My Christmas Home Tour

Welcome, blog readers, to the virtual tour of my Christmas decorations. I love sparkly lights, and since I always enjoy sharing the things I love with you, I thought I would take you on a virtual tour of all the sparkly lights in my home. :-)

The first stop is the staircase- I always love to light the staircase because it is the first thing that I and my guests see when we walk in the front door, and it just gives off a warm welcoming glow.

This is the wreath that would have greeted you as you entered. I made this wreath the first year my husband and I were married, because I couldn't find any wreaths I really liked that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I simply used a wreath form, some ribbon and doo-dads, and a little hot glue, and voila! A beautiful wreath that we have used and loved every Christmas for the past 7 years. The jingle bells at the bottom are my little reminder of home, where every year my family would hang real sleigh bells on the door. Every time the door would open and close, I'd hear the bells jingle, and the sound of it always puts me in the Christmas spirit.

The next stop is the living room, where all of the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and sparkly lights glow everywhere! That tiny stocking in the middle is for my son's teddy bear, Bobby. He is a member of the family. Oh, and of course I have my vase of ornaments on the mantel as well. 

To the left of the mantel sits our very cool fiber optic Santa. This guy has special meaning for me, because it was one of the first Christmas decorations that my husband and I bought when we first got married. I love the way he shimmers and sparkles, and the light from his lantern makes a really neat patterned shadow on the wall.

Alas, our Christmas tree! Which, by the way, has now fallen down twice. We had a few ornament casualties, but I think that now it's stable- knock on wood! You probably can't see it very well, but we also have a "Santa Express" train that runs around the bottom. That's my son's favorite part. :-)

I have saved the best for last. This is my nativity, which was given to me as a Christmas gift by my high school seminary teacher. I have always loved its simplicity and beauty, and since my teacher recently passed away, it has grown even more special to me. Whenever I look at it, I think of her wonderful example as a follower of Christ, and how hard she worked to try to get a little bit of gospel knowledge into our thick teenage heads. It holds place of honor on our end table under a lamp that shines light on it, and I love the way Baby Jesus is so brightly illuminated in this photo. The scene just looks so peaceful and loving.

May you all have peace, love, and beauty in your homes this holiday season.