Our Christmas Decorations

I finally got around to taking some photos of our Christmas decorations. I know that Advent is well and truly underway, and we are less than two weeks until Christmas, but better late than never, hey? The pic above is the first thing you see when you walk in the house. Next to the tree is a handmade quilted Advent calender.

This year's decorations are all new, and a big departure for me. My previous decorations were less fun, but more chic, in shades of ivory, gold, amber and chocolate. While they were chic to me, they were also mostly made of glass, and with two kids, I could see disaster and trips to the ER looming. So instead, we have plastic, felt and fimo ornaments that are unbreakable and colorful. The one good thing about this new tree decor is that hand made ornaments will fit in beautifully. I always wanted to make my own ornaments, but they would never have looked right with the old tree. I can't wait to make some next year with the kids. Given that they will be nearly 3 and 4 by then, I think they will find it really exciting.

I bought this kit for a quilted Advent calender last year, but never got around to making it. I changed it slightly from the original pattern, which had the patchwork going all around the Santa panel, since I simply couldn't be bothered making sure all my seams were going to match exactly. I think it still looks really nice with the patchwork just down the bottom.

The calendar has 24 ornaments that hang on the bottom patch work panel. Each day you take one and hang it on a button on the Christmas tree. Stephen seems to like the concept, but I still don't think that he gets the full idea of counting down until Christmas. Every morning when he comes down stairs, he starts yelling "Merry Christmas", and "where is Santa and Dorothy" (as in the Dinosaur from the Wiggles). Why he has joined those two together, I will probably never know!

Just inside the front door we have a recess that seems to only be filled at Christmas, since it has awkward dimensions. It is very tall, but quite skinny. Last year, I just had the nativity set, but that looked really odd, so this year I replaced the two front door wreaths, and put the old ones in the recess, as well as adding the two pressed tin angels. This has given it a much more balanced look, plus the red wreaths play off nicely with the red Christmas tree decorations.

The Nativity set is by Willow Tree. I would love to eventually have the whole collection, which includes the Wisemen, a camel, bronze stars, more stable animals and a Creche. Still, I am happy with my little collection. Plus, if I had the whole set, where would I put it?!

So, this is my Christmas decor for this year. Next year I hope to make some more quilted wall hangings and ornaments, as well as decorating the rest of the house a bit as well, since everything is focused on the entry foyer at the moment. But for now, especially with two toddlers, I think we have it just right.