What does our Christmas look like?

Christmas for me growing up included a lot of handcrafted decorations. I loved it and I love that I now have some of those items in my own home. I had mentioned to my mom that I wanted Claire to have a Christmas stocking much like the one someone made for me after I was born. My mom said that she would take care of it. Little did I know how much work was involved! Here is a picture:

Do you see all those sequins and beads? My mom hand sewed everyone one of those. Do you see all the lettering? Yep, she hand sewed all of that too! She also cut everything out and pieced all together. Unbelievable! I can't imagine how long that took her.

The two on the right are the ones I grew up with. My mom was so good at filling our stockings with fun goodies. I hope I am able to do that for Claire.

(PS Can you see that I'm in the holiday spirit with my holiday socks?!)

Here's what our house looks like for Christmas:

Oh, I wish you could see how the lights are sparkling on it! The tree has a lot of handmade ornaments on it from different family and friends. The skirt was quilted by my Aunt Mary Jane, as well. One day, Claire will get to add her special touch with macaroni and glitter art!

Tim did this for me. I had cleared the hutch off and managed to get a few things up but he completed it last weekend by adding the garland and lights and other decorative knick-knacks. I love looking at it. It is quite festive! It includes a number of pieces that my grandparents made.

Well, I better get back to work. Tim requested clean pants to wear to work!

Merry Christmas!