It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Part 2

Actually it is overcast and pouring here today. It looks like a monsoon outside -- not exactly the White Christmas that I had hoped for.

But I wanted to share pictures of my interior Christmas Decorating. I haven't done as much decorating inside as I usually do. For example, I usually go out and get a lot of different greenery -- e.g. holly, cedar, ground pine, roping etc -- and put it all over the house (staircase, archways, mantels, etc). This year I took the extra branches I had trimmed off the tree and found some last-minute white pine and decorated the living room mantel only. There are also a lot of decorations that didn't even make it out of the boxes this year. Between impending travel to China, busy times and work and the usually Holiday madness, I'm more behind than I usually am (and being behind is my holiday norm).

I have 2 collections that I love to put out every Christmas. My largest and most beloved are my hand carved wooden Santa's. Way back when I first got out of college, I started to buy these Santa's from a man named Tom Niles. I have purchased one (and sometimes 2) each year. Tom is taking a break this year and didn't make any for sale. He promised me that he'll be back in production next year. I put these Santa's on my Dining Room mantel and surrounding built-ins.

My second collection is a collection of exquisite needle points. I used to buy one of these each year too. I so admire the craftsmanship of these pieces, just exquisite. One is pictured at the beginning of this post. I haven't bought any for the last few years because some of the women from whom I purchased have retired. I'm always on the lookout for new craftsmen (or women).

I decorate the upstairs much more formally than our basement family room. Zo Peep rules in the basement. She gets to decide how to decorate her tree, what other decorations to include and what goes where. She was most meticulous about putting out a toy creche set that her aunt in Texas sent to her last year. She also creates a kid-friendly tree. I get a small fir (no taller than 5 feet ) so that she can reach the entire thing. This year we got new personalized stockings for the basement and got one for Libby Doodle Doo, too.

Upstairs is more formal, but I try to infuse a little whimsy into that decorating too. This is the place where Zo Peep comes down on Christmas morning to get her gifts. It needs to feels welcoming and family-friendly -- not like a Hands Off Magazine spread. With the exception of my Tom's Wooden Santa's -- most of my color palette upstairs this year is gold, white and silver. This year I decorated the upstairs tree with those colors. Other years I choose other themes for my upstairs tree. In the past I've done Red/Green/Gold; All Veggies and Fruit; Angels, Bulbs only, etc.

We have a wonderful wide, dark oak door on the front of our house with a great leaded glass window. The door is so beautiful, I don't need to do much to make it look festive. So on the door I hang a gold wreath that I made myself years ago. I am NOT a crafty person so this is wreath represent my one foray into the world of do it yourself.

The downpour has slowed down a bit. Zo Peep and I will probably take advantage of this respite from the rain and go out for a couple of hours.

Have a lovely Holiday Season. I'm working on another video to post for Christmas day.