Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Tour of our Christmas Home

Christine started this tour of blog homes, so Welcome to mine. Don't forget to stomp the snow off your feet, here in Minnesota, we've already gotten quite a bit of snow.
The to the right of the door welcomes you. Some neighborhood kids were selling these wreaths last year and my dh bought one.

The garland up the stairs does look much prettier at night. I like Christine's much better!


My Christmas card basket that transforms into a fruit basket after Christmas. Can you see your card? I need to hang all the pictures on a door or something so people can see them!




Here are the tins on top of the fridge, one filled with cookie cutters and the other filled with snowmen that the kids play with and are supposed to be set out somewhere, but I have no room and the kids take them all over the place! So they are taken out sometimes to play with!






This is our Christmas book pile. I started just taking out one book per day the beginning of Advent but last week just took them all out. They are always this messy and usually are on the floor and on the couch.

Our tree! Yes, it is real. We do real. But real trees are pretty spendy now, ours was like $69! A good friend told me the day they get their tree they put 2 cans of sugar pop, 7-up or Mountain Dew and put it in the base with HOT water and the tree will last longer. So far, this tree has hardly lost anything!! SO, I'd say it works!! Usually by now, we are wondering if it's going to make it to Christmas!

Our tree topper. We always had an angel but then her head popped off and I glued it for years, until 2 years ago, I finally I bought a star that lit up...well that lasted 2 years and last year it broke or quit lighting. This year I bought this...I really like it. It goes well with our Christmas reading. (The legend of the Poinsettia)







These St Nicholas people my MIL made, she also made the 2 little angels and most of the ornaments on our tree! She is very crafty. It's really a gift! The wooden horn blowing angel was a wedding
gift made by a friend.



Our Santa kneeling before baby Jesus, the true meaning of Christmas.







Our Nativity set also a wedding gift.






This is one of our Advent countdowns. We have many, even more than I am going to show!







This, my MIL made a few years ago, we have little papers in each pocket telling us something special to do on each day. I love this, it's one of my favorite things!







Another countdown, Joseph and Mary traveling down to the cave each day they move another velcro spot and at the end we will add the other pieces!







Our play nativity set. This has gone through all the kids. It's another favorite.






Another play set!









And another play set. My good friend Lisa handed this one down to my children.










You will find crafts galore in our Christmas home.



Our table centerpiece.









Our Advent wreath and more crafts!






This is our Jesse tree. The picture was taken a while ago, so there are many more crafts around it now and more symbols, but you get the idea. This is in our school room.
Presents under the tree, notice the many ornaments on one branch. The kiddos decorated the tree and like all the like ornaments together.
Well, that is it. As one daughter was explaining to her sister the other night on the way home from Grandma's Christmas, (while she was crying she didn't get very many presents-it was 10:30 pm and she had run out of gas) Christmas is not about presents, it's about Jesus and his birth.
"How many observe Christ's Birthday; How few His precepts! O, 'tis easier to keep holidays than commandments." -Benjamen Franklin
May we all discover the true meaning of Christmas and prepare our hearts for Him.

11 comments:

  1. Just beautiful. I must say I'm jealous. I don't have a nativity set, an advent calendar, or any of that great stuff. I love the calendar of Joseph and Mary getting closer to the cave. What a great idea, and helpful for the kids to sort of contemplate that throughout Lent. Wishing you and yours and great holiday!

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  2. Don't be jealous!! I feel all of it to be clutter and it kind of bogs me down the whole time!

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  3. I really do like it though...I'm sure from this end it looks more peaceful and non-cluttered. LOL.

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  4. Bravo! T'was a wonderful peek into your lovely Advent and Christmas home. Thank you for sharing with us. God bless and Merry Christmas!

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  5. Yes, like all those people for the play nativity sets (3 sets of people) are usually all over the floor and who knows where else!! I hate things on top of my fridge...but no where else to put the extra stuff!! It does look a little more peaceful in pictures, like it took me 4 shots to get the kids to not stand in front of the tree..."Mama just wants to take a picture of the tree!!"

    LOL, gotta love it though, it's all fun for the kiddos!!

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  6. ugh!
    I just left a long long comment and it didnt go on!

    I will try again later!

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  7. Your home looks beautiful Jamie!! What a fun post!

    I will have to remember that Christmas tree tip for next year!

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  8. OK...I am back. Sorry but my last comment was so long and it was so late then it didnt go through. Ever happen to you?

    I enjoyed your tour. I like how everything means something to you and not just "things" to decorate. The crafts are great...St. Nick is my favorite!

    My beautifully decorated home is now a mess mess MESS! Ugh..off to clean!

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  9. Thanks for letting me see a peek, Jamie. You do have a lot of Nativity scenes! I only have two - but, I think my Fontanini set has enough figures to count as more than one.

    My next question is . . . how long do you leave everything up (how long past Epiphany, I mean!).

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  10. Jamie, your home is so festive. But what it says the most to me is that a loving, closeknit family lives there and practices great traditions together. I, too, have several nativities. I have a sort of collection of them and leave many out all year long. Love yours.
    Happy Christmas season to you. Nerm

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  11. Thank you everyone!

    Suzie: I try really hard to wait until Ephiphany to put everything away. I DO leave the big nativity out, the fancy one until Epiphany, but it's so hard to leave everything out, growing up my mom always took everything down on New Years. I like to do that, it is a great way to start the new year, clean and fresh. This year I'm waiting until Epiphany!

    Like I said in one of the past comments, it bogs me down and feels like a ton of clutter!

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Thank you so much for stopping and commenting!