Christmas Tour 2014

Today I'm joining Kelly's Korner with the rest of the internet to give you a little Christmas tour of my home! Before we begin, I should tell you that while I love Christmas, I am not yet to a point where I go "all out" or anything like that. We are still in the beginning stages of collecting Christmas decor and I'm sure it will increase over the years. This is real life and I have a toddler so we keep it pretty basic around these parts. Ellie is loving it though and every morning she asks to go see the Christmas tree. I have more little decor items up than what I am showing you... but these are some of the highlights. Let's begin!

This year is our first year to put lights outside! I'm loving it and Ellie is too. Grant did a great job. Next year I'll be adding a little more to the porch. 

I love this sign! 

Thank you, Target, for this wreath, and for all the other wonderful things you give us.  

Alright, y'all. I got my craft on a little bit this year. I kinda laughed because I realize it's kind of thrown together but it's better than a bare table! The runner and reindeer are from Hobby Lobby, as well as the sprigs or whatever you want to call them. I had the vases and the ornaments. 

That Santa in the cabinet is one of the things Grant's mom gave me from their house. I love having parts of his childhood home in our home!

Okay, so, this looks bare. I get it. There was a runner there and some other festive items, however, Ellie is now tall enough to touch all the things. They were constantly being destroyed.

 Grant already had to perform a minor surgery on one of the Shepherds who was dropped on a tile floor. Super glue saves the day! I had to push everything back and strip it down. This is just what it is. Loving my new chalk markers though!

Why is this wall looking so yellow? It's definitely tan. 

Santa flies over me while I cook. 

In the next few weeks, this door will be completely covered and I have to start putting cards on cabinets. It's one of my very most favorite things. 

 By the way, I'm a little sad. I sent my cards out earlier this week and some people have not received them. Then, a friend of mine texted me a photo. She received my card but it was ripped and torn and tattered and missing pieces. Apparently there was a processing error, according to the post office?! I'm afraid other people are getting damaged cards. It makes me sad, and irritated because HEY, THOSE WEREN'T CHEAP. And neither was postage. If you got a card from me and it was damaged, I'm so sorry. They looked really pretty when I dropped them in the mail box. Two thumbs down. 

I keep this tray on my breakfast table. That Mickey and Minnie snow globe was a gift from my dad to his grandkids. Ellie likes to carry it around with her as if it were a stuffed animal. It sits on the couch with her. I'm so scared she's going to drop it. She is a little obsessed with it. 

 The tree!!

These Mickey & Minnie ornaments are new this year. 

Same with the Bubble Guppies. These were a gift from Grammy. Ellie goes up to them every morning and says "Hi Molly! Hi Gil!"

I try to get ornaments as souvenirs from trips we take. This was from our trip to the Paradise Point resort in San Diego. Ellie thinks it's a clock.

Mox has to have an ornament, too. 

I tried something new this year instead of garland. 

We were given this statue as a wedding gift and I've always absolutely loved it. 

This "mistletoe" is a new addition this year. I make Grant and Ellie kiss me every time we walk under and they are both totally over it. 

One thing I remember about Christmas as a little girl was that when we went to my Mamaw's house on Christmas Eve, she always had a candy dish with Christmas M&M's. I've decided to make that a tradition in my home. My waistline hates this. And that ornament was another wedding gift!

When you get married close to Christmastime, you get lots of Christmas decor. 

This advent calendar is another new addition to our Christmas traditions! Each night we read Ellie a Bible story from the Jesus Storybook Bible and the she picks one of these pieces and puts it in a pocket. She keeps wanting to put Baby Jesus in but we have to keep telling her He is for the last night. She's really loving this and it's been fun to do at bedtime. 

And lastly, Ellie has a little tree in her room. She keeps trying to grab it from her bed, so I keep having to push it farther away!

Thanks for stopping by! And for those of you who linked here from Kelly's Korner, be sure to stop by the Facebook page! We have a lot of fun over there!

Merry Christmas, one and all!