Christmas Decorations for 2011:

I finally finished decorating the house yesterday.  I might still make make a few changes, but am so glad to be done.  The tree was not cooperative this year and that part was frustrating, though I suppose it wasn't the tree's fault that the stand was damaged.  What you don't see are bungee cords, strings, two belts, an anchor and a brick trying to make sure that the whole thing will not tip over, fully loaded with precious ornaments!

Our tree is a 9' artificial pre-lit tree from Costco and we have had it for around 5 years. I always considered fake trees unworthy to an Oregonion, where many grow trees for a living and ship them across the nation.  I felt that way until I moved to dry Central Oregon and into homes with forced air heat.  No matter how hard that I tried, it was dangerous to plug in our Christmas tree on Christmas morning, so I finally gave up and Cary bought me this fancy artificial one.   It doesn't have the great smell, but it isn't a fire hazard either. 

It is very pretty, but I swear, it takes me longer to figure out how to plug in the lights each year than it does to put the decorations on it.  Almost.  I tie ribbons onto the plugs to find them easier, but even that doesn't always work out.  Oh well, all is well that ends well.

The table is simple, and I'm sure that I'll feature a tablescape or two this season.  In the meantime, the vintage tablecloth is a treat to look at.

If I can figure out how to capture the true magic of our tree through better lighting, I'll post some more photos.  It really is pretty.  The ornaments are old friends, reminding me of the loved ones who made them or gave them to our family over the years.

Nigel made this one when he was a baby, with the help of our friend and sitter, Mama Bott.

A low light shadow shot of some of my Santa collection; the fancy ones are from my step-mom, Jill.

More pretty pictures of the tree with the flash off.

This one is kind of blurry, but it is the window behind the couch.  We have been having some very pretty days outside lately.

In the evenings, I light the candles that are dispersed throughout the snowman collection.  I am considering stringing miniature white lights throughout the scene, but I might just leave it as is.

This is in the corner between the couch and loveseat.

How are you guys doing on your seasonal decorating, if you are?  This year, I kept it simple and less cluttered than usual.  One reason for this is that I don't have my hutch in the living room anymore.  The other reason is that I decided that I don't have to use everything that I have, just the stuff that will look the nicest.

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