfast area, I love being able to enjoy it from the kitchen as we do our Christmas cooking and baking.

This is the chain my granddaughter Avery and I made this year. We made the first chain when she was two and have added to it each year. I hope to continue the tradition for many years to come.

This is Bluebell, Avery's new ornament this year.

I'll be telling you more about Bluebell after the holidays.

Under the tree, a pair of little snow birds, dressed for the cold, are resting on the steps of the church house ...

These old ornaments are from the Depression years and belonged to my grandparents. If you look closely at the ornament on the right, you can see the remnants of a string that was used to tie it on their tree. The tree topper was also theirs and is one of my most treasured ornaments.

A friend made this corn shuck angel for me years ago — isn't she sweet!

This set of little gilt angels is very old, and a couple of them have broken wings, but I love them.

The sofa table in the living room ...

The gilt vase, brass tray, scales, cherub statue, and bookends were all flea market finds.

We've had this Nativity Candle for many years, and I can't remember where I got it. I haven't seen another one quite like it ...

I hope your "Things to Do" List is dwindling away, too, and you are enjoying the fun and meaningful part of the holidays.

Christmas Keepsakes

One of my favorite decorating projects, not only for Christmas, but for every season, is the Welsh dresser, which is the focal point in our breakfast area. It doesn't seem that long ago when I was decorating it for Spring ...

Then came Summer ...

And Fall ...

And now, here it is all dressed up for Christmas with some of my favorite Christmas keepsakes ...

Apple candles and Avery's little Lefton Christmas plate ...

Christmas Owl hiding amongst the holly vines ...

We bought this little Santa's workshop when our children were little, and, even though it's gotten a little battered through the years and has been glued several times, it is still one of our most treasured Christmas decorations.

Another very old and much loved decoration is this set of brass Angel Chimes ...

Lighting them has become one of our granddaughter Avery's favorite Christmas traditions ...

Christmas Candy Centerpiece on the breakfast table (another one of Avery's favorite decorations) ...

And Joey, Avery's "Elf on a Shelf," enjoying the decorations from his perch high on the chandelier ...

The two little squirrels you see on the dresser are Ralph and Cindy, named in honor of our son Benjamin's imaginary-friend-robots when he was little ...

Best wishes to you for a week filled with your favorite Christmas Keepsakes, sweet memories of Christmases Past, and lots of wonderful memories-in-the-making.

Christmas Lagniappe ...

After I posted this, I went out to blow some leaves off our patio (in 20-degree weather), and was delighted to see this rose blooming on my arbor ...

To think that that little rose could "weather" the cold and bloom one more time, was a "How Great Thou Art" moment, and I wanted to share it with you ...

Christmas Candy Centerpiece

After several days and many trips to and from the attic, I've finally finished my Christmas decorating (except for our tree, which we will decorate this weekend). I've shared a few vignettes along the way, including:

The Mantel ...

Our Nativity Set ...

And the Dining Room Chandelier.

Today I am featuring a whimsical centerpiece that is sure to light up little ones' eyes. This is one of our granddaughter Avery's favorites.

It's an arrangement of old glass jars I have collected through the years, filled with candy canes, gumdrops, Hershey Kisses, and peppermints.

It sits on our breakfast table, and is one of our granddaughter Avery's favorite decorations ... not to mention a temptation for several grown-ups I know and love.

Christmas Votive Candle Tree

After several days of hard work, a little "piddling," and many trips to and from the attic, I finally finished my Christmas decorating yesterday. I've shared a few vignettes along the way, including the Mantel, our Nativity Set, and Dining Room Chandelier project, and today I am featuring my Votive Candle Tree.

I was inspired by one I saw in a home decor shop last year, and decided to make one myself. I started with a tomato cage and a couple of vine garlands I rescued from my attic.

I wound the garlands around the frame of the cage and attached them securely. I love their "airy" natural look.

Then I painted the whole thing gold ...

Next, I went shopping for votive holders that were lightweight and opaque.

I attached the votive holders with my glue gun, then added the LED tealights, which flicker and look very realistic, and are much safer than using real candles.

After the tree was finished, it was pretty, but needed a little something else with the votives.

I found these sweet little angels at Hobby Lobby and knew they would be perfect.

When I started making my tree, I knew I wanted to use it on the sideboard in our dining room. I wanted a "neutral" look, and I'm very pleased with the way the tree turned out (it didn't take me long to discover that it was very hard to photograph, but I think you can get an idea of what it looks like, especially if you click on the pictures to enlarge them).

I found this little gold metal angel and love it perched on the top of the tree. I wish my pictures were better, because it's much prettier "in person."

Overall, I love the tree. If I was going to do another one, though, I think I would make it a little smaller.

A Christmas Chandelier

I love celebrating family traditions, especially at Christmastime ... and when it comes to decorating, it seems that I have established a few traditions, too, by using a lot of the accessories we've collected through the years which have special meaning to me and my family. Some of the decorations have been passed down from generation to generation, and I love unpacking them and recalling memories of Christmases Past.

I tend to create similar vignettes using those accessories year to year, and today, I'd like to share a fairly new decorating idea from last Christmas (which I used again this year), featuring our dining room chandelier.

[You can click on the pictures to get a closeup look, if you'd like]

It was love at first sight when I saw these gilt ornaments in one of my favorite shops last year.

I bought six, along with coordinating ribbon, and tied the ornaments to the arms of the chandelier at varying heights.

I love the understated elegance of the antique gilt finish on the ornaments, which doesn't compete with the tablesetting or the rest of the dining room.

I do believe that I have created yet another Christmas decorating tradition — my Christmas chandelier!