December 16, 2008

{ Holiday Open House }

Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land is having a Holiday Open House today & I thought I would join in the fun.


Welcome to my home!

The first thing you see when you walk in the door is my fun snowman. I've had him for quite a few years now. He is about the same heighth as my almost 3 year old, Boo. She loves to stand in front of him & look him in the eyes & then pull on his nose. In fact, all of my kids did that. It's amazing that nose is still there.

Don't you love his long sweater?

Every year I get a new Christmas book. I like to display them on my stairs & it's easy for the kids to grab them when they want to read.

This tree is new this year. I'd been dreaming up a "game" themed tree to put here, in the room where our pool table is, & when I found this set of billiard ball ornaments at Target for $9.99 I was so excited. I found a good deal on this tree at JoAnns. {I'm kicking myself for not getting two. I went back but, they were gone. I need one for my Wizard of Oz theme tree.} I got the dice ornaments at Roger's Gardens. They were a bit more expensive so it's a good thing this is a small & skinny tree.

Here is my snowman collection. I didn't consciously start collecting snowman but, last year I realized I had so many that I had a collection. Apparently, I'm a little bit partial snowmen.

A little side table in the living room. Yes, the rosemary tree is real. With my non-green thumb skills, I'm sure it will be dead very soon.

Here is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. My friend had one of these in her home & I fell in love with it. It is only half way completed because it is way out of my price range. I splurged about 3 years ago & ordered the metal tree part for myself for Mother's Day. It was on sale but still expensive. 2 years ago I started buying the crystals from ebay & wherever I could find them. This year I ordered two sets of the ornament frames. They are darn expensive! But I figure I can add a few frames here & there & just keep adding.

I love it! And even though it's pricey, I know I will love it & keep it for a very long time.

The reason for the season...

Here's the cute little rug at the bottom of our stairs.

This is looking towards the family room. I love that wreath hanging on the door. I tend to like very simple, natural looking wreaths.

I bought this shelf this summer just so I could hang the stockings here. We don't have a fireplace so I needed to think of something else. The shelf that used to be here was not as deep & didn't have hooks. I found this one at HomeGoods but the hooks that came on it only had 1 hook each so, I switched them out for 2 hook hooks. That sounds goofy doesn't it. I'm sorry if that is confusing. Anyway, I love it & I especially love the Santa. He is the Santa that I grew up with. One year I was visiting my mom & she was going through some of her Christmas stuff & she almost threw him away! Can you believe that?!! I saved him & feel very lucky to be able to display him every year.

The swag hanging on the laundry room door.

A little bit of Christmas cheer in the bathroom.

My sister painted this little music box. I adore it! Santa & his reindeer go around to the music "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". The kids can't keep themselves from turning it whenever they get a chance.

This is our advent calendar. There's a little note in each door with an activity or question.

Here is my Grandpa's hutch. It is very hard to get a picture of it because of the glass doors. Does anyone have suggestions for that? Anyway, this is the best I could do. The ornaments are vintage & were my Grandma's. I sooooo wish I had more of them. I love, love, love them. I guess I'm a little nutty about family heirlooms. Anything that belonged to my grandparents or from my childhood I just go nuts over. There are so many great memories that belong to these things & I cherish every little piece that I have.

Be good for goodness sake!

Love this berry ball that hangs from the chandelier. Simple but lovely.

Our cute caroling family that sits on the kitchen counter.

The nativity that the little ones get to play with. I've had this for about 7 years & not one piece is missing yet. That is a Christmas miracle.

I put this up on the kids' behalf...

And to end this very long tour {so sorry} here is our family tree filled with our crazy & fun family ornaments.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. I'm excited to see everyone else's Holiday Home Tours & that's what I'm going to do right now!

20 comments:

Kasey said...

I love love your snowman with the long sweater. That is too cute. Everything is so pretty!!

Sheila said...

You house looks beautiful and oh so cheerful.

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

Hello...I love your home. It is so warm and inviting. You have done such a wonderful job with your decorating. It is really beautiful! Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Debbie

Amber Filkins said...

I love everything!! Don't apologize! I was enjoying the entire thing. I love the wreath on the door, the berry pomander hanging from the chandelier, the tree, and I love, love, love, your grandfather's hutch and your grandma's ornaments. And the Santa from when you were little. I love family heirlooms too. I should do a little tour after the new year of them. :)

Kasey said...

your house looks beautiful.

Beca said...

Love your entryway and all your snowmen! Merry Christmas and thanks for the tour!

Free Art Printables said...

Your home is beautiful and so inviting! Thank you for the tour~!

AJ said...

So many things I love; the snowman with the sweater, the books on the stairs!! When I was putting out my decorations this year I too realized I had a collection of snowmen. A rather large collection. Didn't realize I liked them so much:) We have the same singing Hallmark ones. I can't believe ours still works after the years of my girls pressing the button, over and over again:)

Decor To Adore said...

I absolutely love your advent calendar. Did someone make that for you?

I generally have to open my glass door cabinets to get a good picture.

Unknown said...

Everything just looks so great! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Wow, I love everything! You have done a great job decorating your home. Your nativity is absolutely beautiful!

Kimba said...

Wow! What a wonderful tour! I love it! Your snowmen are adorable. Thanks for sharing.

Merry Christmas,
Kimba

Jenny said...

Your Christmas decor is absolutely beautiful and so tastefully done. Your home is very inviting all the way through, starting with your front porch. Love it!

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

Love all the greenery in your home!

Amber B. said...

I love everything--love the game tree, love the idea of collecting Christmas books, love the snowmen. Your home is lovely!!

Unknown said...

Your home is so warm, cozy and inviting! I'm like you...I love family heirlooms, and even have my dad's baby cup and shoes on my tree this year. I also love where you put your Christmas books!

Have a blessed Christmas season!

DairyQueen said...

You thought of everything! Looks great! I love the books in the staircase. I have been collecting snowmen too...I made our playroom a snowman theme this year, but after looking around all these wonderful blogs I've got other ideas for next year!

Thanks for sharing your home with us!

Victoria said...

Thanks for the tour... I can't get up the desire to do much decorating this year. *sigh*

However, I do expect to see your new (old) wreath on here:) Your Santas are all very vintage, you know...

RSM Text Factor Gurus said...

LOVE IT! We have a tree and the decoration you gave us. No one even got the stuff out of the attic. Now, we are too tired..and the dog has murdered many things. Next year....you can help me!

Love the rosemary and the swag.

RSM Text Factor Gurus said...

I am converting to Festivus. We'll start the Airing of Grievances tonight!