~ Oh ... Christmas Tree ~ The Decorated House 2014

For the last few years I've wondered if I can do without the big Christmas tree. You know, maybe a small one on a table so something like that. I've watch how the Christmas tree trimming story played out with the older women in my neighborhood as their kids grew up, or even the grandkids grew up .... and maybe even some moved away. I think by the time I met them only one still had a larger, real Christmas tree that her daughter used to pull in the house on Christmas eve.  Another lady would still put a small artificial tree on a table in her front window and red bows on her outdoor lights, even though she lived alone.  I miss her, and that silly little tree and the red bows.

For this year, there is still a big tree in the living room. Right where it has been for the last 30 years. I like to think my little family would miss seeing one there, but I'll most likely rethink the whole thing once the needles start falling, or I am wrangling the lights off the tree. Sometimes I forget to just let that be a part of the fun as well. 

But I never forget to enjoy the dance of the lights in the evening when all is quiet after a long or busy day. Somehow it brings you back to a peaceful moment and makes it seem worth the work it takes to put it all together. 

I hope your Christmas Season is going well and that you are creating beauty and joy all around you. 

~ See Y'All Soon ~

~ The Decorated House - Christmas 2014

It's that holly jolly time of the year again when you most likely get bitten by a bug ... the Humbug or more hopefully the Christmas Merry Bug! And yes, there seems to be some in between states of mind as well. Or you might flip from one to the other one day to the next. That's OK, just try to take a little time to breath in the beauty of the season and shake off the stress that sometimes comes with it.

Black and white at Christmas? It might seem like an odd color combo for Christmas decorating. But we have been using it for a while, and I still love it! I think it started for us several years ago when we got a Bambi, Radko ornament set with Flower and Thumper being the cutest of the lot. Flower of course is black and white/silver so that one has been displayed the most over the years. But it was the star that came later that really moved the color scheme to black and white.

 

Then a couple of years after Flower came to Christmas,  I found a pretty MacKenzie Childs star to add to the decorating mix. A few more, including one more star, came along in the next few Christmases. After a couple of tree crashes that destroyed a lot of the overpriced ornaments, I vowed not to get anymore. Out of all those glass ornaments, the stars are the only ones on the tree every year and I still love them!  The amount of lime green varies a bit year to year sometime a little more and sometimes a little less.  Still the Christmas decorating for me is white and silver with touches of black and remains my favorite combination with a touch of lime green.

Amazing to me, the presents are getting wrapped a bit early this year! Between procrastinating and trying to hide the gifts from my daughter, over the years I always seemed to be playing catch in on Christmas Eve, often everyone was in bed. This year I have a very good start on the packages which are going to be wrapped in white and silver, with black and lime green accents.

~ See Y'All Soon ~