Trim the tree

Merry Christmas

from our family to yours!

I have mailed the last "round" of Christmas cards, so I feel it is safe to show now. :) Didn't want to spoil the surprise. ;)

{what do you think of the pic?

I got a photographer for a steal of a deal! ;) F-R-E-E, that spells FREE!

Sisters are great!}

I love to decorate for Christmas...and I love to blog about it!

You can read last year's post, here.

Most of the ornaments on this tree were purchased at boutiques in town at after Christmas sales. Though I did find a whole slew of ornaments at Wal-Mart this year that were only $1 and perfect for my tree. I returned a week later to buy more and there were none!

This is Raegen's ornament for 2009...

want to guess what will be under the tree for him on Christmas morning? :)

Each year I purchase a photo ornament at Things Remembered. They usually have a sale and I got this one for $7.99, plus engraving. There is a 2009 charm at the top, but it looks like it slid behind the frame for the photo...didn't notice 'til now!

The little booties are also from Things Remembered, I shared about them here. The pretty birdie and the red glittery ornament a few of my new purchases from WM.

I broke down and bought four new strands of garland this year from HobLob...on sale, no doubt! Then I followed the Nester's tutorial on The Most Wonderful Christmas Garland Ever...mine's not quite there yet, but it's a start.

{and in case you're wondering, the trunk holds our "fire starting" supplies...I like to have things handy without them being an eyesore}

I purchased two "Wish" canisters at Old Time Pottery this summer for $1 each! I also heard a rumor that OTP is going out of business...anyone up for a road trip?? I'd love to shop their "Going out of Business" sale. :)

I purchased the stockings from Land's End a few years ago...expecting them to carry the same designs each year! No sirree Bob! This design is no longer available so I'm not sure how I'll handle Mr. Bojangles' stocking addition. Glad I've got a year to figure it out.

I saw this phrase over at the Nester...

Hello?! Is that not perfect?

She was previewing DaySpring's line of Christmas gifts. You can read about it here.
I really liked my grapevine wreath I decorated for Thanks, so I decided to redecorate it for Christmas. I'm not loving it, but I was too lazy to redo it! It looks like something I'd donate to Goodwill!

I did read an excellent tuturial on how to create a beautiful ornament wreath and would like to try that next year.

Nothing is safe from decorations in my house...

I love to decorate outside too. Growing up we ALWAYS had lights on our house and a snowman in our yard. A few years we even had a huge star atop our basketball goal. B never had lights on his house growing up so it's taken me a few years to wear him down...ha! This year I didn't even have to beg him to put the lights on the house, he just did! :)

I'm in charge of all the other outside decorations and lights. We moved a few crepes around this summer and I now have two flanking my driveway...so of course they have to both have lights, right?! I couldn't put the extension cord on top of the driveway because, well, that's where we drive...so I decided to go

under!

I brainstormed for a while and came up with using Raegen's remote control car. Problem is, it's not 4 wheel drive and mid-way through the culvert it ran out of juice. This prego lady tried her best to see what the problem was, but I never could figure out if there was an obstruction or if it was no longer "driving" straight and trying to climb the culvert wall instead. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was more than crazy. They probably thought I was having a tornado drill...lay low in the ditch, right?

So I went on the hunt for something long...and VIOLA!, I found Billy's backstop he uses when practicing his golf swing. So I disassembled it and...

the 20 foot+ pole worked like a charm! I love it when a plan comes together.


All lit up...

This year I repaired all the silver bells and hung all 64 of them sweetly from the tree...

{okay, that was a LIE, "I" did not hang them from the tree...not that I couldn't, but people don't like to see prego women on tall ladders. I try to explain that I can get on a ladder, I just can't fall off a ladder, but that's not good enough for them. Suits me, who wants to hang 64 bells in the freezing cold anyway? ha!}

There were 64 bells hanging sweetly from the tree, until the wind picked up...now there's 40 bells and 24 strips of ribbon blowing in the breeze!

Thank you dear, sweet Madisyn for picking those bells up out of Aunt Robin's yard!!

Raegen LOVES our Frosty...he'll peek out the window and say,

"There my Frosty!!".

I REALLY like the deco mesh poly ribbon wrapped around my garland. At night it is just beautiful with the lights shining through. I also wrapped it around the lighted garland on the columns of the house.

The prelit potted trees were just $10 each at Walgreens!!

Instead of purchasing a fresh wreath as I do every year, I decided to make my own. I was prompted by an exceptional pile of cardboard left over from Billy's surround sound installation. I hated to burn it all so I was brainstorming on ways to use it! Pitiful, I know.

1. I simply cut the cardboard in a candycane pattern. It doesn't have to be perfect because it will not show.

2. Then wrapped green thread around and around the cardboard. I would have used green dental floss because it is stronger, but I didn't have that color and was afraid white would show.

3. Then, when my husband wasn't looking, I took the gardening shears and went to town giving all the boxwoods a nice little haircut. He didn't seem upset when he saw what I had done so I guess it was fine...or maybe he just had pity on the prego lady. ??

4. Starting at the top of the candycane, I tucked the cut stems into the thread to hold it in place. I worked my way to the bottom, filling in where needed.

5. Then I grabbed some red and white striped ribbon I bought at Sam's last year {I think it's something crazy, like 100 yds for $8...how could I NOT buy it?!} and wrapped it around the stems for added support. I simply stapled it at the top and bottom.

It was that easy and I'm surprised at how green the stems have stayed. I usually mist my wreaths daily to keep them from drying out, but I haven't done that once! I really thought I would have a brown wreath by now, but it's still green and gorgeous!

Can you believe I was doing this just last year??