The perfect mixture of tons of white lights and some color lights make for the perfect Christmas tree, so bright, colorful, and pretty. Hubs doesn't like the distraction of any blinking lights, but I like it if it is subtle and done right... However, he has converted me for the time being to no blinkers.
This is how we displayed our Christmas cards this year. Simple, yarn and clothes pins. I think I'll do it every year:)
I made our stockings and tree skirt, patterned after the ones we had in my family growing up that my Aunt Rhea and Aunt Donna made. Mine were the same idea but different from theirs of course. Thanks for the inspiration Aunties.
When we did our tree the first year we were married, we thought it would be cool and unique to have a cross as the topper... We especially liked that it would be a definite visual reminder of the reason Jesus came and all that He has done for us...
I am a sucker for a good old fashioned, country Christmas... anything from my child hood or vintage looking... One of those things being Raggedy-Ann and Andy, so I had to make these little ornaments for our tree....
This Santa face reminds me of my childhood Christmases. My Grandma Rhoda would crochette ornaments, one of which was a little santa face like this one. Now I have three made by another Great Grandma Silvia who has passed away, and one made by my cousin Leslie. Leslie and I were close as young girls growing up in Mexico, when I moved away to Alaska with my family, and we were both still young girls, she had learned to crochette ornaments and sent us a bunch of them.
Got the idea to make this red angel from a craft fair I went to with Mama Mary when she still lived here in AK. The Raggedy-Ann and Andys were also inspired from that fair...
A good old fashioned Christmad wouldn't be complete without strung popcorn (the same strands last FOREVER year after year), pepermint candy ornaments (fake), candy canes, cranberries (wooden beads), and ginger bread (fake ornaments), wooden toys such as soldiers, rocking horses, and trains, and other homeade and homade "looking" ormanments...
Love this little church decoration that sits on our end table... My mom loves it too. Every year I bake and make goodies for Christmas time.
I remember my mom making divinity and other candy and marchmallow puffed rice bars with penuts in them at Christmas when I was a girl in Mexico. We were poor and didn't have alot of money. I also remember we had the big bulbed outdoor (like the BIG ones) lights for our tree, our tree which my Dad had drilled holes in the trunk to stick extra branches in to make it fuller. One of his other wives got the nice tree. Mom wasn't happy and argued with him about it, but I gues he didn't care. I still thought the tree and the lights were pretty.
Aunt Norine was with us that Christmas and had gotten me a present. I opened it to find a gift tag on the bottom. Spoiled bratt that I was (huh, even thought we didn't have alot of money, I still managed to be spoiled... the truth is, we were very poor, but we didn't go without, Mom made sure...) I threw the "empty" box I also threw a fit. I didn't see the small gold stud earings attached to the gift tag... Looking back, I think I had those earings for a long time. Thanks Aunt Norine:) Forgive me for being a bratt, Aunt Catherine would, ha ha:)
Mom made Christmas such a special and memorable time, even with what little we had... Christmas is for children and they don't need much.
This year I was set on giving Kate a Raggedy-Ann doll for Christmas. I had done alot of other sewing for others for Christmas this year, and of course it is always busy around that time with so many other things that I didn't get to her doll till the last minute. I started on it and stayed up till 4:30 in the morning working on it the night before Christmas Eve. Embroidered her face on Christmas Eve, and put the finishing touch of blush on her cheeks Christmas morning... I love it!
Radio Flyer anything, I want it. Can't wait to get a wagon and a tricycle when she gets older. They have to be the old fashioned looking kind... Again, sucker for vintage nostalgia.
She loves books. Grandma and Grandpa got her a couple about Jesus and the Christmas story. We got her "Twas the Night Before Christmas"...
When I was little I had a little table and chairs, a highchair and a cradle for my dollies... I figured she could start learning to use her table and chairs. Hubs did a great job of putting them together and painting them. As she gets older she can color and have tea with her dollies... and her Mommy and Daddy. I can't wait to get her the highchair and the cradle, and kitchen stuff, and a play house... and a backyard... when she is older of course.
One of Patricks Chrismas memories from his childhood is a waffle maker and waffles... Now we have waffles every Christmas for brunch...
So our Christmas is a mix of both of our childhood nostalgia and ideas I have picked up from others or country Christmases seen on TV and movies...
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
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