These are a few of my favorite things.

Our kitchen is the least decorated room of the house during the holidays because of the terracotta color of the walls.  I'm hoping to remedy that situation before next Christmas, but for now, I just add a few neutral items in the bay window.  I even made some glittery snowballs to pile in my ice cream maker.

 

My ice skates that haven't been worn in years got a makeover with some faux fur and leather laces.  I just love the stained glass colors of the vintage bubble lights.

I don't have an ounce of pink in my house, but I collected vintage pink ornaments throughout the year to create this ornament wreath for a friend who loves pink.

The only pet currently in our house is this stuffed bird bought at Target a few years ago.  The little soldier lamp was a vintage find.  Don't you love that his big hat is also the shade?

This armoire has gone from unfinished pine to panels painted with pink flowers to the design you see now.  I've been thinking this is the piece that could most use an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint makeover and some chicken wire in the upper doors, but it does add some festive red in an otherwise dark corner of the living room.

Sequined ornaments top my Iittala candlesticks

The tiny wood Santa and the composition gnome were estate sale finds from years ago. 

As you can see, I do love my red!  The tree is decorated with mostly vintage glass balls and a few ornaments made by our girls when they were younger.  I divided up all of the ornaments bought for them over the years and now they hang on their Christmas trees.  Every year we bought Julie a cat ornament and for Megan a dog, which is pretty funny because those are the pets they now own.

The mantel doesn't change much from year to year.  This year I added the little elves in the turquoise jeep and you know what a mistake that was.  Who knew?!  The Santa on the pedestal table on the right was the very first Santa I painted and the beginning of Vickie's Folk Art, my cottage business from which I have happily retired.  I'm hoping to find more time to do some painting just for family. 

There are still 2 more leaves to be added to the table, but since we won't be hosting our family Christmas until mid-January it can wait a few more weeks.

I've kept it simple with cinnamon scented pine cones and mercury glass votives on the table.  The toy barn was moved to a rustic bench at the top of the stairs for now.  The blue Santa above and tavern sign below were painted by me during my decorative painting years.  The three Santas below on the left were hand carved by my sister.  The two little girls held by the carved red Santa on the right represent our daughters.   

You've already seen my angel collection on our buffet and the sheet music wreath got a more

festive look with the addition of a pomegranate and pine cone corsage.  You will always find chocolate in my candy dishes no matter which holiday we're celebrating!

I made this stained glass window years ago at a local studio where I took beginner classes.  While I now gravitate towards more simple vintage designs, I got plenty of practice cutting and grinding over 300 pieces of glass for this project! 

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Linked to:

The 36th Avenue

The Brambleberry Cottage Time Travel Thursday

Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday

The Charm of Home Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

Making Memories

Do you have Christmas traditions?   Maybe a favorite family recipe.  Or a classic Christmas movie you watch with your family.  Have you started any new traditions with your loved ones?  A new ornament added to the tree every year for each of your children.  Or venturing out into the woods to cut your own tree.  Ah, we tried that last one once, and it was enough for us.  The snow was up to our thighs, the girls were cold and crying, and Julie got a rash wherever the freshly cut pine tree touched her.  It was not a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting.  No, it was more like the flat tire scene from "The Christmas Story".

A tradition we started a few years ago is to line the snowbanks along the sidewalk with luminaries on Christmas Eve.  I put them together with simple white paper bags, an inch or so of sand to keep them from blowing over, and inexpensive candles in a glass votive cup.

For some unknown reason, it has become our son-in-law Jeremy's job to go out into the freezing cold night to light the candles.  And he does it so well!!!

He lights the candles at dusk and they will still be glowing in the early morning hours. 

A tradition started at Bill's parent's Christmas Eve celebration is one of our favorites that we are now carrying on at our house.  The dice game.  You know, the one where each guest brings a wrapped gift with no tag and you sit in a circle around the gifts.  You then take turns shaking a pair of dice until everybody has a prize.  To win a prize, you must shake doubles or a combination that adds up to 7.  

We set a price limit for the gifts, which I usually exceed when I find the perfect vintage item to wrap for the game.  And, let me tell you, this year's gift is a doozy!!!  Bill traditionally buys lottery tickets that our son-in-laws fight over ( it also includes a golfing photo in a frame that they have to display in their home for the upcoming year :@ ).  Oh, I forgot to mention that after everybody opens their gift, we set a timer for 2-3 minutes.  Once again we pass the dice, and if you shake doubles or 7's you can switch your gift for one that you would rather take home.  This is a fun game that will liven up any party!

 Last year, with the arrival of our first grandchild, we started a brand new tradition with a visit from....

Santa!!!  He looks vaguely familiar to me.  As you can see, Finley was not too impressed when she was just a few weeks old.  This year she will be 14 months and Mack will be almost 8 months old when we finally have our Christmas in mid-January!  I think their reaction to Santa's visit will be quite different from last year's nonchalance.  Actually, I'm putting my money on lots of.......well, crying.

  Time will tell.

So this year, bring back a tradition from your own childhood, or better yet, start a new one!

Written by Mrs. Claus.  :@