Today I noticed...Christmas decor makes me smile!

I plopped down to catch my breath after a gift wrapping marathon on a cold day this week and was pleased to see Christmas all around me.

The Christmas tree and its twinkling lights was warming up one corner of the den. The silver beaded garland and sparkling silver, blue, and white ornaments bring a high level of glam to the room. The handmade and yearly collectible ornaments add some sentimentality to the mix. 

The snow globes, ribbon, and candles on the ottoman remind me of the friends who gifted the snow globes to the children years ago. The friends have passed on but their warm hugs and love shared with us will not be forgotten. 

The Santa on the hearth was a gift from a coworker years ago. I love that he is peaking out from between a couple of giant pinecones on the hearth. One of the pinecones was transported from the west coast by my mother on a return trip from a dairy conference out there. The other one came from Mobile, Alabama where my Great Aunt Mae lived. (She was a riveter who crawled up into the nose of airplanes as a young woman.) 

The tall, slender Santa on the mantel was painted by my mother one year when I was home from college and we were crafting in ceramics. We made several of those and gifted them and kept a few. I have a couple that are similar on the mantel in the kitchen. He looks out at us amidst sprigs of greenery and red berries.

The thing that provides the wow factor each year is the mantel full of stockings. Once we have them strung across the fireplace, it seems like the Christmas season has arrived. I always loved the beauty of needlepoint stockings seen in magazines my mother and grandmother collected. So, for the first Christmas after I completed my Master's in Education degree and went to work as a teacher, I ordered one for my two children, my son-in-law, and me. Then, when Mike and I married, I added some for him and his children. Then, along came grandchildren and those were added one by one except for the year that Luci and Levi were born and we doubled up. Each one is uniquely different in design and image stitched as well as personalized with each person's name. 

There are four curved stocking holders designed to slide over the mantel board and hold a stocking. We have a sturdy metal curtain rod that slides through the curved piece and slide the loop of each stocking onto the curtain rod. I fill them full of odd treats like lip balm, hand or foot warmers, head lamps, soaps, toothbrushes, etc. as well as snack cakes and candies for little treats. It has become a ritual that we open the wrapped gifts and then take down the stockings and check out the last little treasures hidden there. Thinking about each person represented brings a warm feeling to my heart and a smile to my face. I love the look, collecting the little surprises, and love what they represent even more. Family is truly what our Christmas celebration is all about.