My central Christmas decoration rests on the mantle
I love preparing for Christmas. It’s always been a Thanksgiving tradition. After the dishes are done, we break out the ornaments and other decorations.
I don’t buy new decorations, since I have so much great stuff from my childhood and gifts that I don’t need to supplement with newer items often.
I have painted candles and candle holders scattered around that were my Grandmother’s (she used to make them). They sit on delicate snowflake doilies my Mother made.
Most of my ornaments came from my childhood Christmas tree, since my Mother doesn’t decorate anymore (holidays are always at my house, since I’m the best cook and have the small children).
ONE exception is that I always buy one ornament every year with room for everyone’s name to be written on. It started out with two, then grew to three, then four… now five.
Each year when we decorate, we reminisce about what we did the year of each of those special pieces.
My central Christmas decoration rests on the mantle, it is a ceramic set with a pearl finish which is a Nativity scene. My Step Dad made a barn for the holy family, and each year we buy a small cake and sing Happy Birthday to the Baby Jesus and the youngest in the family blows out the candle.
My mother also embroidered lovely stockings for each person in my family. They’re gorgeous and one-of-a-kind, and we’ll be using them long after she is gone, remembering the love that made them.
