I put my Christmas decorations up earlier than ever this year. But that’s partly because we are having an early Christmas. Our kids start arriving on Sunday and I can’t wait to have this crew on my sofa again!
They’re all a year older now…I hope they still fit! AND we have 2 more on the way! I think we’ll need a new sofa in time for Christmas 2018!
We don’t do a lot of decorating for Christmas. It’s mostly limited to the living room where we all gather to open presents the first night everyone is home. But here’s a little tour of some of what’s making our house extra cozy this Christmas season.
Our little neighborhood post office welcomes people in with its cheery lights and Christmas decor.
My outdoor decorating is limited to a few garage-sale icicle lights tossed over the rail. I let the end-of-autumn pansies and the berries on the crabapple tree complete the decor.
This wreath hung on the door of my parents’ house for many years. Their door was maroon, but I love how the magnolias and cream ribbon look on our aqua door.
Come on in and let me show you around…
Here’s the bird’s-eye view from the top of the stairs.
The mantel is full of old and new, from the birdcages that were gifts or garage sale finds, to the German Christmas ornament from our son who was living in Berlin a few years ago, to a hundred-plus-year-old postcard sent to my great-grandmother.
The Joy to the World banner was an etsy purchase a few years ago, and it’s become one of my favorite things to hang up each year—a reminder of Who brings our joy and the Reason for the season.
The kitchen and dining room hold a few touches of Christmas here and there, including the wooden Santa Claus hanging with our game boards, a gift from a writer friend.
The nativity cutout was a gift from another writer friend.
This nativity silhouette was made by our son and daughter-in-law.
Even the doorway between the master bedroom and bath gets a kissing ball of mistletoe.
The presents are beginning to collect under the tree…
But it won’t REALLY be Christmas until this crew is gathered around the kids’ table (painted by my sweet niece).
So until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Are the stockings hung by the chimney with care at your house yet? What is your favorite decoration to put up each year?
Latest posts by Deborah Raney (see all)
- Decade birthdays - May 26, 2025
- Deb’s Favorites - May 25, 2025
- We Shopped at Piggly Wiggly - May 12, 2025
We don’t decorate a lot here either. I do have a wreath on the door. It is one my penpal sent me probably 30 years ago now. I have updated it a little. I have a little tinsel in the hall way and a couple of items on the small table in the hall. The rest is in the lounge. I have my tree, a string of stars I made and a couple of handmade angels over the door way. I also have a Christmas village I started the year mum passed away. Not sure what my favourite decoration is but I I have a couple of balls and a bird which would be around 57 years old now and I love the bird.
I wish this blog allowed commenters to post pictures! I’d love to SEE your decorations, Jenny!
I love your home, Deborah!! So warm, inviting and beautiful at the same time. Have a blessed and Merry Christmas with all your family!
Thank you, Julie! That’s the nicest compliment you could give: warm, inviting. That’s my goal for our home. Wishing YOU a blessed Christmas too!
I really enjoyed the Christmas tour of your home, Deb. It was so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing – and have a very blessed and merry Christmas.
Wishing you the same, Joan! Thanks for stopping by the blog!
What a beautiful home. Merry Christmas. ❤️🎄❤️🎄 Enjoy
Thank so much, Marti. (And I love your emoticons!) Have a wonderful Christmas!
I love your picture with all the kids on the couch. Every year on Christmas morning we take a photo of the kids sitting on the stairs. These photos are precious to me as they show the progression of how they have grown. Now the kids are grown and the picture included grandchildren.
Kathleen, I love the idea of the stairs because we are quickly outgrowing the couch! 🙂 Our stairs will hold a bunch of kids! Thanks for the great idea!
Beautiful! I think the couch is a great idea for collecting the grands! I tried yesterday and I could not get all 5 in one frame at all…Love your decor. We are in an RV right now, so we have a tiny tree (5 minutes to put up). In storage for our home when we build it, I do have tubs and boxes of decorations…just waiting for us. Merry Christmas!
Angie, our youngest daughter isn’t in an RV, but is between two small houses and living out of boxes and suitcases. She said it’s good for figuring out which of your belongings are TRULY necessary and important to you. Fun to look forward to the day when your new home is ready to move into!
So lovely. Can I come to your house for Christmas???
Roxy, you know you are ALWAYS welcome at my house! Just gonna warn you: it gets pretty wild and wooly around here when everybody’s home! 😉
Your grandchildren are lovely and definitely a reason for praise. The red couch does make a wonderful seasonal place for an annual photo.
Have a great celebration of Christ’s birth with all of His blessings to you.
Thanks, Jen!With you, we’ll be remembering the real REASON for the season. O come let us adore Him!
Thanks for the tour! Your little ones are adorable, although I seem to detect a lack of girls! (Just two so far?)
Anyway, my favorite SHOULD be my Nativity scene, and it’s important to me of course, but my little 4-foot fake Christmas tree holds the lights and all my important ornaments. Each ornament was either from my childhood, which means they are almost ancient (I’m 62), or they were gifts from loved ones, or they were souvenirs of my travels (Hawaii, Tucson, Phoenix, Disneyland, Leavenworth WA, Holland, Germany). All a nice reminder of the Lord’s boundless blessings.
Have a merry, blessed Christmas!
Hey, now! Careful about calling 62 “ancient” since that’s exactly how ancient *I* am! 😉 What a good idea about decorating with souvenirs of your travels! I love that! And yes, we are woefully short of girls! Two chances coming to even things up…a baby by birth due April 2, and a baby by adoption from Burundi, Africa sometime in the next couple of years. We don’t know the gender of either, and will be thrilled WHOEVER God sends our way! 🙂
Haha! I just meant the ornaments are ancient – never us! May the Lord bless the new members of your family as He prepares you and them for their wonderful new life!
Thanks for LOL with me, Hilda! 🙂 And thank you for the blessings.
Thanks for the tour of your lovely home! I always enjoy putting up ornaments that have been around since our marriage and birth of our children, especially ones that they made or bought. But my special treasure is the nativity that my mother in law brought me back from Germany. Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!
Doubly special, Gloria! From your mother-in-law, and from across an ocean! I bet it’s beautiful! And the old things just grow more precious with memories every year, don’t they?
Absolutely lovely!! Thank you for a fun post!
Thank YOU for stopping by to comment, Becky!