The mercury continues to soar close to and over the 100 degree mark around here so what better way to cool off than with a Christmas home tour?
This past Christmas was a hectic one for my family. More so than the usual mad dash leading up to Christmas.
My dad was going through a really rough time with his treatments, so I took on a holiday event my mom usually hosts.
It’s a sit down dinner with my whole family, in addition to my aunt and her kids and their kids. Yep, a super big crowd!
I’ve never hosted it before so I was all in getting ready.
Today I realized I hadn’t posted a single photo of our house at Christmas last year. Actually, I rarely blogged at all last year.
I thought it would be fun to share a few of the photos I managed to snap on my cell phone as I start planning —a little early—for this year’s Christmas season.
Christmas in July: Decorating the Fireplace Mantle
Since I’m talking about my little Auntie, I’ll start with this beautiful piece I found a home for on the fireplace.
My Aunt is an artist (although she would probably shoosh that title away) and she created this for me by hand with thread…
Seriously how fabulous is that? The fiber arts just don’t get the appreciation they deserve!
We gave the fireplace a make-over last fall right before the Christmas rush began.
I’m happy to have a fireplace again because stocking gifts are one of our favorite holiday traditions.
My mom spends a considerable amount of time selecting presents and filling stockings for every member of the family, including our dog. Ditto for my Auntie (who is my Mom’s sister) and her family.
Christmas in July: Decorating the Christmas Tree
As I get older, I realize more and more how important it is to honor and uphold family traditions.
Decking the halls is one of them. My parents always made a big deal out of Christmas. From decorating to hosting parties to midnight Mass, they both love Christmas.
The lighting in the great room is a little tricky for my amateur photography skills, but here’s a wide shot that includes the Christmas tree.
I found these fake snowballs at the drug store right before Christmas. Since our tree is snowmen and winter sports, I decided they had to come home with me.
And a quick look at the garland on the banister from last year.
I tucked some fresh magnolia leaves in amidst the garland, but it croaked within a few days.
Maybe I need a better magnolia leaf source?
Christmas in July: Outdoor Decorating at Christmas
Few peeks of the outdoor decorating…and a promise to take more and better photos this Christmas!
Pops and I gathered the greens for the window boxes together from the woods beside their house.
While I would like to have taken time to cut a few more, he was feeling pretty tough so we called it a wrap.
This was the first year with these window boxes so it was a bit of a trial and error process. But it’s given me ideas for what to do—and not do—this year.
And that’s it for my mini-Christmas in July home tour! Hope it’s helped you cool off from the heat…
If you haven’t done so before, you can visit my Home from the Holidays tour at our old house. Christmas was a lot of fun in our old neighborhood as we were on the parade route. You can take a peek here…
Until next time…
Shelley
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