It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas, (inside and out)

I love it when my house takes on the glow of Christmas. I started decorating on the day after Thanksgiving and enjoyed finding new spots for all of my decorations. Over the years we have collected so many special Christmas items and it was so much fun to bring them out and place them in our new home. I have always gazed upon pictures in the Southern Living Christmas Editions of beautifully decorated stair railings but have never had one to adorn with garland. I also have longed for a mantle to hang stockings. Well, this year I did and I just love looking at my stairs and my mantle. Our decorations don't necessarily look like the magazine pictures but they are such an expression of our family which I just love. I had perfect spots for my Nutcracker collection as well as my Christmas Village and the kids loved decorating the trees in their rooms and playrooms.

While the inside has gotten all warm and cozy with the Christmas decor, outside has been blanketed with newly fallen snow (and some REALLY cold temps) which makes it really feel like Christmas. After all my years in Florida watching the palm trees sway it is nice to listen to good ol' Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole while the snow falls.

Here are pics of our decorations ( I had to use my very old pocket camera because my wide angle lens is broken so they are not very clear) as well as a few shots of MY NEIGHBOR'S house.

O Christmas Tree!

Our tree for the playroom which has mostly homemade ornaments from my daddy and nana. Grace did all the ornaments.

Cody's little tree...he wanted turquoise ornaments this year.

Cody's Christmas house which my mom bought him at Walmart when he was just a toddler and every year he wants it displayed in his room. I love how attached he gets to certain things that remind him of special people and treasure times of his life. He loves to reminisce of his early Christmases.

And here is the girls tree, again decorated by Grace.

Now, here are a few shots of my neighbors house. EVERY inch of her yard is covered with some type of light and they have been up since Halloween.