Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? It's Beginning to Look Like.....

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's hard to believe, but today it is finally December!!  The last month of the year has arrived - doesn't it seem like a long time since Thanksgiving?  It was so early this year, but that just means more shopping and crafting days before Christmas, right?

And it's not only the first day of December, it's Friday - and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Let's go!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I have two Christmas parties coming up so I have spent the last week dragging all the decorations out of the attic and spreading them all over the house.  Because that's all I've been doing, that's what I have to share this week!  Let me take you on a tour...

This is what you will see when you come up to my front door - the wreaths and the live Christmas tree came from a local tree farm run by a friend of ours.  He started it as a way to pay for his kids' college educations and now it is a thriving business.  Notice the dog-themed ribbons on the wreaths?  That's a tribute to Bree!

Come in the front door, and you'll find a place to hang your hat or coat.  Someone must have snuck in while I wasn't looking - hopefully they'll pull out a few more decorations and spread them around!

And here's my "fancy" tree - new this year and artificial, after last year's debacle when the decorated live tree proved to be too much for the tree stand and fell down splat!  We decorate this tree with white and silver floral sprays, silver and gold ornaments, and our small collection of annual White House ornaments.

Here's thee new arrangement I made for the dining room table - lots of red and white poinsettias, some ornaments and some greenery.

The nativity scene sits on top of the piano.  I really love this set by Enesco - I don't believe it's available any more, but we collected it over the years when my daughter was little.  It's carefully wrapped up every year because I don't think I could replace it if it got broken!

I pulled out my snowflake pillow covers, which I think lend a lovely Christmas flair to the living room.  That pop of color always brightens things up, and they fit right over the existing sofa pillows, so it's easy to store them away at the end of the season.

This cute little gnome sits on my kitchen table, and keeps track of the days in December - there's a little snowflake attached to the tip of his cap and tiny numbered pockets you can put it in each day.  Quite a clever advent calendar!  The reindeer are a new find from the Dollar Spot at Target, and they are all residing on an old wreath that I had tucked away.

And speaking of reindeer, how about these two?  They also came from our friend's tree farm - he always has the cutest little decorations and Christmas "clutter"!

Here's our "family" tree - the one that has all the fun ornaments that we've collected or made over the years.   Each one has a story and memories attached to it, and the grands love to look at them and ask about them.  And see Max sitting there to the right of the tree?  We put him up last year to scare Bree away from the tree, and he did such a good job that he got the gig again this year!  Actually she's been really good about not getting into the Christmas stuff, even when we aren't here.  She was curious about it all when I was putting it out, but I told her "That's not yours", and that was apparently enough!  She really is turning into a good dog!

The stocking are hung by the chimney with care!  I can't put as much on the top of the mantel as usual, because my husband has an antenna for local channels up there and he gets irritated if I move it, so I put my mantel garland down on the floor.  I kind of like it there, though!  

And I didn't want to neglect my new side steps, so I've added a little color out there with some poinsettia garlands.  I also took the cast aluminum bell that was sitting on the railing up top, turned it upside down, and put some artificial poinsettia bushes in there, so it looks pretty too!

I think I'm finally done with the decorating now!   Maybe a little bit more outside on the front of the house, if I can get some help from my hubby, but that will have to wait because it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  So I'll take a breather and do some cooking tomorrow!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah