Christmas Tour of Homes

BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC

A year ago I was asked if my home could be a part of a "tour of homes" as a fundraiser for my church.  I looked around and saw so many things unfinished, even after 5 years of living here.

I thought, why not, maybe this is just what we need to light the fire under a certain person and get this house completed!

So I said YES!

I asked Dina's MIL to help me "stage" the house, so on November 2nd we began our decorations (I was heading to Hawaii for a week later in the month, so I needed to get some things done before I left). Here are some of the pictures:

 

This piece of luggage belonged to my MIL, it had an SAS sticker on it! It made it over to Europe many times in her lifetime!

 

 

 

The Guest Bedroom, filled with Teddy Bears

The pillow reads:  "Dear Santa, is it too late to be good?"

The Hall Bathroom

 

The Living Room

The built in shelf to the left of the fireplace

The Living Room Christmas tree...9 feet tall and filled to the brim with ornaments and lights.

The built in TV unit to the right of the fireplace.  Finally I have a place for my Dicken's Village!

 

the sofa table has the Advent wreath and candles...the sign in front of it says:

the magic of CHRISTMAS

is not in the presents

but in His PRESENCE

 

I have a Lladro Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus piece in the center given to me many years ago by my MIL.  In front of that is a book by Ann Voskamp:  Unwrapping the Greatest Gift...The three grandchildren who live next door would come over, we would light the candle, and read the scripture from the book, then the children would draw a picture to put on our Jesse Tree.

The Entry

 

this is the entry table filled with the "favors" I gave out at the Open House, I downloaded a printable M & M Christmas Story and printed it out.  I used glassine bags and placed about 25 Christmas colored M & M's inside the bag with the story stapled to the outside of the bag.

 

The Master Bedroom!

Finally had my gas firplace completed and the mantle got put up just days before the open house. 

My dad gave me a Nativity set that belonged to my mom, it is beautiful...I made a "believe" banner and added a red dove to each end.  I potted "Paper whites" in pots three weeks before my event, they all bloomed and gave off a nice scent.

 

 

 

 

I used the Norwegian ornaments that belonged to my MIL, I added the white balls which were made from strips of muslin glued onto a foam ball.  The burlap garland was made from burlap yardage cut into 5 inch strips and then the center thread pulled to make the gather.  I have had the red wooden bead garland for years and thought it added a nice touch to the tree...keeping it rustic with reds and whites. 

 

The Front Porch

always important to have that curb appeal...

Front porch at night all lighted up

front door burlap wreath that a friend made for me.

I bought the huge lantern from Home Goods and filed it with Christmas balls, big and little and about 4 battery operated Martha Stewart string lights that had a timer so it could come on at dusk and shut off when we go to bed!

an antique Santa, sled and some burlap home made pillows on the bench.

These skis are very old, hand crafted and made by Scott's grandpa and him when he was a young boy, I actually have some pictures of him skiing with these ski's.

 

 

Well, this completes the Home Tour, I did these pictures not only for you to see, but also for me to remember how lovely it is to decorate for Christmas and to bring the spirit of Christmas into every living space...I haven't counted, but I have quite a few nativity sets...some quite small and then others that I placed on the mantles...the true reason for celebrating this Holy Day!

Thank you for staying with me through all these photos!