Monday, November 26, 2012

Christmas Decor


How was your holiday weekend (if you celebrated)? We had a lot of fun, first with dinner, then with Black Friday shopping. We go to less populated areas no earlier than 10am, so shopping isn't so bad for us. Then we finished the privacy fence in the backyard and switched out the boys' too small clothes for clothes that fit (hence the Black Friday shop).


We also decorated for Christmas this past weekend. We always get everything down and together over Thanksgiving break. It's a tradition my mom started, mostly because she was a single parent and we had the most time, then. I continue it because Kris struggles with decorating even that early. ;-)

Here is our beautiful Christmas tree.
It's a pre-lit, six-foot tree I got for $15 at an after-season sale. We have a lot of generic, plastic balls (due to dogs and kids) but we also have a few special ornaments. There are beautiful Danish ornaments my husband's family gifted us, and I have a few of my childhood ornaments - my baby ornament and some I made in elementary.










I suppose we aren't alone in getting them a new ornament every year. This year is Sebastian's first, of course. We didn't get the traditional first Christmas ornament, but got one that would match Joshua's - this year, we got these cute, plush bears.








We have a few ornaments from Frankenmouth, Michigan. There's a huge year-round Christmas store there filled with amazing decorations and ornaments. They had a Danish section there, and we were able to get these ornaments last year.

The ball on the left tells the Danish tradition of Christmas. The flag on the right was, unfortunately, broken only hours after I took this photo. Joshua dropped it on the floor. :-( On the plus side, Frankenmouth is only 2 hours away, so we will get another.








I also have those glittery snowflakes taped onto my windows, some being blown about, some in nice triangular trees. It's so pretty! And very understated, which is exactly how I like it.


Oh, and my favorite clearance find from last year - my advent calendar train guarded by my nissen brought over from Denmark (Danish Christmas elves, so I hope I got the plural right). Each number on the train is a door to hide a treat behind, 1-12 on this side, then 13-24 on the other. We are going to put clues in if we have a present too big, or a hint to that day's outing instead of using tiny toys or candy every day.



All of this will be up through the New Year. How long it stays up depends on how I feel. Some years it comes down January 1st. Others, it will stay up until Valentines Day. So, we will see.

How are your decorations going? Do you prefer over-the top, or barely there?

4 comments:

  1. Those bears are adorable, Carrie!

    We'll be getting our tree sometime in the middle of December. We always get a real tree each year. The day after Thanksgiving, my husband put up the Christmas lights on the house and in the yard. If live trees didn't dry out so quickly, we'd have one today!

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    1. Thank you. :) The bears were a Black Friday impulse buy as we stood in line. I couldn't resist, particularly since they had both my boys' initials. I've missed out in previous years, so I try to buy early now.

      Kris always had a real tree before he met me. I mostly have one so I only have to buy it once. We were talking about how we buy them so early here in the States and he said, in Denmark, they'll buy it early, then keep it outside in water until a day or so before Christmas Eve to keep it, then the family comes together to decorate it. Of course, you can't have it inside for all that time.

      I love the decorations so much - even more than the actual season. When I was a teenager I even had a mini-tree I would bring out whenever I needed a pick-me-up. My mom hated that I would put up the tree outside of Christmas, but the lights and bulbs just made me happy. :)

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  2. Love your decorations Carrie! As for me, Christmas is still waiting. haven't had time to even get the box of decors from the storage. Hopefully, I'll get around to them soon.

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    1. Thanks. I'm still collecting. I want to have one of those eccentric trees where every ornament is a story. Of course, then my tree may never come down. lol. :)

      I hope you get around to your decorations, soon, too. I'm a firm believer that everyone should decorate.

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