Consider my halls decked!!

I've been a busy bee around here trying to get all of my Christmas decorations up. For some reason, this year I wasn't feeling the red pepper berry "theme" I have had the last few years. I don't know, I think at some point I seriously overdosed on red and now I just can't take much of it. Anyway, I have had a fun week trying to reinvent my Christmas decor minus the berries. I looked back, but I don't think I took good pictures of my house decorated last year.

Here is what I came up with for my mantle:

My stockings don't really go with the new look that well, but what are ya gonna do?

To replace my red berry topiaries I found these GIANT pine cones at Nell Hills. They sit perfectly in my Restoration Hardware cache pots. I tied my burlap covered vase with some wired gold ribbon and hung some simple ornaments from the branches. 

Some fake greenery also from Nell Hills, reindeer and my Twas the Night Before Christmas book purchased from the North Pole by my parents when they were in Alaska finish out the other side of the mantle.

I have always tried to keep my tree fairly simple. A couple of years ago I added picture ornaments to my tree and I love them. I love taking a trip down memory lane as we trim the tree. Showing the boys pictures of them when they were younger. I need to get a couple more of the frames I used to make them to add some new pictures this year. I try to add a couple new pics each year. 

This was me like a week before my oldest son was born. It was sweet.... at the time I didn't think I had pregnant face. You sweet blind girl!


And of course we can't forget past years Santa pictures scattered around the house. I love looking back through those. I think we may actually get one with both boys smiling this year..... maybe.

Since the decorating is done, I am excited to start our advent activities with the boys tomorrow. This is the first year I have actually gotten around to printing out all of our activities and putting them in the advent calendar I bought... ahem.... three years ago. I tried to focus on activities that would teach them about serving others during the season. Tomorrow we will go through our toys and pick some out for kids who are not completely spoiled!



Have you got all your Christmas stuff up this year??? What kinds of traditions do you have with your family throughout the season?