The first shot is the little round table in my den. Love that lamp! It’s an old mason jar, and I filled it with pine cones. The candles are “vintage” hand me downs from when I was little.

The giant jar below sits on a bridge between the tops of two bookcases. I put something different in it every year. I was going for lights. They flickered out and went in the trash. The glittery star garland looks just fine!

And my prized Nativity. I collected the pieces for several years. The little wooden Church came from a craft fair and reminds me of the church my Grandmother used to take us to. I still need to unearth the little stand I sit the Angel on, and the star that I hang from the upper shelf.

… alot like Christmas!

The outdoor decorating is done, and I know you’ll forgive the poor night shot. When we moved into this house, I put hooks up along the perimeter of the porch. Makes getting the lights up super easy – the only thinking I have to do is which lights, and to garland or not to garland.

We went with the multi-colored retro bulbs this year. And garland. I have one post done, but the rest of the garland must be in another box. I’ll find it tomorrow. And, maybe some ribbon for bows. I added a twist this time by (literally) throwing some twinkly lights across the vinca. The wreath is up, but not very clear, I may move it to the porch wall. Or not.

I pulled a box from the attic that hasn’t seen the light of day since 1997 according to the pack of Christmas cards that was tucked into it. Figured that was a good first step in sorting through the keepers and the goners. What fun! Really!

I found construction paper decorations from Kindergarten and 1st grade. Gave us all a chuckle. Now I will have to figure out what to do with them – I still can’t bring myself to get rid of them.

I tossed a number of things, put a few up around the house, and packed a whole shopping bag full of stuff to pass along to Mary Alice – mostly things I used to decorate the boys’ rooms when they were little. The nephews should like that. They’ll be here for the weekend. Packed in the box were three Christmas towels. They are now in the laundry. I’ll set them out for bath time, and the kids can take them home.

Since I’ll only be keeping a few things from that box, I broke it down and tossed it. The keepers should easily fit into other Holiday totes, and I’ll gain alittle more floor space. Could this be the year that I get the Christmas decorations sorted, cleared, and organized? Maybe!

Other progress – I copied all of the 2007 pics from my SD card to cd and freed up space for the Holiday pics. Then, I copied up a whole set of short video clips from last summer to a dvd with the elf dances I did of Mary Alice, my brother, and the kids. More stuff to send with them.