Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Wee Bit of Christmas

Thought I'd share a wee bit of the Christmas decorating I've done at my house. I put all the Santas in one location this year after realizing just how many I actually had! They're on a shelf above the couch in the living room. My favorite two are front and center. This first one is an attempt I made at woodcarving about eight years ago and I was pretty pleased with the way he turned out.




This Santa is also hand carved from wood - I found him at a thrift store two years ago and paid $3 for him. The artists name is on the bottom of the stand - what a shame that no one valued him enough to treasure him the way I do!



I put a small tree on the coffee table in front of the couch and hung all the small santa ornies on that.


This is a rug hooked pillow cover that I pull out every year for the holidays.



We always take a walk down memory lane when we decorate the big tree. When my kids were little they'd receive hand made ornaments from their cousins and friends, plus make some at school. We've purchased Christmas ornaments while on vacation for the last 15 years so it's always fun to see them again and remember where we bought them.



Last Christmas DD#1 was in Arizona and brought me home a dozen of these leaded glass stars from Mexico and I just love them - they're new to the tree this year along with an ornament we bought in Alaska when we went on our cruise in July.


In the dining room I have my prim tree that's covered in ornies that I received from online swaps through the years - some amazingly creative women have made really special ones for me!






Downstairs in the family room is the tree decorated with white angels, birds and stars. We made the Moravian stars several years ago and they're holding up really well.





A rug hooked angel attached to a wooden backing.



There are a couple trees that I didn't put up this year because the kitchen is still torn up. I have enough Nativity ornaments to decorate a whole tree that I love - and a tree full of gingerbread men that I love because it smells so good. OH! And I almost forgot about the little table top tree I put on the kitchen counter - it's got miniature toys surrounding it and a little train on a wooden track that encircles it - that's a fun one too! I think next year will be a banner year where I'll have the entire house decked out liked I used to do when the kids were small.

8 comments:

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

What a great Santa collection! I love Santa's too and have a great many myself! Thanks for sharing such a great collection!

I hope you have a joyous holiday!

Rugs and Pugs said...

Gayle ~
WOW!!! I think you have more ornaments and trees than I do. Everything looks wonderful. Putting up my big tree is always a trip down memory lane for me, too.
I love your carved Santa. I tried woodcarving about 10+ years ago and my goal was to carve Santas. Unfortunately, that fell by the wayside. One of these days...
Hugs :)
Lauren

Barb said...

What a wonderful job you did on that Santa....just wonderful. I guess your talents take you many places....

Love your trees

woolwoman said...

Can you say WOW - What great christmas stuff you have Gayle - your house looks so festive - like a true christmas cottage. Loved seeing your collections. Enjoy the season ! Melody

Lori said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful Christmas decorations1 I love Santas too and how they come in every size and shape.

Primsue said...

What an awesome Santa collection. Love all of your trees. Everything looks beautiful.

Joanne said...

Wow is right - My Mom collects Santas also and I always lose count when I try to count them! Looks great!

Angie Berry ~ Berry Homespun Primitives said...

You carved that Santa yourself?? Wow, I'm impressed! It is very neat!

All your trees are beautiful Gayle! I love the themes and hearing your wonderful stories behind your pieces. The memories make it so much sweeter!