EV-ER-RY year I say I’m going to do a Christmas blog post. And EV-ER-RY year the hustle and bustle of the few short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas gets away from me. Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday. It’s this magical time of year that warms my heart and makes me believe that miracles do happen. I love all of the traditions associated with Christmas, and making new traditions as the years go on. I love decorating my house, making cookies and treats that don’t have a place any other time of the year. I love the parties, and ugly sweaters, and spending time with family…..

Growing up, all of the grandchildren had two special weekends of fun before Christmas. One was a Christmas Crafts weekend where everyone brought a craft project and the supplies for everyone to make. We made all sorts of things over the years. We decorated ornaments, made doorknob hangers, reindeer out of wood, and so much more. On a separate weekend we would all gather for Cookie Day. We would make everything from Chex Mix, to Sugar Coated Peanuts, to my Granny’s Famous Mix and Roll Cookies, to fudge and peanut butter balls. It was an all-day event that started early in the morning, breaked for pizza a lunch, and went up to dinner time. Although we don’t get together to have cookie day anymore, I’ve started the tradition with several friends over the past couple of years.

I’m a HUGE fan of Christmas decorations. I probably have too many for my space and enough ornaments to fill more than one tree. I love to decorate my Christmas tree with traditional and random ornaments. I HATE designer cookie cutter trees where EVERYTHING matches. I think a tree should represent life and the experiences along the way. I like to find a Christmas tree ornament for each place that I travel to and for different milestones in life. When I’m putting each ornament on the tree it makes me think of each of those places, the memories, and the good times that took place. I have an oriental fan from my trip to Indonesia, a sea turtle time from my trip to Costa Rica, a Mr. & Mrs. Wolf for NC State, and a 13.1 ornament to commemorate my first half-marathon.

I have A LOT of NC State Christmas decorations. My mom got me one of these for each year I was in school, plus an additional one to commemorate my acceptance.

And my family’s 100 year old punch bowl gets filled with red and white ornaments.

My entry way also gets transformed for the holidays with a nativity scene, stocking, galvanized bucked with antlers and a vine snowman.

This year I added decorations to the dining area on top of the pine server. This Santa Claus art was made for me by a friend last year. I have another canvas that is the same size that hangs here during the remainder of the year. So it was the perfect spot to display this piece.

This year I decided to do some hand lettering for my gift tags. I always wrap my presents in brown butcher paper and then add a pretty bow. It’s easy and cheap. Brown paper works for any occasion and you can add ribbon to match whatever function the present if for.

So there you have it, the complete tour of Christmas décor at my house. It’s been a great holiday season so far and I’ve already received the best Christmas gift that I could ask for. This past week I had 2 orders from my Etsy shop. These were my first non-friend and non-family orders. I was overcome with emotion. I didn’t expect that these orders would mean so much. I truly understand what those framed ‘first dollars’ mean at a business. I need to frame my own ‘first dollar’ to remind me of this feeling. I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas. I hope you get to spend time with friends, family, and loved ones to make memories to remember for years to come.