Christmas cheer...

A friend recently wrote a long post on Facebook about how several years ago she completely stopped giving any Christmas gifts, or doing any decorating for the holiday. This all makes her happy and is working well for her. I read her story with interest, and can completely understand her point of view. I can even look into my future and conceive of a time when decorating for the holiday might not bring me joy. But for now it does.

  I found this vintage angel at a holiday flea market a year or two ago. She stood out in her old-fashioned glory among a whole lot of brand new, sparkly, items. I liked her immediately, and checked for a price tag. She didn't have one. I thought to myself, "I would pay as much as $20 for this decoration." I asked the lady what the price was. She thought a moment and said, hesitantly, "Three dollars." I never pulled money out of my pocket faster.

 Deb surprised me with these cute reindeer and sleigh, and they are destined to become treasured annual decor. She also found this...

 A sweet little Christmas village, second hand but in perfect shape. They were in the original Styrofoam packing, with someones careful handwriting indicating where each piece fits for storage. A treasure!

It's always a treat for me to unpack my beloved nativity scene and angels made for me by my first friend when we moved to Memphis. I doubt she knew then what joy this gift would bring me, every, single, year. The little wooden stable to the left was something from my childhood. I don't know its origins, but I remember it always graced the mantel in the living room. To the right of that is an angel music box. We had one identical to it when I was a child, and I adored it. A few years ago, while visiting a different state for a grooming show, my friend Cheryl and I ducked out to attend a little antique sale we had spied. I grabbed that childhood memory and brought her right home. When wound, she spins and plays a rather tinny rendition of Silent Night.

Rachel crafted these figures when she was in high school. She used to always scoff when I got them out and gave them a place of honor, but this year she grudgingly admitted that they are not so bad.

I treated myself to some new chairs for the dining room. They are metal, and inexpensive, but sturdy and quite attractive, I think. The mismatched, wobbly chairs I had around the table for the past few years have vexed me. These make me smile. If I find a set of wooden chairs that I adore and can afford, these babies are stack-able, and can be easily stored and trotted out for parties. The snowmen that are on the table are some that I had collected, and a bunch a friend had gathered then gave to me when she moved to a smaller home.

Even the animals are brought in on the action when it comes to festooning the farm. Jezebel was not at all enthused about wearing a hat, until she saw the other animals all donned it with no problem. She ended up posing better than anyone.

Sarah isn't really naughty, but joined in for the whimsy of  it all.

The packages are (almost) all wrapped and tucked beneath the tree. We have chosen to scale back a bit on gift giving this year. It's a bit of a pang for me to not have a huge mound of presents under the tree. It's a change from times past, and fine, but an adjustment. 

Pulling out the decorations from their red and green tubs is rather like greeting old, familiar friends. They hang out in my house for a few cheery weeks, and I'm glad to have them.