My dining room has been a mess for quite some time as I was busy getting things ready for the couple’s party last Thursday evening. I had cookie treat bags everywhere, wrapping paper slivers on the table from wrapping prizes, Christmas cards were all over the place as I was trying to decide which ones to use for my game; there were decorations and candles and garland, and strings and strings of lights I was testing out to see if they worked. It really was a mess… but I got it all cleaned off my table Friday and it was wonderful. :o)
Fast forward to yesterday… I brought down a big Rubbermaid tub that has all kinds of containers and decorative Christmas bags in it for putting cookies and treats in. I was making some cookies and mint cookie bark for my 2 favorite mail clerks at the Post Office and also for our trash man. So my table started getting messy again… Then, tonight, Rebecca was baking peanut butter doggie biscuits for 2 of her coaches at the CrossFit gym she goes to every morning. It smells WONDERFUL in my house right now, but it doesn’t LOOK so wonderful. Her mess added to MY mess. It spilled over to my sewing room as we were searching for something to use as an imprint on her doggie treats. I didn’t have a doggie paw we could use… I looked in my buttons for something, on the ornaments hanging on my tree, in my props for my dolls…and we came up with nothing… so she used a scalloped edge biscuit cutter and just made them plain. Then she needed some little tags and clear bags for them…then she wanted some dog stickers… I did find some of those… so the mess from my dining room table stretched clear into my sewing room. I guess you know what I’ll be doing tomorrow. :o)
I wanted to share a few pictures of my Christmas decorating but I couldn’t take a “full room” shot because of all the stuff on the table… so you’ll just have to see some snippets of the areas I have decorated. Maybe I can get that table cleaned off AGAIN and take a longer shot of my room. Until then… I’ll just share these pictures. I didn’t put my Nutcrackers all lined up in a row on my fireplace this year… They are scattered from my kitchen to my blue cabinet and China cabinet my hubby gave me for Valentine’s Day a few years ago. I kind of like them spread out and even though it’s a bit more whimsical than I’d like, my hubby loves the nutcrackers so I try to work around them.
So here goes… a snapshot of Christmas at my house this year.
Our ceilings are wood planks and sometimes I just can’t get my pictures to be bright enough so a few had to be taken with the flash… not my favorite…
There’s a NEW ornament on my tree since you last saw my tree…one of my dear readers sent me the sweetest little Hydrangea angel…her face is painted on a wood ball and the Hydrangea has been dried I suppose. She is very sweet! Thank you! (I actually moved her to the front now!)
One picture just wasn’t enough of her.
I have a few nutcrackers on top of my (unfinished cabinets…but they’re on my to-do list!) in my kitchen…and a few on the window sill.
Here is my blue cabinet in the living room…
The rest of these pictures are taken in my dining room.
So that’s it for today…
Hope you are getting your Christmas shopping, baking, cleaning, organizing, cards sent out, gifts wrapped, etc. If you are… you are WAY ahead of me! I DID buy some Christmas stamps! Does that count? :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne! I sure hope buying Christmas stamps counts–that’s where I am on my cards/letters, too!! Today, however, I did get the gifts wrapped and packaged up that are going to the two grands in MO. I haven’t even Shopped for the other grands yet!! Yikes!
You home looks just lovely, so festive, decorations nicely grouped around the rooms. Really, a delight to look at. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
I haven’t had a chance to decorate yet, but Sunday when I went into my Sunday School room, there was a present waiting for me! One of the young ladies in our church made a little decorative piece for me–she used a fragrance warmer (I found some like it on the dollar tree site, so I know that’s what it’s called), and on the top, she put a little “nest” with a cardinal sitting in it, and in the center part there is an arrangement of artificial berries, cones, etc. Very festive! I did set that out, but that’s the extent of the decorations so far!
Jeanne, how very festive and “Christmasy” looking your living room is! I love the way you grouped the nutcrackers in little groups, much better than all lined up. Your tree and fireplace are worthy of a cover shot for Better Homes and Gardens!
You have such a wonderful collection of Nutcrackers, actually more than most people have, and it makes your house unique in that respect! The Hydrangea angel looks so pretty on your tree, along with the popcorn garlands!
Too bad we can’t get some of that yummy smell of your house, with all the baking going on! I did start my baking, but am way far off from where I want to be. Aren’t we all?
Just think, one week from today is Christmas!!
Dear Jeanne, it’s all so lovely. You really have the “touch.” Santa will enjoy leaving gifts under your beautiful tree.
Of all your great decorations, I’m loving the baubles in the bowl. Beautiful display. The only decoration we have is a small reindeer on the table. And will probably remain that way. But, we have glorious heat today. What a job that entailed for the workers.
Hope you have time to do some shopping. And enjoy the season too. What’s Santa bringing Reuben?
How wonderful you have heat now! It will be a good Christmas indeed.
Your house looks and must smell beautiful. All this and the couples dinner! You’ve been a whirlwind of production. Congratulations! And I’ll bet you have dozens of wrapped presents hidden somewhere. Now all you need — or maybe don’t need — is snow.
Have a lovely day. You deserve it.
Everything looks so Christmacy in your home. The little Hydrangea angle is adorable and I love the groups of nutcrackers scattered here and there. You are so talented, Jeanne.
I finally got a small tree through the mail. The Christmas decorations are pretty picked over and I can’t find the type of ornaments I want but I did find a few in the color I want. I love silver and green with touches of red. I’ll put up the ornaments I’ve found ( and the one pretty deer) and wait till next year to continue looking. I have plenty of Christmas things at home but don’t need to haul them out here. It’s fun doing my tree differently out here.
I hope things ease up for you a bit so you can enjoy more movies with George and some family fun. I know it will.
Thanks for sharing all of your Christmas decorations with us. It’s do festive looking!
The Nutcracker Collection looks wonderful in groups around the rooms. What an interesting touch. Almost looks like you’re turning into a Cindy-type decorator. What a cute ornaments you’ve been given. Almost time to relax, Jeanne. I don’t think that’s a word you’re necessarily familiar with, but we hold out hope. Thanks for sharing your decorations with us.
I love your fireplace. What a wonderful centerpiece for your decorating. I don’t have a “real” fireplace so my entertainment center/fireplace has to serve. And the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, including the little ones for my Build-a-Bear bunnies.
When our kids were growing up I loved buying “stocking” gifts. So much that they outgrew any stocking I could purchase. So I bought some red quilted fabric and made the main part of the stocking out of that and did the top with white quilted fabric. They are huge and once filled sat on the sofa until the kids emptied them.
My hubby and I met in the church choir (39 years ago in January) and stayed in the choir the whole time our children were growing up and still are. So our Christmas Eve’s have always been busy – and late. Since we had the children with us all evening (church babysitting during the late service), we had to wait awhile once we got home for them to fall asleep. As they got older that was longer – and they seemed to wake earlier. So it was actually early morning by the time we got to bed. The tradition was that the children would have access to their stockings until we got up and then they could open gifts. There was always coloring books and crayons to keep them entertained and it worked well.
Your Hydrangea Angel is beautiful and what a thoughtful gift. I understand the difficulty in trying to keep things organized during this time. My tree and village have taken over the dining room and my kitchen is the wrapping center. It used to be my sewing room, but I’ve got so much going on in there right now it’s constantly a mess and my worktable is covered with things I bought but haven’t put up yet. But it won’t be over for me Christmas Day. My birthday is the 26th and we will celebrate our family Christmas that day at my son’s home. My granddaughter’s birthday is New Years Eve. No rest for the weary here.
I forget who did the adorable Christmas sweaters for the 11″ dolls. I liked the idea so much I searched the internet and found some. There are so many out there it was hard to choose. I’m afraid to go back and see who it was for fear I’ll lose what I’ve written, but I want to thank them for the wonderful idea.
Barbara, you and I will have a big day the 26th! I hope you aren’t too exhausted to have fun, like I usually am to celebrate our anniversary!
Your home looks beautiful, Jeanne! I feel like I’m a month behind.
Barbara, when I do that, I save what I wrote, then I can go back and copy/paste it in the right place again. To save it, I copy/paste what I wrote into an email and send it to myself. You can save it in notepad or WordPad, too, but email is easiest for me. I also hate when I lose it. : )
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hugs, Ali