Some Happy Christmas Photos

Hi. I am one of the authors of "Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts". We all got together and created this blog. Above is my dog Bounce in his first Christmas sweater. He is thinking What is she thinking! I adopted Bounce last year and he is a sweetie.

My new 24 inch tall bird tree with 12 birds on it. I think it is cheerful. Did you add new Christmas decorations this year?

Gifts given to me from the GriefShare / Surviving the Holidays classes I attended at a local church. For anyone having a sad time at the holidays or anytime, I recommend the GriefShare program (13 sessions at different times of the year) and the Surviving the Holidays event.
Merry Christmas to All.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

Each Christmas I bring out 2 nativity sets, my 15 wooden nutcrackers, set up our big sparkly freshly cut tree, and set out Christmas theme towels. What next? I love holly. If you have a few holly bushes, or a friend does, you can make a gorgeous bouquet with holly branches, and sometimes plant stores sell the branches.
Last year I learned a new use for holly, to make a mistletoe holder.
Wrap wire around a large potato, and leave wire on the top for hanging it, and at the bottom where you can tie mistletoe. Cut many holly tips, poke holes in the potato with something sharp like an ice pick, and press in the holly twigs to cover the potato with holly tips. Tie on the mistletoe, hang it up, and people will be sure to kiss under it.
Holly are handsome shrubs, and are one of the few plants that grow in all 50 states. If you do some searching, you will find a holly suited to a garden in Maine, or Alabama or any other climate conditions. Since the berries are their glory, you will want to plant a female holly which has the berries, and it is best to plant a male holly nearby. While most hollies have red berries, some holly species have yellow berries, so check first on the berry color before you buy bushes to plant.

Favorite Decorations

I love how my house transforms from ordinary to warm and sparkly as we decorate for Christmas.
I can't choose a favorite decoration since all the tiny parts add up to such a merry vibe.
The colors of red and gold and green pop out in a festive way, beginning with when I put my collection of wooden nutcrackers up on the fireplace mantel.
Red Christmas stockings, the traditional red poinsettias, and red and white amaryllis accent the center piece of our tall Christmas tree.
The wooden reindeer displaying cards from friends and family far and near has a place of honor.
Our two nativity scenes have quiet beauty, and Christmas carols add their own charm.
Who could choose just one element? Not me today. I love it all.

Storing the Decorations

Once Christmas is over and the new year arrives, we begin putting away our holiday decorations, and begin with our tree.
I feel a bit sad taking the ornaments and lights off of the tree, but it needs to be done. Our city recycles the trees, and picks them up when it picks up regular recycling. Then they chop the trees to create mulch which they use in city parks.
So when the dozen boxes of decorations fill up, my husband takes them up to the attic. We write "lights" on one box, "nativity sets" on another and "nutcrackers" on a third.
That is as organized as we get.
The other cardboard boxes are full of ornaments, stockings, our jingle bell wreath, and other Christmas decorations, and are stored away til next December when the fun begins all over again as we celebrate Jesus' birthday.

Favorite Decorations

Our topic is favorite Christmas decorations and I choose “the sum total of sparkles, lights, color, and the smell of pine boughs.”

Holiday towels with snowmen on them, decorative stockings hung in unexpected places, 15 wooden nutcrackers marching across our fireplace mantle, our door wreath of gold jingle bells, two nativity sets, and the star of the show: the tree.

Our tree usually reaches to the ceiling and is always topped with an angel in a white gown, who holds a candle-appearing miniature light, and the tree branches are weighed down with an incredible assortment of ornaments.

Like me, do you exclaim “My sister gave us this ornament” and “You made this one”? Some ornaments were made of dough in the 1970s and painted with model car enamel paints and include Mrs. Santa with cotton balls for her hair, the worm Ouroboros, and a red apple with a cute caterpillar smiling at us.

Lots of cat, bird and angel ornaments and two Christmas spider ornaments with a legend behind them. The mysterious Christmas pickle ornament, put in a tucked away spot, and our new this year LED Christmas lights. I chose the small round bulbs for the LED lights, for a change of pace.

So, I admit that my favorite decoration is “all of the above.”

What is your own favorite or first decoration you display? I would enjoy reading your comment here.

Decorating Imperfection - Trish Berg

When it comes to Christmas decorations, I enjoy putting out the homemade, handmade decorations from my children. Imperfection at its best.

They look crooked, have Christmas spelled "Chrstmis"and are usually made of paper, markers and ribbons. But they hold what is most dear to me - the love of my family.

Don't try to make your home look perfect. It isn't. It is lived in, by the people you love the most in this world.

Let your children help decorate this Christmas. String some popcorn. Made a homemade garland out of construction paper rings. Make candy canes out of pipe cleaners. And let your children decide where to hang them.

Some homes may look perfect on the outside, but they seem cold on the inside. Every light is in the right place, every ornament hung to perfection. But where is the clutter that comes with living with and loving children?

I am a neat freak, and if left to my own devices, my home would look like it was ready for a photo shoot form Better Homes and Gardens. But I am not left alone. Praise the Lord!

God has blessed me with a husband and four amazing children.

So you won't find perfection here. Nope- Not even close!

If you come to my house around the holidays, you will see pretty white lights on the banister, wreaths on the doorways and stockings hung with care.

But you will also see hand drawn pictures of Santa, Rudolph, and evergreen trees as my children help decorate our home with their love.

Martha Stewart would be so jealous!

Enjoy this Christmas season - every bit of it!

Blessings-Trish Berg, Co-Author

www.TrishBerg.com