Christmas Home Tour 2018

Welcome to our Christmas Home Tour! I’m glad you could join Penny and me. If you’re new here, Penny is the gal who graciously took me in when I was suffering with clinical depression. She is a true friend, believe me.

There’s not much I can do to repay her for her endless generosity but I could offer to decorate her house for Christmas. So I did, with combinations of her treasured keepsakes and my dollar store (and Michael’s) decorations.

To see her stand in front of one to the trees, taking in all of the ornaments, or walking into a room to spy something new I put up, that’s what I hoped for. 

Full disclosure: there are a lot of photos. I’ll try to keep the words to a minimum but sometimes I just can’t help myself!

To the left in the entry are these ‘flocked’ trees with nothing but icicles and silver ribbon. 

I did find time to make some frosted branches this year which made the perfect tree toppers. 

To the right of the entry is this nearly 4 foot Santa. He’s a statement all by himself.

The family room is mainly about nutcrackers, which Penny has an incredible collection. 

Three nutcrackers rise above filmy sinamay ribbon, keeping watch over the Santa stocking holders.

The full collection stands on a sofa table amidst more sinamay and lights. Penny’s sister bought a nutcracker for Penny’s son, Lance, every year for Christmas. German-made, the attention to detail on each is beautiful. This is one of my favorite areas of the house now.

Another one stands on the coffee table with more of Penny’s collectibles.

Three little trees are clustered to the right of the fireplace, filled with red ribbon and ornaments, each one with a special meaning for Penny.

The kitchen has a simple counter top tree with only little lights for decoration.

The dining room on the other hand . . . well, it’s just aglow and is both Penny and my favorite spot with these decorations.

The table has poinsettias, magnolia and berries in pine with ribbon and tiny lights. 

The poinsettia are from the dollar store with a little glitter and Mod Podge, they bring their own sparkle to the table.

Penny’s built-in buffet is always a favorite of mine to decorate. This year it has her two berry trees, a dollar store reindeer and poinsettias with some tumbling angels in front.

You might recognize these as Fitz & Floyd. It’s fun to see people drawn in to see what else is there and their delight when the discover the little cherubs.

To the left of the berry trees is this candle display that I love decorating. This year I took apart a glittered amaranthus and let each strand drape down. More wired lights are wrapped around and through.

I dug out this pretty french horn and added it to last year’s door wreath only to learn that it’s nearly 30 years old. It was gifted to Penny by her bosses one Christmas. This wreath hangs on the door between the kitchen and the garage. 

With all of my belongings still in storage, it’s wonderful to hear stories about Penny’s decorations.

Penny has a couple of lovely portals which I couldn’t resist decorating. In the opening between the entry and the dining room hangs this adorable garland of puffy Santas and felt stars.

We’ll take a quick pit stop in the guest bath (my bathroom) where I simply put this poinsettia tree. 

And Mr. & Mrs. Claus with some garland atop the tank.

Along one window sill is another set of Fitz & Floyd. This time tumbling reindeer play among berries and holly and are illuminated with more tiny wired lights.

The living room has another trio of trees which kind of look like just one tree. Another opportunity to hang keepsake ornaments, many made by her son when he was a child. I did the painting above back in 2013. Why it’s not in storage, I have no idea. 

Turned out, the painting was perfect with these Dept. 56 ornaments. Truth be told, I was afraid to touch these huge gorgeous ornaments. Upon asking Penny about them I found out she’d never used them! They were her sister’s and she just never used them.

I hope those 3M hooks hold well.

On the piano in the living room I gathered these hand-carved Santas that are Penny’s favorite. They were made by her brother-in-law who is immensely talented.

I’ve decorated many people’s houses thru the years but this has to be my all-time favorite Christmas. It’s hard to repay someone who has taken care of you, pushed you when you needed it, listened to all of your woes, and laughed at your silly jokes. It was sheer joy to do this for her and she knows how much love is in every single decoration.

Thank you for visiting today! Have a very Merry Christmas!