Holiday House Tour 2019

Because it's never too late, right? Actually, that's not true; if I were posting about my holiday decorations in, say, February, that would, indeed, be too late.

Anyhoodle, part of the reason that it's taken me so long to post this is that, for the first time ever; I actually did what I have threatened to do for decades: I refrained from putting out alllll of my Christmas decorations. I know! I'm as surprised as you are.

That said, the decorations I did put out were more then plentiful. However, I really struggled to get good photos this year, for some reason  that I am unable to explain *cough-laziness-cough*. This is the best that I could do...

As always, this is the view from the front entryway. I stuck with tradition by displaying Santa front and center. It is also tradition for at least one of our fur babies to photo bomb this particular annual photo shoot, and, clearly, this year was no exception. Times two.

Hugh helped to decorate the tree this year and we opted not to put out all of the kids' keepsake ornaments, choosing, instead, to use ribbon for the majority of the decor. It looked really pretty, despite being a major pain in the ass to apply.

Not a lot changed on the fireplace mantel; Santa was again front and center, but, I used a different garland this year; one that I repurposed from the top of the entertainment center, since that space was occupied by my village this year.

I used my smaller vintage blow molds in the house this year; my 1968 Santa on the cocoa bar, and the choir singers next to my record player, which, I think I've mentioned, was played on repeat this year.

And, I lit up the front entryway with lanterns and a lighted garland on the stairs (you can see it in the first picture, behind Santa. See? I told you I struggled with the photos this year).

I managed to get the orphan tree out again this year, and, I enjoyed watching its' lights twinkle from my bedroom.

The porch was decorated pretty simply this year, as well.

My new blow mold collection clearly set the stage for the decorations this year, and, I could not be more grateful to Hugh for diving into that treasure hunt; I have no doubt the collection will grow over the years.

So, that's it for this year! Tomorrow, I'll be taking it all down and returning it to the attic. I'm trying not to think about that right now.

Christmas Rewind, Episode #4, In Pictures

Christmas day dawned clear and bright in Mayberry; I awoke to a carpet of fresh new snow on the ground and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the kitchen. Mom and I visited over a cup while the rest of the house slowly awoke, and, by the time we were all up and around, it was well past 8:00. I think that's a first for us on a Christmas morning, but, in our defense, we did stay up quite late the night before, playing Cards Against Humanity, as one does on Christmas Eve, I mean, obviously.

Anyhoodle, once we were all awake and suitably caffeinated, we congregated in the living room with mimosas to start on the gifts in our stockings...

...after which, we took a short break to mix more mimosas and to welcome The Rodeo Princess and her Prince, as well as the Rebel without a Cause, his wife, and the littlest Rebel, aka: my niece, her husband, my nephew, his wife, and their daughter (in case you are new here). Once the family was fully assembled, the day was a blur of flying wrapping paper, matching pajamas, ugly Christmas sweaters, gingerbread houses, raucous rounds of Catch Phrase, and a turkey dinner fit for a king.

We were missing my Dad, but, his presence was also felt in the laughter and the chaos, both of which he would have enjoyed; the latter of which he would have escaped for brief periods of time throughout the day, seeking refuge in his office when the madness became too overwhelming. We joked about that, as you do when the things that exasperated you about someone you love become the things that you remember most fondly about them when they are gone.

It was a very good day, and, I'm so very glad that we all got to spend it together.

Christmas Rewind #3, Gingerbread House Wars

When we began planning for Christmas at Mom's, all of us agreed that we wanted to do as many of our traditional activities as possible; that included decorating a gingerbread house . This year, however, we decided to tweak the tradition by decorating two houses, and, just for funsies, making it a contest between two teams.

I purchased pre-built houses, ready-made royal icing, a variety of candy, sprinkles, and other decorative items, and, on Christmas Day, we drew out of a hat for teams. Ironically, the teams ended up being Boys vs Girls, which, was a total fluke, but, we embraced it and the battle was on.

Team Testicle set up shop on a card table in the living room, while Team Ovary took over the kitchen table. We split the supplies in half, supplied each team with a notepad for design sketching, and gave strict orders about not spying on each other, which, I totally ignored in order to take pictures. Hey! The day had to be documented!

We had a one hour time limit, and, once the timer ran out, we posted the gingerbread houses on social media and opened up the voting. To no one's surprise, Team Ovary emerged victorious by a landslide! I credit that with our flawless design, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

Or, it could be that people weren't really feeling the Christmas spirit in the design set forth by Team Testicle, who, had an entire backstory about the carnage depicted in their design. I think it had something to do with Santa walking in on Mrs. Claus with a reindeer, or something equally horrifying, and, definitely not in keeping with the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Anyhoodle, winners got bragging rights, and, we were able to check one off the Christmas Bucket List. Score!