Decking the Halls...

Has it been as busy and kooky around your house as it has been around mine? 'Tis the season, I guess.

In between finishing a three piece custom order, working on several new pieces for my own shop (more about that in a day or two), and just generally keeping a family of five running along, I've finally managed to finish "decking my halls".

Why oh why do I have so much Christmas "stuff"? Where did it all come from? When did I make the absurd decision to have two Christmas trees?

Well, truth be known, I'm a collector. I hold on to most anything that has a good memory attached. Our very large and colorful tree that stands in the middle of the front window holds an array of memory filled trinkets...



When Gary and I celebrated our first Christmas together after being married, the simple red bauble was from a boxed set that went on our first tree. It is now one of the few that we have left. The pretty little green and white glittered trinket is from my mom and dad's first set of ornaments. It is terribly thin and very fragile. Actually, I have an almost full box of those very old ornaments. They're now going on 63 years old...



Also welcome on my confetti tree are dried baby's breath, beaded chili peppers, crocheted snowflakes, (made by my mom), and vacant bird's nests and wasp's nests...



Our second and smaller tree sits by the fireplace in the family room. It's tall and skinny and rather silly looking. This is the tree that holds all of the "fun" stuff. Have a close look and you can see Toad and Mario, The Three Stooges and Yoda. You can even see Mr. Toast and his bacon-y friend. You'll recognize The Nightmare Before Christmas, I Love Lucy and The Tazmanian Devil as well. The little china tea sets were mine as a little girl. I think they make the most fabulous Christmas ornaments ever!



And, of course, Jack Skellington sits atop this family tree, just as he has over the last 5 or so years...



The mantel is ready for the holidays as well. The styrofoam ball snowman was made by my daughter, Ava, when she was a little girl. (Do you think maybe she's been influenced by Tim Burton?). It truly is one of my most treasured pieces...



On the hearth is a hearty collection of snowmen. All shapes and sizes are welcome. The snowmen have fully accepted my childhood elf and Candy-Puff-A-Lump...



In the dining room, the hutch is happily decorated with the seasonal reds and lots of fun and quirky characters...



Uptop on the hutch sits my childhood Santa mug. I honestly can't remember a Christmas without this mug...



And the dining room table is where this beautiful lady (head vase) holds candy canes. She holds Nasturtiums and Sweet Peas in the Spring and spindly left-over Chocolate Mint in the Autumn. A very dear friend, that I have unfortunately lost contact with, gave her to me a few years ago. I miss my friend terribly and looking at the vase brings back very good memories...



Each year, my Humpty Dumpty Jack Frost joins in the fun. I made him a few years back...



My kids all think that my frosty blue Humpty Dumpty looks like this...



Here he is with all his Christmas pals...



Well now, that was a bit of a home tour, wasn't it?

I do so love to sit back and enjoy the decorations of the season, but I must admit, I am always glad when I'm done with the actual decorating. Our big colorful tree requires ladders to reach the top and by the time we're done with all the indoor decorations, we're exhausted. But....it's not really done until the lights outside are sparkling and the garland has been hung around the front door. So, technically, we're ALMOST done!

P.S. Watch for an Etsy shop announcement. I've been a busy artist girl this week and will have a number of new pieces to list within the next day or so.

Thank you so much for stopping by:
Kim
Gerushia's New World