Puttin' on the Glitz

ho Ho HO!!!

I ALWAYS feel SPARKLY during the holidays. I'm just...happy. Christmastime has been my favorite since I was knee-high to an elf. For me, it's a joyful celebration of love and peace. My whole world seems warmer and fuzzier. All the petty annoyances just seem to melt away when I hear Bing Crosby sing "White Christmas". And, it's the time of year when my Hallmark ornaments get to come out and play! I've been collecting these silly things since I was about 15...and I've amassed quite a collection over the past several decades (enough for about 3 full-size trees)!

This Christmas is REALLY special. It's Jonathan's and my first Christmas together. He's as "into" the holidays as I am--the decorating, parties, caroling, baking, music, glad tidings...ALL of it! It's just so much fun sharing this with him.

So, we dug out all my Christmas decor and put it up the day after Thanksgiving. That's the earliest I've ever decorated before. I mean, the leftovers from Thanksgiving hadn't even gotten cold yet!

Here is the tree...in lighted version and with the flash on. I think the flash version is really harsh--but you can see the ornaments better. There is a LOT going on--on this tree. A WHOLE lot. I like colorful trees. Some people like themed trees or monochromatically-decorated trees. The solid-colored ones have always looked sort of sterile to me...like those aluminum trees in Charlie Brown's Christmas. I like eclectic trees--multi-colored lights, plethora of Hallmark and Enesco ornaments, real candy canes, red velvet bows, a ball here and there, an angel on top, and just a HINT of tinsel. It's a colorfully chaotic cacophony of Christmas!!! (how's THAT for alliteration!?) I usually put a miniature town under the tree, but Jonathan wanted the manger. So, manger it is. I put the town on an occasional table in the library.

Here is the tree in flash dance mode:

Here are some of the ornaments:

So much FUN!

After we decorated the inside of the house, Jonathan decided to put lights up on the OUTSIDE. I've never decorated the outside of a house before, so this was a new experience for me!

Camera, Lights, ACTION!

I'm such a little helper bee!

 

Jonathan...the LIGHT of MY life

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!