Finishing Touches

We're making the finishing touches on our Christmas. It hasn't been easy because I haven't been into the holiday spirit the past few years. But, this year, I'm really trying to be jolly and my family has been a big help. I've grumbled from time to time but I'm working through the to-do list and even enjoying it a little. The list seemed like it was never ending but yesterday I started to see the light and now we only have a few things left to do. Whew!

The decorating is done. Last year we bought a live tree and placed it into a half wine barrel to hide the plastic pot. It looked really good! This year, we opted for the old faux fir tree and placed it on a platform inside the half wine barrel. It added height and it looks really cute. There's a little train that winds around the base and the packages.

Here's our entry area...


Our family room, aka the Texas Room, gets a little western holiday flair with cowboy boot stockings, wooden cranberry beads and candles set amongst our everyday decor of print blocks, a tooled leather clock, and our big metal Texas star (there's nothing on the floor by the fireplace because this is the room our doggy hangs out in most...so, a lot of the "decor" in this room is doggy toys. lol)...


Here's a close-up...


It's a white Christmas in our little village on top of our 110 year old upright grand piano...


My daughter even added a little "water" for the boat house and a bridge...


These are our twin snow kids. I found them a couple of years ago at JoAnn. They were the only two left and both of them were damaged. Between them they were missing a hand, skis and needed some repairs. I was able to get both of them for almost nothing. I figured I'd take parts from one to fix the other. But, I was able to save them both. They're about 30" tall.


Hubby cut a snowboard for this one and I tucked one of his arms behind to (sort of) hide that he's a missing hand. A few stitches here and there and they're good as new.


We've been working on making our Christmas cards. My daughter finished hers and just needs to mail them. Aren't they cute?!...


I had planned a much more elaborate card than I'm ending up with but I was running out of time and had to change to something quick to make. I cut, stamped, hubby colored, and now I'm gluing. They're not done yet but getting close. I figure that late is better than not at all. The caption in these will say, "Hope Your Holidays are a Hoot!"...


I still have stuff to keep me busy today and tomorrow...cards, laundry, cooking, etc. But, the huge long list has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel like I can just relax now and enjoy working on these last few things. Ahhhh!

Best wishes to you and yours. I hope you enjoy this season, no matter how you celebrate it. :-)