Christmas at Our House '09

Welcome "Christmas Tour of Home" Friends!

Welcome to Christmas at our house! 
We're not fancy, but very comfortable and nostalgic. 

The dining room is the first room you see as you enter our home. I love this metal tree. I use it for Easter and occasionally Valentine's Day too, with different ornaments of course!

 

Another view of the dining room featuring one of my favorite Christmas treasures: a fairly rare Blue Ridge China Christmas Tree plate in mint condition.

My husband gave it to me one Christmas along with 11 other Blue Ridge plates in a 12 Days of Christmas extravaganza. I got a plate a day for 12 days and this was the 12th.

 

This tapestry of the three wise men actually hangs in my dining room year round, but it is especially significant at this time of year. I just can't bear to take it down after Christmas.

We have a couple of nativity sets. This one sits in the dining room on a table that belonged to my great grandmother. I love the fact that I have this precious little children's book to sit beside it.

We got a new tree last year and everyone in my family except me is still miffed about it. The old one was exceptionally gorgeous, but it took a full day to assemble and then it took me a whole day and a lot of scratches to put the lights on. This one has lights already, though one strand has already burned out! :(

The tree is decorated with the same bows, candles, and garland we started with over 20 years ago. But we've added hundreds of ornaments over the years. I think we have over 400 now. Some belong to my two kids (Cherished Teddies for Abby and Santas for Daniel)and will leave with them one day (boo hoo!) and others were collected on vacations. And I have a few created by my children which are very precious to me.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

 

These are my hikers!

This is Abby's newest one.

This is a Hallmark ornament modeled after the very first Barbie I had as a little girl. Love it!

One of my Madame Alexander ornaments my friend Kim gives me every year.

Two vacation ornaments and one of Daniel's Santas.

By the way, James has a whole tree for his own ornaments at his office. They are, fittingly, all shepherds.

This little mouse hangs on our drapes every year.

 Greats me every morning.

Maybe you'd like to join me for a cup of hot tea now?

Hey! Join me at my other blog for a 15-day Journey to Bethlehem!

Merry Christmas!

Kay

Link to the Christmas Tour of Homes