Christmas Decorating

One of the things that I love to do after our Thanksgiving meal, is to pull out all of my Christmas decorations and put them up. Since it's a large block of time I enjoy putting on Christmas music and spend the time decorating! I find it very relaxing!
Putting up my own decorations all started with my parents letting us kids use the left-over colored tree lights, which we would divvy up and then string around our rooms. As I began raiding the neighbors junk piles, made decorations, and had things given to me, I began to build my own set of Christmas decorations that has morphed into what it is today!

Let me show you a few of the treasured items in my Christmas box...

"Mom and Thelma wrapping a garland"
With Momma and Thelma helping me last Thursday, I was able to get my room all decorated. I was just in need of several extension cords as the finishing touches; these things seem to disappear rather quickly around here and no one knows where they have gone to!
As Saturday was a rainy day I devoted some time to unearthing a cord/s and finally get everything plugged in! Daddy fixed one end of my lights so that I could plug another cord into it and I was ready for action!

"All Lit Up!"
This is a bad picture of what the lights look like, but you can get an idea of how everything looks. I'm so pleased with how it turned out!
As I sit here, it suddenly struck me that all of my Christmas decorations have either been given to me or I have paid next to nothing for them! The two garlands I bought for $2.50 at the local thrift store!

"The Church"
Do you remember this?

"The House"
Or This?
Both the house and the church are nestled on the shelf about the widow and I love the glow that they emit at night!

"Hand painted Christmas Tree"
This Christmas tree came from my Grandpa & Grandma Castlebury who hand-painted it and gave it to my parents years ago. I have memories of this tree as a child and it has a special place amongst my decorations.

"The Building that Started It All"
My Grandma Gooldy gave me this hardware store as a Christmas present several years ago- It to holds a special spot in my Christmas box.

"The Mittens"
My Mom asked me why I love to get my Christmas decorations out and I believe it has to do with the cozy "winter time" feeling that comes when everything is lit up. To turn the garlands on as the sun is setting, or to be up early with them on is something special. It makes a house more like a home.
Any day now Momma and I will begin to pull the family decorations out... Candle lights in the windows, the manger scene above the fireplace, the gingerbread house, and anything else I can find in those tubs! I can't wait! We will get our tree in a week or two and then sit back and enjoy everything to it's fullest! I love this time of year not only because we are celebrating Christ's birth, but because we spend more time together around the dinner table or enjoying each other's company around the fireplace. Just being together is a delight!

Have a terrific day!