365 days is way too long between Christmases’ … we just have to celebrate all year long.   Today is the first day of spring, which means we just have to hop over summer… and fall will be here before we know it…in just 279 days and counting.

I am finally tucking away the last of the decorations; the winter tree and the village display that has been in my wall unit since the day after Halloween.   I love the Department 56 and Lemax Village pieces, and I put up a full display for Halloween and Christmas… thank goodness my youngest daughter is now an adult and has taken over the “display management” – it’s a lot of work!   I knew she would be a natural since she loved her dollhouse when she was younger, and was always so creative by making her own pieces.  I spent several years planning how I would acquire enough houses, buildings, accessories and figures to fill up eight shelves of the wall unit; however, now I search for new scenery and retire the old.  We put up the Halloween display just after Labor Day and then we replace it on November 1^st with Christmas.  The grand-kids love it…. My three youngest granddaughters just stare in awe… for them it’s a huge multi-level dollhouse.

This weekend, I noticed that it was Feb 25^th which means that in ten short months Christmas will be here again!  I celebrated by listening to Christmas music (more than usual).   This is the time when I begin to feel overwhelmed… wondering if I have all my planning done, but the truth is that I haven’t even finished packing away all the ornaments and other fragile décor.   All throughout January I was purchasing those nifty storage containers (in red and green of course) that were 75% off at Lowe’s.   Then I would print storage labels, reorganize my basement (this time adding craft tables around the entire basement so that I don’t have to freak out of we get any flooding), and then stack all the boxes strategically.

As I mentioned in my post ” Christmas in January“, I have finally put up my winter tree.   As I was putting away ornaments from the family tree, the foyer tree, the tree in my son’s room (yes we have ten trees), I collected some of the blue, silver, white pieces along with a few embellishments, including blue snowflakes to make the winter tree.  This tree is only 3 ft; if I had decorated a larger tree (which I may do next year) I would add some snowmen and perhaps decorate the base with artificial snow, or even flock the tree with snow.  Does anyone else have a winter tree up?  Are you putting one up?

In keeping the Christmas spirit we also mark the 25th of each month on the calendar and celebrate by watching a movie, do some holiday planning and listen to Christmas music.  I listen to Christmas music all year.  How do you keep the Christmas spirit throughout the year?  Please share your thoughts, ideas and photos of your tree(s).

Stay merry!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!

It’s Monday, just after a bittersweet weekend.   It was the last weekend of blasting my exterior house lights and we just completed celebration of “Little Christmas”, the Epiphany.  This is the final day of Christmas if you’re counting the Twelve Days of Christmas, the festive days beginning Christmas Day (December 25th).   This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide.  The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which Christian tradition is followed.  Twelfth Night is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th.  For most people this ends the Christmas season and they will begin packing away their decorations.  Last weekend, a Twitter friend said “There is nothing more depressing than the dying Christmas trees lining the streets of Soho” – THAT is the truth.  I am so saddened that the most wonderful time of the year is on “pause”, but instead of falling into depression I intend to keep the spirit alive all year!

I love my Father in Heaven, the Lord, Jesus Christ.  I love church.   I love gold, silver, green and red (are my favorite colors) and I love everything shiny.  I love the fall weather; maybe because I was born in October.  I love shopping and wrapping gifts; and I am drawn to my local Hallmark store because I adore the Christmas scent that lingers throughout the year.  I love making big dinners and I LOVE cookies.  I love the smell of Christmas; the pine, cinnamon and spice.  I am prone to listening to Christmas music all year long and if you ask me what color sweater or bathing suit I want, I say “red”!  I have to admit that I will definitely be playing that new Michael Buble Christmas CD all year long for sure.  I love the trees and Oh my goodness — I LOVE decorating and sparkling lights.   But is all that I love the spirit of Christmas?  One friend recently said the SPIRIT is Jesus.  Christmas is a blessed holiday and the season is full of love and miracles… that MUST be what it is.

Since the Hallmark Ornament Premiere in July (and really before that) I could “feel” Christmas approaching, and by the time we went to the Hallmark Open House in October… I [knew] it was Christmastime.   As I sit here looking at yet another Hallmark invite (this time it’s to promote Santa’s visit for picture-taking) I realize that this is the last promotional for the store and Christmas is here!   I love the Hallmark Store.

I love the fall, I love the holiday season from Halloween through New Year’s; when Halloween is over,  I stay up late to pack all the décor and have Christmas going up on November 1^st.  Since the kids went back to school (and I was part of that this year since my youngest granddaughter lives with me and was just starting first grade), I was “investigating” the local stores to see who would put out Christmas décor early.  The first store, of course was Hallmark but one night I walked in Home Depot to see if they had anything large for Halloween, and to my surprise ALL of their Christmas decorations were lit up and stocked up in their “Christmas Corner”.  As I approached the corner I noticed the barricade tape. What?  They were blocking me out?  We asked the manager if we could walk down the aisles and see the new products and he said “no”… we had to wait a few days because it takes a ‘crew’ to unveil the décor and put up the trees and formally present the displays – WOW!  I even offered to stay and help 🙂

One of the most important things I do every single year — without fail — is put on a particular Christmas album.  I’ve been doing this every year since 1997 and I’ve been known to do it at any given time between the months of January and December.  There’s no time frame limit when it comes to this album.

Yes, it’s true. The thing Ryan Gosling’s mother and I have in common is — it’s just not Christmas without “Snowed In” by Hanson (@HansonMusic).

You can usually tell how filled with the holiday spirit a performer is by their Christmas record. Sometimes an album just sounds like every other song by the artist but with Christmas-related lyrics.

This is not the case with the Hanson brothers.

Even at the young ages they were at the time of the recording of this album (17, 14 & 12), their holiday joy was apparent in every track.  From the jingling opening keyboard taps by Taylor in the cover of Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore’s classic “Merry Christmas Baby” to the joyous “What Christmas Means to Me” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“.  Let’s not forget the slow or upbeat melodies in their original songs “At Christmas“, “Christmas Time“, and “Everybody Knows the Claus” right down to the closing spiritual tracks like a brilliant melody of “O Holy Night/Silent Night/O Come All Ye Faithful” and “White Christmas“.

As the Christmas season approaches, I am planning and preparing in every way…  I always make a list of the movies to buy or rent, as I mentioned in “Preparing for the Holidays“, but I also list all of the Christmas movies or movies being released during the season.  I must say that I am very upset that there aren’t any family Christmas movies on the schedule (except for an animated film); I miss the days of good wholesome movies such as “The Santa Claus”,  “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “Miracle on 34th Street”. 

I was just watching “Deck the Halls” last week and it makes me laugh every time!  I especially love watching these movies to see the decorations like “Christmas with the Kranks“.   So I will do what I always do to fill the void, I will watch my Christmas DVD’s over and over again!

Here is a list of what’s being released this season…

Planning for the holidays is my favorite thing to do; it isn’t what I do when I have “‘spare time”… it’s my passion, so I make the time.  Preparation and planning is important.  I have learned each year that it takes me more time to take down and put up decorations; more time to setup storage… and each year I want to do more… enjoy more… so I have to try to stay ahead just a little more.  So any little things that I can do – which also makes the season longer (that I love) I will try and share with you.

My home is a home “ready for the holidays”; whenever I buy something, I ask myself “would that look good at Christmas?”   I buy furniture that would be attractive with decorations or village displays; and I always choose colors that are complimentary … my couches are green… so are my kitchen chairs!

This year, I had to finish up some interior painting.  So, I bought some silver glitter and added it to the paint.  I used Olympic paint from Lowe’s; the glitter blends in very well… you have to add a little very slowly as you’re stirring the paint.  In the foyer, I painted one wall white/glitter… when the light is on it looks like snow; I can just imagine how it will look when the lit garland mirrors off the wall.  So, I went a little further and I painted the dining room… 3 walls silver/grey and 1 wall Navajo white; all with silver glitter in the paint.  I could have easily painted every room with glitter, but I didn’t.  However, for a nice touch I painted the inner door ways with the white/glitter; now, when I put up decorations (including the glitzy Halloween dressings) they will glow even more!  It’s a simple thing to jazz up the walls or entrance ways all year long and still be thinking about Christmas décor.