MORE CHRISTMAS DECOR

Another thing I have a slight addiction to is Christmas home decor. We have boxes and boxes of it that get pulled out each year and I love every minute of breaking them open and finding seasonal homes throughout the house for all the items. I have number of things that get hung on the walls, over doorways, or from light fixtures - kissing balls to hang in the two entries into the living room (and one for the kitchen), a couple of Scandinavian mobiles, a handful of framed pictures, and some sayings or words (i.e. Merry Christmas and Believe). There are, of course, several "shelf" items in my collection. Everything from Santas to angels, to these wonderful little nesting snowmen (the belonged to my Grandma B.):

I also love Christmas pillows and the occasional plush. Below is a pic of one of my favorite pillows (notice the incredible hand-done detail in the close-up) sitting with an adorable Christmas moose (he has a music box inside and plays "Winter Wonderland"...Woof & Poof - fabulous company!):

And, of course, I have a few creches. I have an olive wood creche, the Demdaco nativity (just saw a picture of the new goat & cow/bull set that goes with it in a catalog the other day...informed Max that he'll be buying it for me), a small Jim Shore set, a wonderful wooden creche that my parents made that the kids can play with, a handmade Peruvian plush set (correct me if I'm wrong on the origin, Mom), a fabulous snow globe that plays Silent Night...the globe sits on top of a model of Bethlehem and has Joseph, Mary, and the Christ child inside. Then there is this little jewel:

My dad gave it to me a few years ago. I wish you could see it in person. It's a single piece of wood - only a few inches tall, the body of it is as smooth as you could imagine, and the minute details (face, hair, etc.) are positively incredible.

Lastly, the Christmas mantle from our living room - complete with the reproduction vintage map of San Francisco (which I am SOOOOO excited to finally have filling that enormous wall space)...

Here's a close-up of the Santa that sits on our mantle each year along with my favorite candlesticks that come out for fall and winter every year (recognize them, VK?). I love bringing out the little frosted greens candle wreaths and candy cane striped candles every Christmas.

I just can't get enough of the warmth and cozy feeling that all of these things bring into the house each year. Come January, I will hate taking everything down and having my house look so "normal" again. But that's when I go to my favorite plant shop in the city, Cactus and Tropicals, and pick up a bunch of amaryllis and narcissus bulbs to keep me going until spring.