beyond cinderella

I LOVE Christmas, and I LOVE decorating every room in my house at Christmas time. Usually I put our Christmas tree up and decorate the day after Thanksgiving. This year, however, we are going to Colorado to spend Christmas with our kids and grandkids, so I decided I was not going to put up the Christmas tree or decorate since we won’t be here to enjoy it… But then, I really, really, began to miss not having something around that makes my home feel like Christmas.

I went to the care center to visit my mother today. We decided we would start over, and try again, after she fired me last week so now all is well again there… Anyway, while I was there I noticed some very simple Christmas decorations the residents made in arts and crafts.

This is the one my mother made.

These simple decorations reminded me that decorations don’t have to be visions of grandeur, they can be simple, yet beautiful… So, I decided I would decorate my home with just a few “touches of Christmas.”

Instead of putting up our big Christmas Tree, I bought a little Christmas cactus and set it on the kitchen counter. The red and green look like Christmas to me!

I hung my little Santa dish towels. Again, red and green..

I put one gift box on my kitchen window,

along with a little snowman cookie tin, and I sprinkled little peppermint candy kisses around each. I also put some whole cloves in oranges to make the house smell like Christmas..

Simmering a pot of water spiked with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and pumpkin pie spice, also helped to make my house smell wonderful!!!

I filled a glass snowman with coconut flavored M&M’s

I hung my Christmas towels in the bathroom.

I put the gold Christmas tree card holder on the dining room table, and set out little dishes of peppermint kisses on either side.

I set out the angel night-light, and put a flameless candle behind the gold cross candle holder. When I turn them on at night it makes the whole room have a beautiful glow.

A glass boot filled with candy canes and surrounded by peppermint bark candy Christmas bells will greet you as you enter the family room.

A jingle bell wreath hangs on our front door.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas for me without cowgirl bandanas,

and my red shotgun Christmas lights placed around the dancing snowmen candle holder…

Yep, it may not be the full-blown redneck Christmas decorations that I usually do…but it’s beginning to look a little like Christmas to me… 🙂

Merry Christmas!!!

Stay Tuned!