Christmas Around Our House

As we pack up the the last of our Christmas decorations and return our house to "normal," I thought it would be fun to share a little of what Christmas looks like around our house. No Jonathan pictures (well, one), no photos of life happening. Just photos of our environment and the way we decorate to celebrate the sacred season of Christmas.

Under our tree this year, we hosted one of my favorite decorations from my childhood . . . a nativity that Jonathan's Gamma made when I was about his age. I used to play with it for hours every December, and then she would put Baby Jesus out on Christmas Eve and I would be so excited! It was so fun to see Jonathan sit under our tree and look at all the different characters, and even better to be able to tell him the Christmas Story and have him understand who they all were and how much Baby Jesus's birth means for all of us.

Our main nativity sat atop our buffet. I love this nativity . . . so simple, so precious.

Our entertainment center was lit by candles, decked with greens, one of my favorite signs, and the HUGEST pine cone ornament ever!

Our mantel . . . home to my favorite reindeer, lots of greens, pinecones, and a very simple message . . . believe.

This little stained glass village was made just for us by Jonathan's great grandma, Bertha. It is so very special and will be part of our Christmas decor for many, many years to come.

Up close, our tree was decorated with pine cone ribbon, a gazillion pine cones (we have a huge collection, thanks to Gamma), sparkly snowflakes, and more words fitting to the season.

Jonathan's favorite ornament was hung low on the tree so that he could play with it each day . . . a Polar Express ornament. If you pull the golden ticket, the train goes around and around and it makes train sounds. He LOVES Polar Express, so this was a frequent sight of the season. And finally . . .

Our tree in the daylight, with all ornaments on display, and . . . 

Our tree at night, lit up with 3,600 lights! The ornaments took a back seat in the evenings, as the lights took center stage. Michael did the lights, and they were amazing! We didn't need to have a single other light on in the house to be able to find our way around. :)

There were lots of other nooks and crannies decorated for the season. The kitchen was filled with snowmen, our bedroom was all reds, and Jonathan had his very own tree with all of his favorite characters represented . . . Mickey and Minnie, Pooh and Piglet, Shrek, George, Horton, and more. We loved celebrating each day of the season and were so sad to pack it up. But now it's time to focus on the new year . . . simplifying, cleaning, and breathing in God's gifts each day. I hope you enjoyed our mini house tour! :)