Notice the magic key hanging on the wreath? It's a special key to enter our home, that only Santa can use!
Ah, and here's our resident Snowman to greet you now! He and Reagan are great friends and they have tons of fun running (or being dragged!) around the house and playing with his buttons!
Since you're in our reading room, sit down and enjoy the tree and take in some of my favorite Christmas items--a small "USA" Santa ornament that my mom purchased for me in 8th grade (I was really patriotic at a VERY young age!), my favorite buttered rum candle bought at one of my favorite places in the world..a small Amish town that I visit every year, and a woodland Santa portrait I purchased at a yard sale for an astounding $1!
This tree is mostly red and white, with small white and silver churches that look almost exactly like the one that Josh and I were married in . Also on the tree is the silver heart ornament from the first year we dated (hmm, what guy wouldn't love getting a Christmas ornament from his girlfriend of three months!?), red tin birds (which Reagan loves to hold up and say 'tweet, tweet!'), and homemade applesauce-cinnamon ornaments with barn red homespun, that I crafted the first year we lived in our home.
Next stop, the bathroom, hallway and bedrooms. Here are some snippets from each!
In the bathroom, is another of our little snowman friends. I bought this one at a friend's shop one year during her Christmas sale...his carrot nose had me at hello! I fell in love with the snowman picture, which I just happened to find on clearance last year! Red looks so good with this color, I decided to go simple and just use red and white towels...it reminds me of a candy cane!
Our hallway is filled with pictures of our family and this year we added a small bookshelf for some of Reagan's books and puzzles. On top of the bookshelf, is a nativity from my mom. Reagan loves to abscond with the cow, but I always make her put it back. I worry about things such as lead poisoning....yes, I am OCD. The small tree is decorated with all of our personalized ornaments...several for Reagan, and some for the cats and Josh and I! Oh, and the S'more mom with her baby at the foot of the tree? Yep ;) that's me and Reagan! Usually Reagan's puzzle pieces are in a regular old basket, but since it's Christmas...everything went into this adorable (clearance find!) snowman basket! I love Christmas and clearance and those two together, well, it makes me happier than a clam at high tide. (yes, corny ;) )
And last but not least, there's Pooh. Pooh is a recent addition to our family this year. Reagan is slightly (um, yeah) obsessed with Pooh and I found him just sitting and waiting for us to take him home from a garage sale! He lights up and moves around. Needless to say, this is the high point of Christmas decorating this year!
On to Reagan's big girl room....but wait, it's snowing! Continuing with last year's theme, we have snowflakes falling from the sky! The smile on Reagan's face when she saw these were worth nearly breaking my neck on her stepstool.
Ah.....and the Pooh tree. I used snowflakes from last years tree, Reagan's new Pooh ornament and of course, yellow (for honey) bow and tree skirt. The crowning ornaments here are the Tigger and Pooh heart shaped wooden ornaments! Coupled with the Tigger and Pooh stocking holder, and you have one happy Pooh-lovin' girl! (And yes, in case you were wondering...the Pooh and Tigger ornaments were garage sale finds at ten cents each! And the stocking holder??? Brand new garage sale find at $3.00!!)
Next stop, our bedroom! I always try to put something on each door, this year was snowflakes and red ribbons! Our room is always blue and white, so I just spiced it up with red pillows, a red throw, red wreaths and berries! Wa-lah, a little Christmas happiness here too!
The kitchen isn't too overly decorated (well, ok it is, but that's normal!) I have a few Christmas items out..a large Santa cookie jar, a Christmas rug, various Christmas bric-a-brac (including a favorite snowman piece, pictured below) and of course my tree! I love this little tree! Reagan loves it too since she's obsessed with apple trees!
And lastly, the family room (I won't show you any pictures outside because, well, frankly, it's freezing!!). The family room used to be my pride and joy, completely done in patriotic red white and blue..it is now filled to the brim with nearly every toy you can possibly purchase! Here is our first tree together..a Charlie Brown twig tree. The applesauce ornaments, and rag garland are handmade.
The reindeer family that sits underneath the tree were handmade by my husband's grandfather to represent Josh, his mom, and his dad. Now they represent our little family! Reagan adores them and they're one of our favorite Christmas decorations.
This is my prize friendship tree! It's up year round with white lights, but it gets decorated every now and then for holidays. To celebrate Christmas, it's wearing a jolly red Santa cap! And I can't post a picture without telling you the awesome deal I got on it...orginally $170.00 (drum roll please)...I got it for $10 at a garage sale!
This is our mantle..which I'm still looking for a great way to arrange..oh well...
Well, that's our home. I hope you enjoyed visiting and seeing some of my favorite Christmas decorations and hearing about my great finds! Merry Christmas!!!
