It's either lack of ambition or stamina, but I can't seem to get all the holiday decorations up in one day. It doesn't take me twelve days, but even after drastically paring back the decorating by eliminating one big formal tree and a display of miniature greenhouses, it still takes several days to get everything done.
So this year, the first day of decorating consisted of getting the cut tree up and decorated. I forged ahead with the mantel, ran into a mental block, and decided to wait until Monday (when Hobby Lobby was open) to finish it up.
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| No matching stockings here... |
Days 2 & 3, the mantel. Part of me laments how much I have
spent wasted on holiday decorations over the years. Another part of me accepts that my tastes have changed, styles have changed, and I have tried to cherish the timeless holiday pieces that have sentimental value, and let go of those that do not. That's the long way of saying I decided it was time to update the mantel. It was a long process; several decorations went up, most came down. I studied several images of mantels, picked some ideas I liked from each and came up with this vignette. Or is it a hodge podge? You decide.
It took a while to come up with a look I liked, but I'm more-or-less happy with it. I especially like the Santa Hats, an idea I snagged from
Thrifty Decor Chick.
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| Aren't they cute? |
I really appreciated her advice on where to get the materials. Just like hers, I found the velvet at Hobby Lobby. JoAnn's Fabrics yielded the black vinyl and fur trim; 3 inches of vinyl and 1 2/3 yards of fur trim were a whopping total of $5. I wound up at Michael's for the crystals and bells. See, I make sure I spread the love among all our local craft stores.
I decided to add my own twist to her crafty idea and left a little extra fabric at the top. I let it flop over, added a silver bell and a bit of fur trim. Other than the blister on my finger from the hot glue gun, it was a relatively easy craft!
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| My kitchen tree |
Day 4: Kitchen tree. I love my little kitchen tree, filled with cookie cutters, miniature kitchen items and other culinary-themed ornaments.
Day 5 Mr. Official's UT tree. All orange (with a bit of black and white), all the time.
Day 6: Miscellany. The dining and living room get a few extra pieces added, as does the den.
Day 7: The house is officially ready for Christmas. The cards are ordered, so now it's on to baking and candy making, mailing our Christmas greetings, finishing up the shopping, and then waiting for St. Nick to bring me that
Macy's store. (Wonder how he's gonna get THAT down the chimney?)
Happy decorating!
