TRYING to decorate for Christmas...
Well, it is Dec. 10th and I still haven’t finished my Christmas decorating, lol.
Farm chores, daily grandkid babysitting, and retired husbands are all new things around here, lol.
Add in sewing stockings from thrifted sweaters, and 3 other big projects right in the middle of the holidays…and there you go.
This post is about our second Christmas at the Farm, Dec. 2019.
It's a process...
Decorating for Christmas usually takes me around a week to 10 days.
Long before the holiday season has started, the decision on where I will set up my different styles of décor has been made.
Everything is neatly organized and stored in the basement by category. So I can go down and see what I want to work on at a glance…
Example: All the woodland/gnome items are together, the vintage red/white kitschy things are in one tote, etc.
The totes are extra large, most are 2 feet by 4 feet in size.
I used to be able to carry a tote up the stairs…no problem.
Not so much anymore, lol!
Inside each tote are used gift bags with handles, carrying up a few bags at a time works pretty well.
Keeping it real...
If you are like me…the house is a total disaster the entire time you are setting up your Christmas decorations!
All the pictures you see are of the finished areas…all pretty with the lights plugged in and the presents wrapped.
Here’s a shot of my family room in the middle of the mayhem, lol!
When it’s time to wrap presents…you can’t even see the dining room table for days, lol!
Booth Goodies...
Many years ago I had a antiques and gift shop called “The Pink Cupboard”.
After I closed my store, I used to help my dear friend, Cyndy do the display work at her store called “The Country Cottage”
At the time, I also had an area in her store (a booth) that I displayed and sold things of my own.
I was at an auction to buy vintage goods for my booth.
As soon as I walked across the room, there were a collection of little farm figurines that caught my eye.
It just happened that year, for the Christmas open house, the theme for my booth was “farm related”
…(so crazy to think back now, in my wildest dreams, I would never have thought we would have a real farm!)
Anyway, the collection was Snowbabies on the Farm.
I’m not a snowbaby collector by any means, but I fell in love with the whole set.
Farm Auction...
The way they had it set up was in lots…(grouping many items together so when you bid, you are bidding for the whole “lot”)
Always in a lot, are a few items thrown in to get rid of them…knowing bidders will want the few desirable items in the rest of the lot.
There was a Farmhouse, with a few characters in one lot.
A barn with a few characters in another, etc.
There were 4 lots all together.
I wanted all of them! I knew they were going to be expensive, because the line was retired.
Bidding Wars...
So as the lots came up for bid, my stomach was in knots fearing I would get one of them…but not the coordinating items.
Having just the house with a few farm characters would look incomplete, I needed the entire set.
As the bidding began, there were 3 other bidders…ugh.
The more interest in an item, the higher the bids go.
Knowing I had to be brave on this first bid, bidding over my comfort zone…hoping the other bidders would drop out.
I did get the first lot…but that bid was high.
Hopefully, the other lots would go for less now that the main one was sold.
Two of the bidders dropped out, it was me and another guy.
After all was said and done…I paid through the nose, but bought all four lots.
I was going to have to price them really high at the store to make a any profit.
Love at first (make that) second sight...
Unpacking them at home, in preparation for pricing…I laid them all out on the diningroom table.
There was the farmhouse, the little porch light on the side was adorable.
A couple of my favorites were the girl with the kitty and the other with a wheel barrow full of kitties.
Then there was the barn…love it so much.
The girl with the chicken and bucket
The other ones that I liked were the girls with the pig and duck.
Uh oh… I guess I really like this set! More Christmas decorations…I did not need!
I decided to go on Ebay to get an idea for the pricing. Wow! Was I shocked!
If I priced them 30 % lower than the ebay prices… I would more than double my money.
But if I price them comparable to Ebay prices and they sell…I would make some really good money.
If they don’t sell….I guess I could always take them home….poor me, lol!
Farm babies...
So you can guess how I priced them…now that they are packed away again this year with all of my other Christmas decorations, lol!
The farm sign is made from paper mache letters I bought from Hobby Lobby and spray painted cherry red.
In 2019, I put it in my family room, under the cow screen my dear friend Renie, painted for me.
I used a vintage thermos for the silo…and here is the windmill too.
Over the years I have collected this assortment of plaid tin ware. Using them as lifts or accents, works well.
The latest one, the plaid lunchbox, was bought at Home Goods.
The bottom wooden stand is the shelf from my mom’s Amish pie basket that I use quite often to lift items for better display.
Adding Amish pie baskets, boxes and vintage picnic baskets to the display, gives it elevation and interest.
The tree next to the sideboard, is decorated with rustic and country themed ornaments.
Here’s a shot of the sideboard I moved into the family room from the kitchen.
Do you move your furniture around?
I do…on a regular basis, lol.
Many folks ask me where I store all this stuff in a small house…. I make use of everything, like storing these figures inside of the plaid tins.
Variation...
I haven’t put my little Farm set up yet this year…I probably won’t.
It can stay downstairs packed away safe and sound for another time, but I still love that thing so much.
Good bye for now. I will try to get one more post in before Christmas, but can’t make a promise.
If not, Merry Christmas friends, until next time.
Fondly, Sandy
You are a talented gal!
My mom taught me the basics, her house looked like a magazine…and it was immaculate, lol. I wish I liked to clean as much as I like a clean house, lol.
As always, Love! Love! Love!
Thank you so much Elaine❤️❤️🎅🎅🎄🎄🎄
You know I love everything about the Christmas farm snow babies. So adorable!