Lucky for me, my mom was willing to take a day to help me with my own seasonal styling this year, which I am thrilled to be sharing with you next week (once the finishing touches and photography are finished)!
For now, a December 2013 flashback.
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Christmas is my holiday because of my mom. For as long as I can remember, she has made it special with tunes playing (Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton and Roger Whittaker), treats mixing (Sweet Marie bars and butterscotch marshmallow squares), fire burning (okay, Dad gets credit for that one) and fun wrapping (there were always codes on my brother's and my gifts under the tree, so we didn't know whose were whose until we cracked the code!)
One of the best parts of Christmas at my parents' house has always been the decorating. While her styles and budget have varied over the years, she manages to put a bit of Christmas in every room of the house without every going too far, and changes things up every year. (Whereas I could pretty much decorate my house in my sleep, since everything seems to go in the same place.) Plus, her arrangements are not pre-made and purchased; she just somehow has an eye for putting things together...way better than I do. (We teach the students about learning styles, and while I score pretty high for Verbal/Linguistic, my Visual/Spatial skills are...well...they aren't.)
We went to visit this past weekend, and as soon as I stepped inside, I was overwhelmed with a wonderful festive feeling, and grabbed my Dad's camera in order to give you a bit of a tour. The lighting helped set the mood, of course, which isn't visible in the photos, but hopefully you still get the idea.
(She paid $1 each for the urns, and filled them herself)
I guess this is where I get my love for a blue and silver tree from.
The well-loved nativity set. Every Christmas Eve, the youngest person present places Baby Jesus in the manger, a tradition I use in my classroom as well.
She won this tree in a draw, covered in blue and pink - perfect to display the yearly photo ornaments of her grandson and three granddaughters!
Thanks, Mom, for letting me share these photos...and for making Christmas so special for us every year. Now that I'm a mother too, you inspire me to do the same for my girls, so that they will grow up with the same feelings of warmth, joy, peace and love that you gave us.
