Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Around the House

I don't do a ton of decorating for Christmas, but we do always have a tree and a few other fun things around the house.  Below is one of my favorite thrift store finds last spring - a brand new Nutcracker advent calendar, still in the box, for $3.00.  Each day you take a little wooden nutcracker out of the appropriate door, and hang it on the knobs on the castle. 

 These vintage Santa salt and pepper shakers are from my Granny Anne.  They are sitting on my kitchen window sill, and make me smile.

Below is an ornament I made from Pierce's first Christmas.  He was two months old when I painted the palm of his hand and gently pressed it onto the little wooden disk.  Each year when we put up our tree, we always hold his hand up to it, to see how much he has grown.

Our elf, Tulley, continues to show up in unexpected places each morning.  Today, as I'm writing this, he is towering above me up in the rafters.  Not sure how he got so high up.  Must be some major Santa magic going on.
 
 
The twins work on a nativity puzzle.  Well, Reid mostly works on it, and Cort sits by and watches.  Reid is crazy for puzzles!  Cort usually sits by him for company and works one or two pieces.


What do you have up for the holidays, readers?  Do you have any favorite decorations in your house?


37 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

I really like that nutcracker advent calendar and the ornament with Pierce's hand. Both are very cool!

Unknown said...

I love your Nutcracker house. What a deal!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Wow you do find some very cool thrift store finds. I love you Grammas salt and pepper shakers.
Your boys always make me smile. Thanks for that.
Too busy lots of cute little calves running around but I did manage to get the tree up:) B

Cat said...

I have nothing. Nothing. Please come do my house for me. John usually does it but he is in Honduras. So I need major elf help.

andy said...

Love all your decorations !!! Wow what a awesome puzzle !!!!

Barbara said...

I love so much in this post. I love your nutcracker advent and those salt and pepper shakers are so adorable. I love that you put up his hand to the ornament every year, it sort of motivates me to try and do something like that this year.

Heather said...

We don't have a lot of decorations out this year, mainly just our tree and stockings. I think when the kids stop taking the decorations down to play with we will start putting more stuff out. :-)

Chatty Crone said...

Oh I love to see the decorations and the happy smiles that you have there.

And for the decoration I like the calendar marking the days off.

sandie

Tanya Breese said...

what a steal, the advent calendar! i have a felt one that needs some major repairs! my favorite is probably the christmas tree skirt that i started on braden and dalton's first christmas. each year i paint the kids' palms and they leave their handprints..we filled the front side, now had to flip it over. still need to do this years prints. it's been hard getting all the kids in the house at the same time with ashlyn's busy schedule now! i also started a new tradition last year, saw it on pinterest of course. when we get our tree, we have them cute a small portion from the trunk and i let the boys paint it and i date it. i wish i had started that one earlier on!
i loved checking out all your stuff :)

Sally said...

Love these, Lisa!

The ornament for Pierce; so cute. :)

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

I love your decorations! The ornament with Pierce's hand print is just wonderful. And the nativity puzzle is fun looking.

We have a big tree and a little tree and a nativity scene and lots of battery-powered candles.

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

I love Pierce's hand ornament. It's precious!! And I love the twins' "teamwork" on the puzzle.

We usually have a pre-lit tree (Livie insisted on the multi-color lights, even though I really wanted all white). It has some store-bought ornaments and some that Livie has made.

Then we have the stockings hung-up on the mantle.

Oh, and I can't forget the "chile-ristra" that's made out of lights that look like red chiles!! I also have a string of multi-color lights that look like chiles, but I didn't hang it up this year.

And finally, we have a string of white lights up on our evergreen tree out in the north-east corner of our front yard.

Kerri Farley said...

No decorations here yet - not into that festive mood - hopefully I"ll get there soon.
LOVE that little advent calendar - and My Mom had (maybe still has) those same Salt and Pepper shakers!

Yolanda Ronaldo said...

I love your nutcracker house!

Anonymous said...

WE're decorated and reading Christmas classics in the evenings these days. But not baking much...

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh what a cute calendar, Lisa. I had a wall hanging for my kids when they were little--where they added one ornament each day to the little Christmas tree.. That way the kids knew how many more days it was 'til Christmas. I love the nutcracker one though.

We are enjoying the beach in beautiful Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. I will think of you today at 12 minutes and 12 seconds after 12 noon on 12/12/12/.... Unbelievable.

Hugs,
Betsy

TexWisGirl said...

none yet. :)

i like pierce's little 'paw print'!

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Cute decorations! I love those Santa S&P shakers. We don't really do a lot of decorating for Christmas. We have a tree of course, but then just a few other things around the house. One of my favorite things to do is put a bunch of ornaments in a bowl. It's different and feels very festive to me :)

Sunnybrook Farm said...

Neat photos!
If you get to Windy Gap today, it is pajama day, my wife went off in her pajamas for the fundraiser, if you get over there, have a look, could be
funny seeing all the teachers out of uniform so to speak!
I do hope she didn't get the days mixed up, that would be bad.

Sandy said...

I think the little salt & pepper shakers are adorable. I decorate mostly with candles & lights. I enjoy the glow they give off.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I love the two santas!!

Vision By Mila said...

I love that decoration you made, with his little palm!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love that huge puzzle!!! And the hand print and the Advent calendar, I have never seen an Advent calendar this cool. We had hoped to put our tree up this year but sadly, were not able to. The cats gnawed on the lights, end of story. So I have a tiny white tree and put our manger scene under it, maybe I will post a picture sometime. It has no lights and the tiny ornaments are glued to it, so it disgusts the cats.

Grandma Bonnie said...

That is a neat nutcracker advent calendar. I have a tree up, some candles and a wreath this year thats about it.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I don't know if I could pick one decoration because I love all of the items I have but I do treasure a Santa who is ceramic and belonged to my husbands Nana who was born 1900 so I am guessing this Santa is about 70 years old.
Love the countdown to Christmas you have, it's very cute. What a cool puzzle for the boys. Love your S&P shakers. I do collect them but haven't bought any this year.

Eat To Live said...

I had some salt and pepper shakers kind of like those that I gave to my Daughter. She does a lot more decorating than I do.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Oh my I forgot all about Tulley!!!!...:)JP

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

Love the elf on the shelf idea, my kids are too grown up for it. Our house is fully decked, I tend to go all out. Now, on to the cookies...

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Your having so much fun- I am coming right over.
love
tweedles

Unknown said...

Lisa: Cort is "consulting" -- for now! I'm sure your home looks gorgeous for Christmas!

Linda said...

Cute pictures! I love the little handprint.

Susan Evans said...

Wow! What a great deal on that gorgeous Advent Nutcracker calendar! And the hand print is precious...

Nancy said...

Love your decorations -- you are beating me in that area. But you have little ones, so it's important. :)

Cuby said...

The nutcracker advent calender is lovely. Only twins can job share like this with their special understanding.

An Apel a Day said...

We have Nutcrackers, books, one is a puzzle book and a lot of pretty ornaments. I decorate with a lot of red ribbon to.

Arti said...

Lovely captures! Wonderful decorations. We generally put up earthen lamps on our balcony during Diwali, our biggest festival.
Have a lovely weekend Lisa :)

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

I love Pierce's ornament! Cute pictures!