Christmas decorating Archives

A Merry Little Christmas

December 28, 2013 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

I was determined to have a stress-free Christmas this year and I actually pulled it off! I lost about a month of prep time due to the asthma-attack-from-hell so I just scaled back my expectations. So what if the tree wasn’t decorated until two days before Christmas. It’s still beautiful:

I didn’t put out every decoration I have but focused on the important ones:

And even more roses. They sent me two dozen!

There was the unexpected addition of two dozen roses from Lisa and Justin:

And special moments such as the night we took Shiloh with us to see the lights in the park, eat dinner at Sonic and drive through to see our church’s live nativity:

Our new black velvet drapes which arrived in time for Christmas:

Christmas Eve lunch with cousins:

Hearing my dad read the Christmas story as he’s done for nearly 30 years:

Singing Christmas carols with my family:

Our church’s candlelight Christmas Eve service, always the highlight of my holiday:

A new toy for Shiloh:

Shiloh's stocking - he loves his new toy.

Christmas morning with all four kids and our traditional breakfast of homemade waffles, bacon and mimosas. Then my parents joining us to open gifts.

It turned out to be a really nice Christmas and it’s not over yet. The 12 Days of Christmas actually begins on Christmas day so we still have several more days to enjoy. I won’t take down our tree until mid-January and I intend to watch the rest of our favorite Christmas movies we didn’t get to before. There’s no need to call it quits just yet.

And then there’s this:

If you celebrate Christmas I hope yours was filled with light and love.

Just not ready…

January 9, 2013 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

I decided that I’m just not quite ready to un-decorate my house. I said this to David last night and he said, “It’s our house; we can do what we want.” So I decided that at least for now I’m not taking down the tree. Instead, I’m going to decorate it for Mardi Gras. I’ll take the ornaments off and pack them away. And then I’ll redecorate it with Mardi Gras beads and whatever else I come up with. I’ve got a hair appointment in just a bit so it will have to wait until tomorrow. However, I did this:

And then remembered I had some purple lights so I added them:

I figure that during the cold, dreary winter we need all the cheer we can muster. And what is cheerier than a pirate wearing a Mardi Gras mask? Besides, I am planning to host a Mardi Gras party this year so that’s my excuse. As if I need one. 😉

Farewell, Christmas…

January 8, 2013 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

Just a little tour of our house decorated for Christmas:

It’s funny what you see when you photograph or video tape your house. It probably looks a little cluttered to some of you. Part of that will be gone when I put away the decorations but the truth is that, despite the fact I like things tidy, I’m in no way a minimalist. If you could see my parents’ house you’d probably understand. If they were to hang an “OPEN” sign on the front door and set up a counter with cash register, you’d start looking for price tags. It looks like a cross between an antique store and malt shop. They have a lot of really cool stuff and while it’s a bit much for me to live with personally (I hate to dust!) I do feel comfortable there.

While I can appreciate those perfect houses with just a few careful chosen objets d’art and lots of open space, I’m personally more comfortable with a little cozy clutter. My favorite design style is an English country look complete with wellies by the door and a dog snoozing in front of the fire. Or how about the cottage in the movie, “The Holiday”? Take a look at this photo tour of Rosehill Cottage and tell me it’s not delightful and charming.

Still, I always do some decluttering after I put away Christmas, or at least when spring arrives. It might be a little later this year since we apparently have some frigid weather heading our way later this month and for some reason I feel warmer with a bit of cosy clutter.

What about you? Are you a minimalist, clutter bug, or somewhere in between?

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day 20 “Tree Topper”

December 21, 2012 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

The angle of this photo makes the angel look smaller than it is but we really could use a larger one. I made the bow many, many years ago and if you look closely you’ll see a clear lucite ornament just under the bow. It says, “First Christmas Together 1981”. It has hung near the top of our tree every year since that first Christmas following our wedding.

I finally got the rest of the decorating done today. Well, there are a few more things I could add if I have time but nothing essential. Hopefully I can find a few minutes to take a video tomorrow. I wouldn’t hold my breath, however.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day 11 “Green”

December 12, 2012 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

Red and green are the traditional Christmas colors and I’m pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas. I do, however, use more of a burgundy rather than bright red, in part because I have burgundy velvet drapes in the family room. And we have dark green carpet so the room is well-suited for Christmas.

I hope to finish up the decorating by the end of the week and then I’ll post pictures. I’ve got a noon meeting, 2 p.m. hair appointment and choir rehearsal tomorrow. Thursday I’m planning to go swimming with Lisa in the afternoon and then David and I are going to see “It’s a Wonderful Life” that evening. On Friday I’m delivering Meals On Wheels. My days are pretty chopped up but I am hopeful that I can sandwich in the rest of the decorating. At least that’s my goal.

Have you finished decorating? If you have a blog and have posted pictures, leave me a comment with a link so I can take a look. I love to see how other people decorate for the holidays.

Autumn to Christmas

November 30, 2011 By Deanna Piercy 3 Comments

I’m in the process of turning my home into a cozy nest of Christmas-y cheer. Christmas is the bright spot in a season I could otherwise do without and I love to “deck the halls”. Here are some before and after pics of what I’ve been working on:

This table is just inside our entry way. It’s oak and belonged to my great grandmother. Here it is dressed for Autumn. The lace tablecloth was my maternal grandmother’s.

And here it is all decorated for Christmas. This is always the first thing I decorate. I love setting up the Nativity which was a gift from my aunt and uncle either our first or second Christmas. You can’t tell in the photo but the tablecloth is dark purple which looks pretty with the Advent candles.

This is my “redneck repair” of a broken angel wing. Duct tape rules!

My dad found this antique buffet at an auction and it was a Christmas gift from my parents just before I got married.

Here it is covered with another lace tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother. As the Christmas cards begin arriving, they will be displayed here.

Under the fall tablecloth and Jack Sparrow puzzle is the sweet little antique oak table that David bought for me on my 16th birthday.

And here it is in its Christmas finery, with yet another of Grandma’s lace tablecloths layered over a burgundy tablecloth.

I moved the puzzle to our coffee table. The stack of books under the bowl of fruit includes a set of books about Christmas traditions in other countries, plus the Cajun version of “The Night Before Christmas”.

And yet another table. This belonged to David’s grandmother.

I actually bought this tablecloth. It’s pretty but there is no comparison to the quality of the vintage ones.

Chris and I have been watching “Home Alone” while assembling the tree and stringing the lights all afternoon. David has always done this part and I never fully appreciated what a pain it is. Literally. My hands are burning and itching. But it’s almost done and then I’ll decorate it tomorrow. After we eat dinner we will turn off all but the Christmas lights and watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”, our annual tradition. It’s my favorite Christmas movie and it never fails to get me in the Christmas spirit.

What is your favorite Christmas movie? Any special holiday traditions you’d like to share? I love hearing about other people’s traditions.