Preparing our home for Christmas ....

Hi everyone,

I hope that everyone is ready for Christmas.  I love the tradition of preparing the home for the season; we all used to do it together when the girls lived at home - mince pies, sherry & boxes of decorations to choose from which was always a lovely together time.

One of my lovely students baked traditional mince pies with me & that got me thinking that I should get out the tree on a damp Monday morning when students called in ill ...

Several trips in to our loft to bring out some of the many boxes; I always go up first to rummage around the boxes & decide what might come down ...

I loved our berry colours of the year before so I decided to keep the colours again this year - the berry hues are so calming & the soft white whites just make it all glow. This corner has a cardinal painting that came to me as I was the only one who liked it ...

I love these vibrant glass decorations / baubles but they are heavy & yet quite fragile so they went on last. Don’t you just love how the light shimmers through them?

More of the stunning glass ornaments that go on last ...

The fireplace always looks ready once the large garland is attached to it. The lights which worked perfectly last year, refused to light this year so I had to replace them - I went bold with a lot of soft white ones to adorn the garland so it shimmers at night  ... 

I love these little traditional village houses, they are on a side table in the living room with some of my trees which you will remember from previous years , they are pretty this time of the year ... 

The living room looking a lot more festive so the next room to be done was the dining room which we pass through all the time so it needs to be decorated too. Its heavy pure wool purple tartan curtains have gone up again for Winter so the berry colours continue through to there ...

The sideboard holds my two statue ladies & so they have a festive hat on. I always do a tree with my hand beaded South African ornaments. They were handmade in Kwa Zulu Natal where beadwork is their speciality & I have collected these over many years, some bought by my parents & the little painted ones were gifted to me by the girls last year when they visited before Christmas. This tree is just a faux Ikea one that I use about the house regularly.

Don’t you just love these ladies of mine? They look fine now with their hats ... 

 My very talented neighbour made me this robin as a gift last year so it is joining the other bead work.

 The unusual tree that reminds me of home ...

A bright tartan inspired cloth, a traditional painting, clocks & orchids as well as both sets of maternal great grandparents - I love this room ...

 We love eating in the conservatory which joins both the living & dining room so it is a space we use a lot, being light, bright & spacious.  The starting point is always the sideboard / dresser - look over all the previous ones in the link.  These favourite bits will be used straight off the shelves & they are favourites too.

Don’t you just love the traditional colours yet the modern china of Emma Bridgewater & the Spode Christmas tree pattern which epitomise Christmas.

The main drinks trays are in the living room but some things we might need is brought to the sideboard, ready to be used. The sideboard contains all manner of glasses so it is a good place.

 A smaller table is also readied for use - a new botanical gin is my gift to myself, all lit up with some cheerful little drink inspired decorations that you have seen before ...

I love coloured glass so a selection of vintage glasses is ready by the water jug & the shaker ...

Greenery is essential so the vintage carriage light on the wall is adorned with some greenery ...

To welcome guests in to the home, I always love a fresh wreath on our front door. As I was not gifted one this year, I modified a bought one by adding additional greenery from our garden - lovely spotted laurel gives it more shape & the red twigs from the garden looks interesting. I added some wired gold wire with its little stars - a simple, inexpensive wreath which now looked rather lovely ...

It is hung on the door knocker ...

I always use some battery lights on the plants on the front porch ...

 The lights come on for 6 hours each night & just look welcoming with their warm light ...

I feel that our home is looking festive & welcoming for the family who will pop home to familiar things ...

I hope you are ready too. When I grew up in Southern Africa, our Christmas fell in mid summer with traditions suited to that climate so I have had to adjust my home & my decorating to suit this hemisphere. The dark nights lend themselves to lights & glistening trees; we also do way more preparation than they do because it is often spent around a pool with friends  ...

Thank you for stopping by in this busy season, may you have a blessed time as you prepare for Christmas.
Dee ~💕~