Festive Christmas-y-ness

On Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we started decorating for Christmas. It's the earliest in the season that we've ever gotten a tree, but we figured we'd only get busier with school and gigs as the weeks went by. So Nathan, Andrew, and I bought a tree and various other needed items and got to work bringing Christmas cheer to our house on Sunday afternoon and evening... our first Christmas in our new place!

I made a wreath for the front door:

(Well, I bought the greenery part of the wreath at Home Depot, and then added the other stuff myself.)

And Andrew helped me make a similar swag to go above the door to the kitchen. We used leftover branches from the bottom of the Christmas tree that we trimmed off.

Andrew is great at making big bows. At one point I started to say, "Should it be more like..." and he interrupted, "Speak again and they will be your last words." So I'd say he takes his bow-making pretty seriously. Don't interfere with Andrew's artistic process.

Andrew claimed the stairway as his decorating domain, and wound a garland and white and red lights up the banister. I added a little string of jingle bells around the bottom post.

We are enjoying the fact that we now have a fireplace and mantel. (Actually, two of them!) In the living room, this is what I came up with:

The mirror was a yard sale find for just $5 last summer, and Andrew dragged it up from the basement to put on the mantel. I added pine boughs I bought at Home Depot (I find it weird to have to pay for such things, having grown up in the country where we could run out in the backyard and cut our own!), candles, pine cones, ornaments, and the two lanterns.

And hanging beneath the mantel, Andrew and I carefully hung red and silver ornaments. Then I laid cedar boughs in the fireplace (which isn't functional right now) and added white pillar candles.

I put a reindeer ornament we have standing among the greenery. I think he likes it there.

And of course, here's our Christmas tree!

Yes, we don't have a tree topper. Maybe I'm just picky, but I cannot find one that I like. They mostly look too gaudy or ridiculous to me. Hopefully one of these years I'll find the perfect one! (Or maybe I should try making one...?)

I love our ornaments, though.

Glass icicles:

And I love this ornament that was a wedding present:

In the TV room, we have a second fireplace. That room is generally less, well, respectable than the living room, as we haven't yet spent much time fixing things up there since we moved in. As you can see, the sconces over the mantel really need to be replaced! But I tried to spruce the place up a little nonetheless.

Those stockings were made for us by a woman from Nathan's church when we got married. But this year we bought four stocking hangers, because we figure we'll need to get Andrew a stocking... and why not a little bitty stocking for Baby as well? (Even though he or she won't be breathing in the piney scents of Christmas yet this December.)

The TV room is also home to Nathan's recently acquired (given to him) organ. I put seven porcelain angels (bought at a yard sale over the summer... who says you have to shop for Christmas ornaments in December?) on top and added twinkle lights, tiny silver ornaments, and pillar candles.

And that's what our house looks like this December.

Happy Advent to all!