So this year I decided that I was only decorating for Christmas with stuff that I really, really love. And I certainly don’t mean to imply that in the past I’ve decorated with all sorts of stuff that I, you know, hate, because what in the world would be the fun of that, MY WORD. But I think you probably know what I mean. Which is why I’m going to fight the urge to overexplain WITH EVERYTHING IN ME and show you some pictures now.
All righty, here’s our tree.
This year we decided to go CRAZY and use colored lights instead of white lights. WE’RE OUT OF CONTROL!
We actually had to replace the lights on our tree because all the original lights (our tree was pre-lit) were BROKE DOWN when we (and by “we,” I mean the other person in my marriage who is not me) set up the tree and plugged in everything. My husband actually spent the better part of a day taking the old lights off of the tree – apparently they were welded to the branches with some combination of screws and super glue and molten metal – and the fact that our marriage actually survived Light Removal Day is proof that God is still in the business of miracles, my friends.
Once David put on the new lights, I started decorating the tree – and I think I subconsciously tried to turn our Light Removal Day frown upside down by only using our very favorite ornaments.
Like these fun Christmas balls that my mama gave me last year.
And these cute Starbucks ornaments. Because Starbucks is a deeply meaningful part of our lives. PLEASE DON’T PITY US.
I kept the living room pretty simple, too – just some wreaths, a couple of my favorite Christmas items and a rosemary tree that MAKES ME SO HAPPY WITH ITS YUMMY SMELLINESS.
I know. I didn’t even pick up for y’all. I should be so ashamed. In fact, my mama may not even be able to show her face at church next Sunday because SHE’LL NEVER GET OVER THAT WRINKLED THROW ON THE COUCH. EVER.
Nonetheless, here are a few of the things that make me smile in the living room.
I was four. My friend Laura was three. AND APPARENTLY SANTA FORGOT HIS MUSTACHE.
In the kitchen I made a quick little centerpiece with Christmas balls in my favorite colors.
Our Christmas card tree is in the office that’s right off of our breakfast area, and it keeps that part of the house feeling pretty festive.
Especially a couple of days before Christmas when it looks like this.
The Christmas card tree has become one of my very favorite traditions in our house. I LOVE IT. And when Mama and Daddy get to our house Christmas Eve, the first thing Mama will do is pull up a chair right next to the card tree and STUDY those cards. Then she’ll ask me 800 questions about how everybody on the tree is doing.
At least, that’s what she’ll do if she’s recovered from the horrible My-Daughter-Didn’t-Pick-Up-Her-Living-Room-Before-She-Put-A-Picture-Of-It-On-The-Internet ordeal.
Y’all might want to keep Mama in your prayers.
My dining room looks pretty much like it always does.
But a few days before Christmas, it’ll look like this.
And every single time my little boy and his friends stomp through that part of the house, I will cringe and wait to hear the sound of something breaking. It’s a very special tradition as you can imagine.
Speaking of the boy, he has a new tree in his room, mainly because the old aluminum tree – which was SO fun and vintage and sparkly – was not going to survive another year in a little boy’s room. So this year we went with something a little more, um, STURDY.
And as always, a few of the little man’s crafts made their way into the decor – I think these are my most favoritest decorations of all.
So there you have it. I’m tempted to say that we’ve really scaled back with the decorations this year, but then I remember that we have three Christmas trees, so I think I’ll just offer you a cookie and wave bye-bye.
(Here is where I should insert a picture of me waving bye-bye, only wait, I DON’T HAVE ONE.)
Merry Christmas, everybody – and don’t forget to check out all the other homes on Nester’s Tour!
LOVE IT!!! I know how you feel about the boys stomping in the room with all the pretty breakable stuff. I cringe and hold my breath till they make out of said room. Have a Merry Christmas!
I have a couple of boys that would get along real well with your boy!!! Your mom is beautiful, as always!!!
Oh,and I love the Christmas card Christmas tree!! What a fabulous idea!!!
Everything looks so nice! Merry Christmas from a girl in Arkansas!
Love the Christmas card tree. I think I am SO doing that next year. (If I can remember) And I love that your momma wants to look at every card. I always insist on showing my mom each card and explaining who each person is! ha!
A couple months ago, I started reading your archive from the beginning because I’m not a fan of just picking up a blog the day I find it, I like to know the whole story haha. I finished today, just in time for the Christmas tour. Your decorations are gorgeous.
I was so excited because last week my college put out Christmas decorations in the library and they have the exact same blue feather trees set out!
I almost took a picture to put on twitter for you haha!
I heart a rosemary tree.
Your decorations look flat out LOVELY!
Season’s Greetings!
I had never noticed that I was about to show the world my big girl panties in that picture of us! :-) Your mama does EXACTLY what my mama used to do with the Christmas cards. Hard Christmas, but that pic of us made me smile!
It all looks amazing! Love the STARBUCKS ornaments!
I love it! All of it! And I snorted at the mustache-less Santa.
Oh my word with the Starbucks ornaments. I think I may have died and just went right on up to a beautiful caffeine filled version of heaven. Ya’ll are just simply my kind of people!
I was sitting here reading and admiring everything, and one of my girls (16) is sitting here with me enjoying everything and we’re laughing about your Mama, and then all of a sudden we burst out with, “Kiss Cookies.” Now she wants a glass of milk and a cookie. I wouldn’t mind one either. It’s a little late though to go making cookies, so it will have to wait. Plus I have no kisses in the house. She thinks chocolate chips might work, but I think desperation is just setting in about now.
Lovely, and I only wish I had a wrinkled throw was the worst of my offenses. You can share that with your mama.
Beautiful! My favorites are your bowls of ornaments and your wise men picture. Merry Christmas bloggy friend!
I had to laugh at your lights story… haven’t we all had tree problems at some stage of our married lives that involved the man trying to solve the situation! I know you lived to tell the story and for that we are grateful! Big smile. I also loved the three wisemen picture…that is so precious. Of course all your pictures are wonderful…and your mom can take a sigh of relief! Enjoyed the tour very much!
Blessings,
Debbie
Tell your mom Merry Christmas from me…and say it with a smile.
Just beautiful. Are you feeling bereft without your tour hostessing duties this year, or just dancing a jig in all your free time? :)
Wow! Could you come decorate my house? I especially love that lime green ball ornament–too cute. Bring that one when you come. K?
Love the green walls AND the wrinkled throw. :) The card tree is adorable and a really great idea.
the throw is hilarious! you are off the chain! You are so precious Sophie! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
ps that santa is pathetic!
Love all your cheery decorations. Just made me smile!!! :)
Miss you girl – I need to get here more often!!!
Your home makes me think of Flossie’s favorite expression from the Bobbsey Twins’ books . . . bee-oo-ti-ful! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!!!
Oh, I’ll definitely take a cookie, or two, or three. Those are my favorite! Except that there’s hardly any to bake after I eat all the dough. We’ve learned to triple the batch.
… the rest of your house is beautiful, too. The cookies just distracted me. May I have another. We haven’t baked ours yet.
Rosemary tree, feather trees!!! Love them!! Merry Christmas!
Oh my word, your tree with the colored lights is AMAZING! :)
Oh BooMama, you have The Friendly Village dishes! I grew up with those and when I saw them on your table I got goosebumps.
I love you Boo, and I love you because you did NOT pick that throw up in your den. Momma will have to deal, you’re keepin’ it real!
I lOVED your tour and decorations and I especially loved the messy throw. ;) Okay, off to pray for your momma. lol
Merry Christmas!!
So pretty! I love your dining room with all the china.
Just beautiful, and as always your commentary provided great entertainment. And what a GREAT idea for a card tree and that Santa picture cracks me up, haha!!
I absolutely love the idea of a Christmas card tree!! I may steal it and use it for my own one day!
(it secretly makes me want to send you a Christmas card – but I know Mama won’t ask about me and how I’m doing… ;-)
Love the idea of a Christmas card tree. Much better than taping them to the wall with Scotch tape like I have been doing.
Very beautiful!
Your table is so cute! And I love the Christmas card tree idea. Well done!
We have been really lazy about decorating this year…but I still have two trees up! But that is about it! I love the Christmas card tree. I have been trying to think of a new way to display our cards….I may be hitting the stores after Christmas to find a good deal on a tree for next year!
Loving the Starbucks ornaments!
BEAUTIFULLY done! Your tour was wonderful to read. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas season.
I love your decorations.
Very cute. That doesn’t look scaled back at all to me!
Oh, and I linked to you today. So when your stats go up by 3 people, that’s my love I’m sending your way. Your welcome.
I can’t believe your PRE-LIT TREE quit working! If that happened to me, I might have had to call the pre-lit tree people from whence my faux fir came and give them a smidge of some holiday cheer. In my nicest voice, of course.
I think your home is lovely, by the way! Those Christmas balls are my favorite!
So glad you joined in, even though you are no longer the “hostess with the mostess” …well I am sure you still are a wonderful host(ess), but you know what I mean!
I do declare (I only ever talk like that when reading your blog) that I have NEVER seen Starbucks on a Christmas tree, but what you do in US will probably reach us in Ireland in a decade or so, so maybe I should get ahead of the times!
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
PS Having a Christmas Nativity Carnival on my blog on 21 December so if you have a Nativity Set (with or without the Starbucks) you might like to join in :)
Very pretty and not too much if I do say so myself. :)
Everything looks lovely! Several years ago I made the decision that our tree would only have the “nicer” ornaments on them. I loved the home-made ones, but when the daughter became a teenager I thought it was ok to remove the toilet paper roll ornaments??? Yes? Well… several years ago my daughter was feeling sorry for those rejected ornaments. We now have a second tree that she has named the “Reject Tree”. On this tree we have all of our home-made ornaments as well as any of the “gaudy” ornaments that we find. The tree makes me smile.
I adore your plates on the “few days before Christmas table”. What kind are they? Everything looks beautiful and very festive :)
LOL on Santa forgetting his mustache! That’s hilarious.
Love the Starbucks ornaments. I don’t pity. I envy. I’m not sure which is worse.
Merry Christmas!
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love our Christmas Card tree (an idea borrowed from a super-awesome blogger who’s blog starts with Boo and ends with Mama….). LOVE IT!! As always, beautiful home! Merry Christmas! : )
My comment mirrors Sandy’s!!! I too grew up with Friendly Village dinnerware that we used for special holidays- like Christmas and Thanksgiving! It made me kind of sad to see it though, my mom went and sold all of her Friendly Village dinnerware at her garage sale without asking any of us kids if we would have wanted it. I’m still a little sad about that. All I was able to salvage that didn’t sell were a few covered vegetable bowls and a coffee mug. Oh the memories of the coffee mugs! Our fireplace mantle had hooks beneath it that we would hang our Friendly Village mugs on. After playing in the snow we would come in and grab a mug off the fireplace and fill it with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Now, THAT gives me goosebumps! Do you have the full set? Need any covered casserole or vegetable bowls? Just let me know if you do. All I really want to hold on to now is the coffee mug. I’m trying to sell the other pieces on ebay…
Your home is just beautiful! May many wonderful Christmas memories be made within its walls.
Our home is having an old fashioned handmade Christmas this year. I hope you will stop by.
I wonder how many people reading this understand the phrase “pick up.” This is why I love to read BooMama. Merry Christmas!
LOVE IT! Your feather trees are GOR-GEOUS and the card tree is brilliant!
Love seeing your home decorated for Christmas. It’s so beautiful! We have so many things alike. I do LOVE LOVE LOVE the Christmas card tree! I hang all my cards on the garland throughout the house. The fact that your boy has a FULL SIZED TREE in his room is making me green with jealousy! Thank you for sharing!
I love the Christmas card tree. That is a great way to display your Christmas cards. Thanks for the idea. Your house looks lovely for the holidays. Merry Christmas!
wow, the card tree is an amazing idea! I’m always struggling to figure out where to put all the cards! awesome! Merry Christmas!
kathy k.
Boomama, I really like your style of writing! Those three little wisemen are adorable! I like the Christmas card tree a lot and our mamas sound so similar. I love that my mom loves to keep up with my friends and that now that she’s started a blog, several of them read hers! Yea for colored lights and what a GREAT husband you have! Praise God for that. Kelly
p.s. I forgot to tell you, yea for colored lights! AND . . . thank you so much for including that verse at the bottom. Wow. Somehow the “do not be afraid” just hit me. Do. not. be. afraid. not of anything, not of Christmas – yikes, isn’t it silly to get afraid of Christmas, of Christ coming but on two levels I think we do, one the rush and hubbub and trying to live up to expectations for the celebration of Christmas and sometimes we get scared of Christ really, truly coming, invading our lives and making them richer, but oh the unknown of it and the being out of control for ourselves like we think we get to be. Thank you! Kelly
Merry Christmas! You crack me up. Your home is beautiful and I love how it looks like you have children. I worry about the homes that look like a museum…do you think the parents are hiding them somewhere? haha. Second thing- I’m worried about your Santa without a mustache. Who does that??? Merry Christmas!
Your table is set beautifully. And I love, love the starbucks ornaments. Too cute and they should be on our tree as well.
Your home looks beautiful & very festive! My favorite is the Christmas Card Tree… What a great idea?!?!?!
Also, thanks for including “the Christmas story” at the bottom. My little boy (just turned 3) tells it like this: “There were some shepherds taking care of their sheep and the angel came and said, ‘Do not be afraid! Baby Jesus is in the manger!'” Maybe we’ll get the rest next year:)
I must know more about your Christmas card tree. I LOVE IT! how do you affix the cards to the tree – a hole punch and ribbon? Please tell me or us meaning your commenters more…..
I am crazy for your Christmas Card tree! I always wanted to do that with a wreath but then I wonder where to put the wreath. Then I panic over where to put the overwhelming 2 cards that have arrived already, give up, and throw them in a sparkly, festive basket. But I remain forver in awe of your tree(ssssss).
Everything is beautiful. I especially love the Christmas card tree and the bowl of big jingle bells! So, the exact thing happened with our pre-lit tree this year! My poor hubby can certainly relate to yours. I told my daughter that the Christmas lights are always the Daddy’s job, because if “the mommy (ahem, me)” tackled that project the tree would end up being thrown through a window! :) I jest – or do I??
Merry Christmas! Oh, and those are my favorite Christmas cookies. If I find a pile of them I eat them like they are potato chips.
Ruthie :)
i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to know where those starbucks ornaments came from! were they actually from starbucks?! oh boy, i wish i could find them for my husband! beautiful home!
ok all i envy is the hubby who helps with the tree. mine wants nothing to do with it. if he had his way i would have one of those silly little table top trees.
Our lights died this year as well and it took me two days of working on it to get the stupid things off, between the original glue, nails, and whatever, my dad had duct taped and zip tied every strand he thought might come loose, down. I had to cut, and twist and pull loose all the original lighting and then string the new lights. It took forever so I totally appreciate the surving the lights fiasco.
Steff
Love the idea of the Christmas card tree! My husband just rolled his eyes at me… guess I have a year to convince him of it!
LOVE your decorations! So glad someone else’s house is a little strewn in their pics too. For heaven’s sake, you can even see the step ladder still sitting in front of my tree on one of my pictures. You would think I could have waited until it was out of the way before I snapped a picture, but noooo. So thanks for being real and I’ll pray your mama gets over it.
Bless your heart and have a great holy day!
Kay
Beautiful, enjoyed my Christmas tour of your home, I like the idea of a Christmas card tree, thank you for sharing,
Sue
I love your house. My mother would be saying the same thing! I love the Christmas card tree!
I’m going back to colored lights next year. Yep….your tree is beautiful and makes me think of the younger years before they ever had white lights! Really…when were they invented?
MERRY CHRISTMAS! What a gift you have been to me this year. A true blessing you are!
Fran
Trying real hard not to covet your dining table all set for Christmas, LOVE IT!
Gorgeous table and the card tree — fab idea!
Wow, Sophie, it all looks so fun AND beautiful. I love all your trees and I am, too, surprised and glad that your marriage survived something as horrendous as having to wrench the lights from the broke down tree. My husband would just as soon thrown the whole tree away. Merry Christmas!
Beautiful home and decor! I love the Christmas card tree. I’d like to do that!
I’ve often wondered what would happen when lights needed replacing on a pre-lit tree… only you could describe it in such hilarious detail. Beautiful home… love your window wreaths and your holiday card tree. Merry Christmas!
1. I love the green in your living room.
2. I love how you showed us the “before and after of the Christmas card tree” before this years “after” has even happened.
3. I love that little picture of Alex in the white picture frame. What a cutie he was/is!
4. I love our colorful trees;they’re very *you*.
5. I think I would love your mother too! :)
The mustache-free santa is priceless! Thank you for the tour. Can I get a few of those cookies for the road?
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Your card tree is te best idea EVER! I always tape them to a door. They constantly fall off and I just keep retaping them up. Not very fun or creative!
Love the Starbucks ornaments – keep meaning to pick them up – thanks for the reminder!
that santa picture made me laugh out loud (or almost out loud, cause the baby’s still sleepin!) love the colored lights! and one day i’ll have room for a card tree – for now the coat closet door in the living room will have to do :)
OK so I think I might have to make myself up a little card tree too, LOVE IT! thanks!
Five years ago when Jimmy took our pre- lit tree out of the box and discovered that the lights had died….thankfully he did not commence to “Light Removal”! I actually was surprised, him being so handy and all. Anyway, he shocked me by saying, Let’s just get a live tree, some colored lights (we were previously an all white light family! Ha!), and be done with it! So we went to MidSouth Nursery, bought us a huge LIVE tree, boxes of big, colored LED lights, and packed up that pre-lit (no longer lit) tree!
We have had a live tree ever since!
Your house looks great!
I love the Christmas card tree. I need to do that. I also think your little boy’s tree is so cute. Actually I like all your decorations! Very nice.
Love your house! You’ve decorated so beautifully – I’m sure that your Mama is proud of you :-)
Merry Christmas!
Cate
Your trees are great, both the main, colorful one and the card tree – such a great idea!
And that pic of you and Santa – totally priceless…
Merry Christmas sweet lady!
Your decorations are so great! I love the picture and the fact that “Santa forgot his mustache…” You are so funny!
Oh, Boomama! Your house looks so pretty and festive! I was enjoying the pictures, reading as I went……then, while I was looking at the sweet picture of you at the age of 4, thinking what a cute little girl you were when your comment about the missing mustache made me STOP and GLARE at it!!! I was taking a drink of pop and nearly blew it all over my computer!!!! HA!HA!HA!HA! I’m wiping away tears of laughter while typing this! Thank you, Dear One. I wish that I could truly tell you how much this post made my day. God bless.
The Three Wise Men are great, too!
Your house looks great. And the whole Christmas card tree thing is a neat idea. I was just telling my husband that I needed to figure out what I was going to do about ours.
My eyes are a little blurry from all the Christmas Touring…but I’m having fun! Thinking my house needs and update and a makeover. By the way…I sort of borrowed your card tree idea. I liked it so much last year, I started my own. Don’t worry…mine pales in comparison! I love your beautiful decorations…your home is just lovely!
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you!
I am stealing two of your ideas…the Christmas card tree and the ornaments in your wood trencher… I usually put my trencher away and replace it with my nativity set but will now move it to my kitchen table with ornaments in it. I normally tape my Christmas cards to the doorway between my kitchen and foyer but because of my high ceilings you can’t really look at the high ones, the tree is an awesome idea and will be in my foyer! Thank you!!!!
What a beautiful house love all the decorations and your dining table all set is just beautiful love the pattern. Also your christmas card tree is too adorable. I want one, maybe hubs will let me buy one more tree!!!
Oh, BooMama. Your house looks lovely. We went with colored lights this year, too, as our pre-lit white light tree was completely out of commission. Only I just left the burned out lights on the tree and put a whole slew of colored lights on over them – I know….it’s lazy. But you really can’t tell unless you get very close.
Love that Christmas card tree of yours as well.
Wonderful.
Amy
I have been a pitiful blog reader lately, but stopped by to check on you today and wish you a Merry Christmas. (I had to laugh because I am SUPPOSED to be catching up on laundry before my children get out of school) Anyway, The Santa picture sans mustache made me laugh out loud and the Christmas card tree has new respect points from me. I tried it last year and mine looked goofy–yours? Gorgeous!
Merry Christmas, Sophie!
It looks just beautiful. And our pre-lit tree died on us last year. I promised myself I’d get a new one for this year before I *gasp* wrapped it in lights again. Did I get one? No. But I will for next year. Wrapping a tree in lights is for the birds.
i am so excited to find you again and to be able to say ‘thanks’! i must have seen your card tree while blog hopping and iloved it so much that i ran out and bought an adorable little tree to make our own card tree! my hubby and kids love the card tree and i just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for the idea!
My mother made those cookies too. They bring back good memories! So beautiful! It all looks so festive! I am stopping by from Nester’s tour. If you want to see my tour, click on the ‘Christmas 2009’ tag on the left sidebar of my blog to see my Christmas decorating posts! Merry Christmas!
I love the Christmas Card tree – and I’m so inspired, I’m thinking I want to jump on the home tour train!
Hi
I cannot even believe that I just found your blog through reading another blog!
Why I did not find it sooner is beyond me!
This year I started to hang my cards on my tree… you really do it MUCH better!
Many Blessings
Patricia
The tour was so fun!! I actually participated mySELF!! Whoa! Anyway, I just wanted to say your home looks lovely, wrinkled throw and all (Signs of Life). And I adore Alex’s wise man craft. Very cute.