The Church Party

What a crazy weekend!  After turning 40 on Thursday, I had our church party on Saturday, my friend Michele found a great photo on "Oh Happy Day", and I did my best to copy it. Everything turned out great!  A big thanks to my sister Debbie, for helping me find the fabric, and for everyone that stood on a ladder! 

Merry Christmas!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Photos from Country Living

I need a little help here....

Hi Christine,

This is the first Christmas with our new fireplace. I haven't figured out a way to attach Christmas stockings when there is no mantle! I thought your readers may be able to help me with this one. We don't really need stockings because our kids are all grown, but I would still like to put them up if I can. We have seven in our family, plus a daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Any ideas?

- Nancy

P.S. The colors in the picture are slightly off -- the room really looks better than that!

Nancy-

I don't think I am very helpful on this question- - but we will hope there is a helpful reader out there. I would simply look for another location somewhere in the house for the stockings. Make Santa look around. He needs a little exercise.

Anyone else have a better idea for Nancy?

Stockings at the top of the post from Utica Home

Christmas Decorations

Christine--
Any hints on decorating for Christmas -- less is more? touches that warm the heart? great entry ideas for Christmas? I'm getting less and less prone to decorate every room and just add a touch of holiday, say, in a bedroom, a candle that speaks the season. Walking through places like Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware give me ideas for 'stuff' I already have.

I love wreaths in windows. LOVE them.

Simple- not necessarily lit or decoratorated- just wreaths....

I keep a theme with my tree. The last few years it has been green and copper. My husband keeps telling me there should be red on it... SO I throw in a token red item here and there. I used to have a green and blue tree- to match my decor- but when everyone went green and blue- I had to be different...

I think that the gifts under the tree are as much a part of the decorations as anything else. I love wrapping presents- and making them all match. I have been known to go as far as to re-wrap gifts that were mailed in... that- and hide un-matching ones in the back....

You just can't go wrong with greenery- the scent of real wreaths is also fabulous!

The little touches here and there also make it quaint. I like this type of thing that is not "cluttering up" the house with stuff sitting everywhere.

I put a smaller tree in my family room- with the full size in my living room. (This is not my house- these are all from Country Living- I have not finished decorating yet- but will post pictures later...)

Adding candy canes and cranberries give the home a lift. I like to find ways to not take down all of my regular decorations- but try to make them "Christmassy"- I have storage issues. When I lived in LA- I would participate in the "Christmas home tours"- decorating houses for Christmas. In those we went ALL OUT! But I personally appreciate the look- but would never want to live like that.

When I lived in Pennsylvania growing up- my mom used to put these candles in the windows- and wreaths- I liked it so much better than the strings of lights that everyone does in California. But the architecture is different back east- here in California it doesn't work the same.

Any good ideas for Christmas decorations? I would love to post your pictures... anyone? anyone?