Our Christmas Home - 2011

How about a little tour of our home, decorated for Christmas. I tried to make it colourful and whimsical, just right for the enjoyment of our little people who are 3, 5 and 7 years old.

Here is our tree. I made and bought (mostly second-hand!) all new ornaments this year. After 10 years of using the same old stuff on the tree, I was ready for a change. (That's our Elf on a Shelf, Cricket, right there in the middle. We find him in all of the craziest places!)

I added a fair bit of Christmas decor to the items that are up all year long. I hate having to store my favourite things during the holidays, so this year I just left it out and decorated around it!
There is our most recent family portrait. Family is the most important thing at Christmas, so I put it right in there amongst the pretty Christmas-sy things.
Just jazzing up our family room mirror here. We received this wrought-iron mirror as a wedding present 10 years ago and I still love it!
This is our "hands-on" Nativity set. My mother bought it for the kids a few years back. I am pleased that all three kids know the story of what is taking place within its walls. I find it quite adorable that they often re-enact the first Christmas with these little plastic people. Sometimes though, Baby Jesus becomes Barbie's newborn ( and daddy is Iron Man). It's fine with me. This nativity was made for children to handle and love.
My husband's grandfather build this hanging shelf unit many, many years ago. When Grandma had to sell her house after Grandpa passed away, I asked if we could have this piece of home-made handiwork for our home. Grandma was so pleased to see it go to a good home.

I made this paper wreath way back in October. I had almost forgotten about it until I scrolled through some older posts here on the blog. I glad I did. Now it hangs on the glass door of one of our kitchen cabinets for all to see!
My mother gave us this clock when my then-fiance and I moved into our first apartment together. It hangs in our kitchen above this cabinet that holds all of my recipe books. There is nothing in these presents (much to my kids disappointment!). I thought some pretty wrapping paper was needed in this particular vignette. The arrangement in the middle of my kitchen table is always built on a wooden tray. That way, I can move the whole thing out of the way when meal time comes.
The pincecone wreath was a second hand store purchase. It was originally naturally coloured, but I wanted to update it a bit. Out came the white sparay paint - and voila! A snow-covered wreath!
I found these bottles at a discount store. I was drawn to their shape and their stoppers. The icey flake seemed to fit well with them, especially after I poured some mini-snowballs into the jars.
Oh pink poinsettias! How I love thee! I have these all over the house this year. My local grocery store is selling them for $4 each - of course I am going to take advantage!
Thanks for stopping by and visiting our little home. Please leave a comment- I LOVE reading them all. And please - BECOME A FOLLOWER. That just makes my day!