Okay - we need some serious jollification!
And so, here are a few snaps of my Christmas decorations and just generally jolly fare for your Saturday!
How about them bulbs? The paper whites are coming along nicely...
A footed glass bowl with vintage and antique bulbs have a candy-like feel..
The antique nativity set my grandmother gave me many years ago is ready, supported by a plastic walking cow from Barry's childhood and a collie dog figure I found in my dad's drawer at the nursing home. I am pretty sure Mary would make all welcome...
Company is coming! I set the table in the afternoon...
And here it is later, glowing in the dark December night...
The sideboard is all aglow as well...
And the chicken pot pies are waiting to be served:
I always put everyone's initial on their pot pie - people seem to love this and so I always do it! Come for supper - I'd love to make one for you!
The Eiffel Towers are set for Christmas:
I seem to be collecting Eiffel Tower ornaments! I am not sure how it is happening, but it is...
The tree is up....
And Mr. Steiff Bear is down below, waiting for Santa with some friends:
The liquor stand is especially festive, and who can blame it, for it may be the impetus for some happy conversations! It needs more wine - must go to the happy store and lay in the supplies...
Some Christmas books are waiting to be read...
In the basement, 40 years of stocking stuffer toys (mostly windup toys) belonging to my parents and continually added to by Barry and myself are waiting to be played with. Maybe after you fix yourself a drink you can head down and wind them up?
It is quite an assemblage: tin soldiers who march and drum stand guard near monkeys and hopping eyeballs...
Woody and Animal from the Muppets near walking Mickeys, Scarecrows, ladybugs..
Did you know you can buy walking Sgt. Pepper salt and pepper shakers? Well you can...
The fireplace (sadly not redone yet but then there always has to be more house projects..) bedecked and waiting for Santa:
My small Christmas Village is out
And Scrooge spins around inside, tormented by the three spirits, though we know it's all going to turn out all right for him...
An old Christmas plate that held candy when I was a child holds another kind of treat this year:
And the birdbath on my dining room buffet has some Christmas visitors:
This is the original Elf on the Shelf - circa 1964:
The older that I get, the less concerned I am about having perfection or the perfectly wonderful and tastefully-decorated-for-Christmas houses I see on Pinterest. They are lovely, but not me.
I like to think that my children and grandchildren will say of me, when I have slipped these mortal coils: "She marched to her own drum". And right now that drum is playing a heavy rotation of Elvis Costello and the Chieftains singing "The St. Stephen's Day Murders", Nat King Cole singing "The Christmas Song", Bing of course, and if no one is home, Boney M and I sing "Feliz Navidad" at the top of our lungs, badly.
Like Scrooge, I like to think I know how to keep Christmas in my heart. But sometimes, it spills out all around me....
Have the most wonderful of Saturdays!!! Stay Safe out there!
It's looking fabulous! It's so Wendy! My house is so bare in comparison just now but at least we made piggy cookies last night. I really need to get some decor up this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI love the piggy cookies! No baking here yet! I will be around for tea and cookies around 3!
DeleteThat looks fantastic! Your tree is like mine (or how mine will be when we get it and put it up and decorate it!), eclectic. I need to get the decorations out of the attic. All I've done so far is wreaths! I forget sometimes how short December is and how few days we have to enjoy the decorations and music. I really need to get on the ball, I'm wasting days!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cate! The truth of Christmas is that it seems like it is there in the background and then all of a sudden you get the feeling of "Woa! I gotta get to this!"
DeleteIn the time since I replied, I've gotten the boxes out of the attic! Let the unpacking and decorating commence! (such as it is, lol!)
DeleteI love your decorations - so warm and cheerful! I'm still not quite feeling the holidays this year, but I did wake up to a dusting of snow on the ground this morning. It's starting to melt away now, but I still pretty thrilled. :)
ReplyDeleteIs it being in a new city? Sometimes that can throw things off I think...
DeleteYour tree and table are so warm and festive. I feel cozy just looking at your holiday decorations. Our tree will go up this weekend. We now have naughty kitties at the country house so no tree there, only in the city, which is a disappointment but I am pretty sure it would turn out badly anyway. My husband bought some extra lights to decorate the trees outside so that will help make it more festive.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend!
Thanks xoxo - there is nothing worse than kittens climbing up a Christmas tree - been there done that many years ago - so you are wise!!!!!
DeleteEverything looks enchanting. Restraint and moderation go out the door in my house during Christmas. Classy will not make my kids smile this Christmas. We're buying our tree today and I let them decorate. I can tell you it will be clashing and hodgepodge but colorful and exuberant.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny - we are lousy at Halloween at our place, but we do give good Christmas! Have fun decorating that tree!
DeleteLove everything Wendy! So festive and cheerful, I can just imagine the smiles of everyone walking in the door.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is fear, but mostly smiles!!!!
DeleteEverything looks wonderful. I am now craving a pot pie...please just put a T on mine and DO NOT spell out Booby :). We spent the morning looking for a new tree topper but have had no luck. Everything is up and out, including the fugly pillow from my mom. Have a great week end. Go Auburn - War Eagle.
ReplyDeleteHeeHee! maybe you needed the Eagle on top!
DeleteA T it is!
Oh boy, I have seen the post pie and want one. Your house is a child's wonderland, I love it, seeing the nativity scene took me back, my manger was always a shoe box covered in cotton wool.
ReplyDeleteAnd..more company… wow!
It will all be quiet now till next Saturday. Although there is a little Prosecco left in the fridge from the St. Germain cocktails of last night....
DeleteWe are diligently saving our airmiles and I am hoping to make you one in person in the next couple of years!
Your house looks so warm and cozy I love it. I've given up trying to keep my husband under control with the decorations. He's brought every box he could find down and now my house looks like a disaster area:-)
ReplyDeleteAll those fabulous images on Pinterest are inspiring and intimidating at the same time. And if you spend much time on the decorating blogs you come away with a total inferiority complex.
I don't eat meat, but your chicken pot pies look yummy. I'm imagining them vegetarian, or with fish inside. xoxoJennifer
I do it with vegetables all the time as my son is vegan, so I can accommodate no problem!
DeleteI wish I was Indy.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wishes they were Indy, I know I do!
DeleteEverything looks wonderful. I love how you include the sentimental and meaningful. Some of my friends have Christmas decor that looks straight out of a magazine. I prefer stylish but still include my treasures. Oh and could you make a pie with a C on top? I'll be right there.
ReplyDeleteI love all your decorating Wendy - how festive! I'm sure your children and grandchildren will love your home for being warm, cosy and FUN. So many perfectly decorated houses take it all too seriously. I used to work with a woman who would theme her tree differently every year. I used to find it a bit bizarre. While she would throw herself into the spirit of Christmas every year, there was no heritage or tradition that went with the ornaments. I like getting out the old decorations and remembering things about past Christmases (even the broken ones, like the glass butterfly that my daughter loved so much she flew it until one of the wings smashed. It still goes up on the tree, and we talk about how it lost its wing) xx
ReplyDeleteI love your decorations, so whimsical! And very Wendy. I love the original Elf on the Shelf and the nativity scene. All of the decorations are conversation pieces, especially the ones which have been in the family for years - I love that.
ReplyDeleteIt's true - I have decoration on my tree from both sets of grandparents. It means so much, like they are still here with me!
DeleteI love your house for Xmas Wendy! But you must spend quite some time to out up all this :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely when pieces are passed along generations... Something I just realised recently...
The trees were up today and I have done most of my decorations... It is very reduced in my home... I try to find out my way an install our own traditions...
Hope your weekend was great.
Steph
Thanks Steph! Actually it only takes a few hours! I am too lazy to make it look perfect! I had a great weekend and hope yours was as well!
DeleteYour home is a Christmas wonderland! You certainly put a lot of effort and love into making your home such a magical place for your family and friends. Was last night the Fezziwig party or is that part of your Christmas parties yet to be? Enjoy it all and Merry Merry!
ReplyDeleteHi Teacups (oh how I love that name!)
DeleteNext Saturday if the Fezziwig party - I cannot wait!!! Thanks for the kinds words!
Oh wow. Your home looks beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing such Christmasiness. We don't decorate until midway through December (my mum thinks it's not the thing to put up the tree until Christmas week, but as I start to create my own annual rituals, it creeps a little further forward!) and I was definitely in need of some sparkle.
ReplyDelete(And yes, if someone put my initial on a pot pie for dinner at their house I would love them forever).
Philippa - there is a P waiting for you whenever you want it!!!!
Delete