Christmas Plans...
Long before the Christmas Season has officially started, I have plans in mind for the way I will decorate my house, yard and table.
Having parties, I will host, or attend are on the calendar months before.
Thinking about Christmas all year long gives me great joy!
Inspiration...
In the “old days”, I remember anticipating the arrival of the Christmas edition of “Country Living Magazine”.
Every page was a wonder. Sometimes, I would use a magnifying glass to see every little detail.
Of course, now we all go on Pinterest or Instagram to gather our inspiration, which is fun…but not the same, lol!
Best Laid Plans...
I envy the gals that can slap up their Christmas decorations in an afternoon, putting their cherished things in the exact same spot every year.
Many families have a room that limits the location of the tree, so they are kind of stuck putting it in the same place.
… but the thought of taking a picture of what I did last year (I have many friends that do this) and copying it to a tea year after year…I just can’t imagine it, lol!
With me I have to have a different plan every year …and a plan B, lol!
Use and Reuse...
Do I have money to buy new decorations every year…no! and I wouldn’t want to.
Bags and boxes of cherished Christmas decorations are organized and stored in my basement. (even hanging from the basement rafters, lol!)
Some years I use most of my Christmas decorations and other years not.
Each year I usually buy a few new things and get rid of a few things.
My kids have their ornaments from when they were little, and I always ask my girls if they want the decorations when I’m ready to let them go.
Changing things up...
Each Christmas season, I have a theme, color, style or idea that will give me a jumping off point.
My style is hard to describe.
Here are a few of my decorations and how I categorize them.
My first love...pure Red and White
This tree is 4 feet tall. I always put it up on a table.
Primitive/Rustic
Scandinavian/ Gnomes
Kitschy/Vintage
Modern Farmhouse
I could go on and on…
but in my mind, to put them all together would be a big fat mess…., lol!
Using 4-foot trees, in most cases, I pick a theme for the main areas of my little house.
Decorating my bay windows, top of my vintage cupboards, my kitchen island etc. trying to keep coordinating items together.
Idea from a favor...
It was my turn to host our Christmas party for a lady’s group I’m in.
There were 11 gals coming over for supper and I wanted to make a nice favor for them all to take home.
After some pondering, I decided to give them farm-fresh eggs!
Now I was on the hunt for a cute way to display and wrap them.
Online I found these adorable cartons!
They were perforated and could be divided to a perfect ½ dozen size.
All wrapped up...
To me, wrapping a gift is part of the gift itself.
So I gathered the eggs for a few days and arranged them in the cartons.
The cardboard tag, I stamped, was used as a place card.
Finishing it off by tying a wooden tag on top, that I had stamped “With Love”
Raffia and black ribbon set it off perfectly!
Primy, Prim...Primitive.
Of course, those egg carton colors set the entire theme for my table that Christmas!
Neutral colors with primitive accents, I couldn’t wait to start.
My table is large …48 inches wide, so I have lots of room for the big centerpieces that I love to create.
The old rule of thumb about being able to see your guests across the table, doesn’t always work at my house, lol!
I started with a simple white tablecloth and layered it using a burlap style tablecloth that I bunched up in the middle.
Placing my nativity set on one side.
On the other side, I used my paper mache houses with some little deer.
Tip* I didn’t want the houses to all sit on the same level. Using a small bench for the medium one and then hiding small boxes and pieces of wood under the tablecloth to give the items some height.
On the end, I used a display of primitive sheep and bottle brush trees that I bleached many years ago.
Tip: Dipping green fiber bottle brush trees in bleach water will strip the green dye and leave them a soft cream color.
One the other end, I put my baby shoes in an old wood box.
The Process...
Going around the table ensuring there was enough room to put the placesettings.
Take your places please...
Setting the table with plain white dishes and cloth napkins, gave the place settings a casual look.
From each side of the table, there is something different to see.
Always room for dessert...
After a few silly games…we headed in for dessert.
Dessert bar...
Individual “tapas” type dessert, were a big hit!
Salted Carmel Brownie
Pistachio with butter brickle
Banana cream pie
Raspberry and Kiwi Tart
Another fun party with sweet friends.
So long until next time. I have to get my house decorated so I can get ready for my cookie exchange!
p.s. I thought of my theme for this year…last February, lol!
Fondly, Sandy
