Christmas room to room

December 01, 2017


Over Thanksgiving weekend, after the dishes are washed and put away, and after perhaps one day of rest, Christmas appears all over my house! While the turkey stock is simmering on the stove, I play carols, light the fire and begin decorating. This is totally my thing and hands down is my favorite time of the year. Let me take you room to room.

 I decorated the mantles first and I'm so happy with both.
The living room mantle has masses of tiny pine trees and lots of tiny, starry lights.

The family room mantle has more starry lights and two Santas from my mother's collection.

This year the kitchen got the rest of the Santa collection;
 a few from my childhood home and a few from my husband's family.

The dining room has something new: four garlands of zinc leaves from Terrain
 wound with more starry lights. The metal garland is gorgeous and was just what I needed
to refresh my Christmas decorations.



The nativity is on a side board. I'm so happy my mom gave this to me as it holds special memories.
I played with this for hours as a child. 



I think I have banished my large artificial tree forever. It's still up in the attic waiting for the kids to take it one day. Last year I wanted a smaller tree and bought a 78" faux Ikea tree. I loved it and am using it again this year as it's so much more manageable for me to set up and decorate. It does not look real in the least, but it is very pretty with a nice open shape and pretty gray-green color, plus it's sturdy enough to hold my heavy ornaments. Another new addition this year was an update to my tired old Christmas tree lights. We replaced them with pretty incandescent lights from Target and I'm so happy with their white glow. (I used exactly half of what the box recommended for my size tree and it's plenty!) I have a large collection of glass ornaments and pulling them out is like saying hi to old friends. Years ago we invested in a rotating tree stand. It's simple to put up and the lights plug into the base. My husband set it up so I can flick a switch as I walk into the room and the tree lights up and rotates. It slowly revolves and is totally enchanting. I put my collection of painted wooden Wendt and Kuhn angel orchestra and villagers underneath.








There's another faux tree in my knitting room, decorated entirely with handmade ornaments made by me (and the kids) over the last 45 years. I remember making each one. Sigh. Love Christmas memories.





The hallway that leads to our bedroom is a room in itself. There are two sets of window seats and at the end is a bank of drawers where I keep my shawls, ponchos and purses. I usually keep cookbooks and family pictures on the shelves, but at Christmas it gets a good thorough cleaning and is decorated with Christmas glitter. It's a private spot as only we use this hallway and it puts a smile on my face when I walk by.




Also retrieved from the attic is my son's old-school high-chair. Our new little guy is almost ready to sit in it. We put him in it on Thanksgiving but he almost fell out with no safety features built in! We'll have to wait until he's a little older. In the meantime it looks pretty in the kitchen housing an old German village.


Here's our little bear.



Isn't he the most darling thing?
We're so looking forward to making Christmas memories with him!
I'd love to hear from you!
To make a comment, please click here.






You Might Also Like

25 Comments

  1. Love all of it and Carter is still the cutest.

    Carole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carole! He IS the cutest! We'll miss you tonight, boo hoo!

      Delete
    2. I always look forward to your e-mail and pictures of your home and garden. Your grandson is adorable. I have 2 daughters. Each one had a baby boy in the last year. I am blessed.
      A wonderful Christmas, happy and healthy, for your entire family.

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much. What a wonderful Christmas you'll have this year!

      Delete
  2. He is the most adorable looking baby!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh thank you! We are absolutely over the moon over this little guy. We get to see him tomorrow and I'm counting the hours!

      Delete
  3. Loved this post, Kristen. I'm visiting my daughter in London. Christmas is all over the place here. I can only dream of my home decorating at present. But, my husband is putting up the outdoor decorations prior to my return and buying our tree all by himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merry Christmas Janet. How wonderful to be in London at Christmas time! It sounds so romantic. I can only imagine what Liberty and Harrods looks like. Aww, your husband sounds like a good egg. Buying the tree by himself and putting the outdoor lights up? He's a keeper.

      Delete
  4. Kristen, you have made your home such an enchanting Christmas Wonderland. It's beautiful. May the spirt and enchantment of Christmas be with you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Diane. This comment is so sweet and I appreciate it. Thank you for wanting the toffee recipe. I made it before Thanksgiving and it's gone. Mostly eaten by me. Arggh. Here is the link: http://knitionaryrecipes.blogspot.ca/search/label/candy I'll also make sure I add it to an upcoming post.

      Delete
  5. Kristen, will you publish your toffee recipe again, please. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So enjoyable love the decorations, and of course the little snuggle bear! M.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! He is indeed a little snuggle bear. He must get 1000 kisses a day, he is loved so much.

      Delete
  7. You have an amazing decorators eye. I admire your purposeful projects, encompassing friends and family. We all wish we were there with you, taking notes and getting involved.

    And your grandson, is so gorgeous. Seriously, the epitome of adorable. It’s not only in your eyes, or his parents eyes, he really is the cutest ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Dasha, Thank you for the lovely compliments! I love this time of year so much and decorating for Christmas really scratches my creativity itch. My little grandson is so loved by everyone in our family. He thinks it's normal to get thousands of kisses a day! He will be 5 mos old in 12 days--getting so big!

      Delete
  8. Loving your ideas especially the three tier wooden stand - what a lovely idea. Your tree looks beautiful and traditional. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I purchased that years ago and is one of the most useful things in my home. I use it for buffets to hold plates, napkins and flatware. I've also used it for a dessert buffet. When I'm not using it for a holiday, it holds plants and sits in a sunny window.

      Delete
  9. Just wondrous, Kristen. And the baby . . . I think he's edible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! YES! He is edible! I gobble his feet all the time and it makes him laugh! So fun to have a baby in your life.

      Delete
  10. My heart just melted to see the baby in that little outfit! His little face!!! He is so sweet! By this time next year he’ll be sitting up in that high chair like a champ! As always, your home is tastefully and bountifully adorned for the Christmas season! I’m with you on deep-sixing the huge tree. We did it some years ago in favor of smaller trees throughout the house. Gives us a chance to decorate in different designs...just like you did! I love the metal garland with the string lights! I did a lot of decorating with lights just kind of draped here and there this year, too. It’s such a great way to add shine and verve to a spot without having to go overboard. It’s simplicity is what makes it so cool! I always love catching a glimpse of the hallway leading to the master. For some reason it reminds me of the White House. Beautiful decor! Happy Christmas to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Alycia. He is just one little scrumptious fella and we are so blessed to have hi in our lives. I get to see him tomorrow and I'm counting the hours. That's funny that you have nixed the big tree too. The last few years that big tree made me so sad to look at it and see how much I had to decorate, it was overwhelming. I decided, enough of this! The Ikea tree is surprisingly nice! Also, I've winnowed out some of my unloved tree ornaments and only using the ones I love. My son is going to take quite a lot next year and I'm cool with that. I think it looks like it takes me days to decorate, but I have it down to a science and takes not even one day. Merry Christmas!

      Delete
  11. I remember Woodey (I noticed his stocking)! Such a dear dog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Judie! Oh, Woody--wasn't he a character! And I remember Pyewacket! Have a great holiday season with your family.

      Delete
  12. Carter is ADORABLE! The house looks fantastic and festive. My friends and I are taking the instructions for the tree ornaments and making them for a charity auction next fall that supports feeding families in our "off season ". Thank you so much for including the pictures. Merry Christmas and keep knitting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, and fantastic!--I think you'll find them so easy and fast to make. I've made a few more with different hats, all in gold and silver. Hopefully I can get some pictures today and post them.

      Delete

You make my day when you make a comment!

Labels

afghan Alana Dakos ally pally ambassador Amy Herzog Ankestrick Arte Italica baby Baby Cocktails bakelite baking berry picking Best Friday of the Month best of Ravelry Big Sur blue transferware book review books boutique brook cables California candy child children children's activities Christmas Christmas crafts Christmas knitting cleaning collections cookie cutters cookies cooking craft Crafts crochet cross-stitch day trip decluttering decorating designer spotlight discount diy dog dolls Easter eau de vie Elizabeth Bradley Elizabeth Zimmerman embroidery entertaining Facebook fall fall decorating fall garden family featured first car fit flower arranging flowers free pattern Friday night party group friends funny Fur garden gardening Giants Gifted Hostess give-away giveaway gluten free gourmet group Halloween herbs holiday home how to set up a party group jewelry Kaffe Fassett KAL Kim Hargreaves kitting Knit Picks knitting laundry Le Jacquard Francais Little French Knits Los Altos lunch Mailbu Making Things Marie Wallin Martin Storey menu minimalism money talk mosaic movies my house my patterns my town nails needlepoint needles October challenge Octoberfest ollalie organizing original design outdoor seating owl party prep pear peg dolls pies pomegranates poncho preview quilting recipe recycling redwork review roses Rowan San Francisco Sarah Hatton sewing shawl shopping shower social media softie spring spring garden stash Stitches West summer summer garden summer knitting Sunday Morning Swans Island table setting test test knit Thanksgiving Three Irish Girls TNNA tomatoes top 10 list toys travel tutorial twinning ufo Uncommon Threads vacation Valentine vegetable garden videos wedding winter garden wip Woolfolk yarn yarn for sale Ysolda