Christmas at the Dicou's---2009 Home Tour

Before I take down the Christmas decorations, I'm taking you on a little tour of the Dicou home front. We had three Christmas events at our house this year:  the All About Pets Christmas party, the Dicou Family Party, and I hosted our Bookclub Luncheon. So I had to have all of the decorating done by December 8th. Note to Self: Get done early again next year. Christmas was so much more enjoyable that way. It removed a TON of the guilt and anxiety. I actually felt on top of things. Ok, here we go.

First stop---The Fireplace

I love snowmen. They're so happy. Over the years I've collected a bunch. What's great about using snowmen to decorate is I can leave them up until Memorial Day, believe me--- we'll still have snow.

Here's a close-up.

And another.

Next up---The Christmas Trees

Each tree had it's own theme. The tallest is decorated in tourquoise, magenta, lime green, and red. The middle one had mostly poofy-felt/fabric ornaments, and the baby tree had our Hallmark ornaments that we've been collecting since 1980.

I made a felt circle garland for the tallest tree that I discovered here on Anna Maria Horner's blog. She made a great tutorial with easy to follow instructions. I chose the colors of the felt, then pretty much built the rest of the tree around it. I did the stitching while watching Jazz games on tv, or on a flight to New York, or while in the car (I wasn't doing the driving). Each circle took about five minutes.

Moving along we come to---The Nativity Scene

I've, also, been collecting Nativity scenes on our travels. In this one, I love that there's a bunny sitting in the manger with baby Jesus, and how many times do you get to see a gray tabby cat among the mix of sheep and cattle in Bethlehem?

Let's slip into the kitchen and see---Our First EVER Gingerbread House

We were invited by the Skousens and the Ferres to join them in one of their Christmas traditions. So, we made our very first gingerbread house. I think it turned out absolutely adorable. Our snowman salt and pepper shakers look like they're about ready to step inside.

Last stop---Our Christmas Card Photo

I was tickled with our photo.  Taken on Thanksgiving Day we had just finished eating, so with full tummies I dragged the gang out to the porch. I was given five minutes (it was really, really cold) to set up the tripod, set the self-timer, jump into the photo, suck in my belly, and look relaxed. And I found a cute frame at Target that matched perfectly.

That's it until next year.

Happy 2010!

It's gonna be a good one.