It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!

On November 13th I found out I needed to have knee surgery. That near the holidays PLUS the birth of our fifth grandchild threw me into overdrive! I immediately went out to buy stocking "stuffers" and Christmas presents, addressed Christmas cards and mailed them the day before Thanksgiving, pulled out all of the Christmas decorations, and got really, really busy. My hubby helped tremendously by putting up the tree, putting the lights on it as well as all of the ornaments. While I don't think I've done EVERYTHING I might have done if surgery hadn't been planned, I have finally gotten everything done that we really wanted to do and decided to take some pictures of our house. I LOVE Christmas and want it to look warm and inviting for our friends and family whether it's a year we can actually entertain or not. I really wanted it to look good for the physical therapists who will be coming in post-surgery! Here are a few pictures of our house ready for Santa!!
I love Santas and have collected them for a few years now. They always grace our mantel at Christmas time and each year I add one or two given to me by some of my friends or family. Also, this year I did something new. I've never had a wreath on the mirror about the fireplace but bought a live wreath from Home Depot this year and, after seeing a picture of a wreath on a mirror, I decided to try that this year. I really like it there.


The buffet has an assortment of Christmas items on it including Christmas plates and Santa pictures.


These stuffed animals sit on the stairs and wait patiently for Santa's arrival. I started putting them out when our grandchildren were born. They enjoyed seeing and playing with the bears and mouse so I still put them there.


The stairs have a simple garland draped on the banister with the addition of red bows. If I had more time, I would probably add a few things to the garland but this will have to do this year.


I love lighthouses and have one that I use at Christmas along with some other houses that people have given me. It's difficult to see them clearly in this picture, but they're on a table in our living room.

Finally, here's our Christmas tree this year. It's waiting and ready for some grandchildren to get here and shake the presents under the tree while trying to guess what's in each one. My mother made the Christmas tree skirt for us years ago (not too many years before she died) and every year I look at it and think of her love when I see all the stitches she put into that tree skirt. It's a special treasure because she made it especially for us.


Be sure to visit Thoughts From Over the Rainbow to see more Christmas decorations.