Storing Christmas Decorations

Did you survive Christmas?  I don't know about you, but Santa is quite exhausted here at The Everyday Home.  It looks like his sled exploded in the Family Room. 

Usually, I leave all my decorations up until January 6th, Old Christmas.  But, this year - I am antsy to get my house back to normal and start on some DIY projects.  I will leave the tree up until Jan 6th.

So how do you store your decorations?

Source: renilim.hubpages.com via Christmas Crafts Nook on Pinterest

Our lights are not stored anywhere near this nice and neat.  Ours look more like this....

(source)

:-D

Actually, they are not quite as bad as the above pic depicts.  Last year,  we wrapped each strand of lights around a solo cup, with the end poked thru the bottom of the cup.  That worked wonderful.  We also use solo cups to store our ornaments, like this....

My goal this year is to really organize the decor, unlike past years when I had to go right back to work the day after Christmas.

I even found these great printables on Pinterest that will allow you to inventory and track where particular items are stored.

Source: home-storage-solutions-101.com via Mary Beth on Pinteres

Great idea, huh?

I also found these storage boxes available on Amazon. 

HERE is the link if you are interested in them. 

But, if you don't want to spend $32.99 for each box, as seen above... you can do this -

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashlee on Pinterest

Much cheaper and serves the same purpose.

I have sent The Hubbs out to The Home Depot to get some more plastic bins.  I know in a few days they will be picked over.

I have concluded that my Christmas decorations reproduce like rabbits.  Each year, I need at least 2-3 more bins.  

How about you? Do you have any ingenuous ideas for storing decorations you would like to share with me?  

For now though, I think another nap is in order.

:)

xxoo

Christmas Day

Love came down at Christmas;

Love all lovely, love divine; 

Love was born at Christmas, 

For the Stars and Angels gave the sign.

From Home to home, and heart to heart,

from one place to another.  May the warmth

and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each

other.  

From The Everyday Home, may the love

of Christmas envelop you in a warm embrace,

and give you peace.

Merry Christmas!!!!

xxoo

ChristmasEve

Christmas Eve Prayer

Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, 

that we may share in the song of the angels, 

the gladness of the shepherds, 

and worship of the wise men. 

Close the door of hate

and open the door of love all over the world. 

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. 

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which 

Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts. 

May the Christmas morning make us happy 

to be thy children,

and Christmas evening bring us to our beds 

with grateful thoughts, 

forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Robert Louis Stevenson

                                                         

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May your heart be filled with the love of family and friends, and may the warmth of the Christmas Spirit warm your soul.

Merry Christmas Eve, my Friends!

xxoo

2012 Christmas Home Tour

It has been a whirlwind December, and I am looking forward to the calmness that this weekend will bring.

I love the days prior to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Tomorrow will be spent baking cookies with the grands and my daughter-in-law, and wrapping up the last of the gifts.

I wanted to save our Home Tour for last.  The Grand Finale for 2012, so to speak.

You have already seen most of it, but there are a few new pics, as well.

So, grab a cup of warm cocoa, swirl a candy cane around...and sit back and enjoy.  There are a lot of pictures. :)

We start on our front porch with it's bright red door, perfect for Christmas.  

Greenery and gingham - a perfect combination to set the scene.

It may be small, but I tried to pack it with as much punch as I could. 

If you would like to see more, click here for our  Southern Front Porch.

C'mon in....

To the right in the foyer is my 12-Days of Christmas Tree, sitting on an antique cabinet.

It is closely guarded by two woodland friends...

I wanted to name them something equivocal of the season, such as Cinnamon and Nutmeg -

But my grandloves decided on Fred and Sharkboy.
So Fred and Sharkboy it is.   (I hope their middle names, at least, are Mistletoe and Holly)  :-D

Next, we go into the Living Room... which was totally inspired by this wreath.

My Goodwill Sweater "Snowball" Wreath.

I hung it in the arched window above the sofa -

Don't you just love my snowflake pillow?

Since we don't have a fireplace or mantel in this room, I used our English hutch to create a display.

I decorated it in tones of silver and blue to coordinate with the sweater snowball wreath.

You can see more of our English Hutch here.

On the coffee table, I created a Mini Snow Village under glass.  I am so happy I created this.  I almost did not because I assumed my little grandies would play the Abominable Snowbabies and terrorize the village.  They didn't.  They love to look at the "wittle" houses and "twees" under the glass.

You can see more about my Mini-Snow Village and ornament-filled Winter-Branches in my Living Room HERE.

Next, let's head into the Kitchen.  The kitchen is really where my love of Farmhouse style comes in.  I do a lot of cooking and we entertained quite a bit this year, so I left the kitchen island area simple...

A vintage grater sits in an old kitchen scale, surrounded by mini cookie cutters.

I snagged a wood carpenter's box from my shop inventory (yes, guilty!).  Then filled it with greenery, magnolia leaves, vintage silver and more vintage cookie cutters and mini pans. 

...and what is Christmas without some fun gingerbread men?

I used two lemon cedars on the counters.  I just love these...

Yes, yes - I know.  More numbered tags.  I have a sickness.  :)

This area of the kitchen received the most attention, with small wreaths tied with satin ribbons on each cabinet front.

Yes, more tags. These feature a cute snowflake cut out with a Martha Stewart stamp.

A garland around the entry between the Living Room and the Kitchen was decorated with a large burlap bow and glittered initials...seven in all. One for me and The Hubbs and one for my son and daughter-in-law and my three babies.

Speaking of glittered letters...

Another burlap bow and NOEL.

I love these 5-min touches.  This eucalyptus wreath hangs in the window of our Breakfast Room.

And while we're here in the Breakfast Room...do you remember our hutch?

Filled with bottle-brush trees and white dishes and snow-filled ornaments. 

This was one of my favorite projects this year.  Using scrap booking stickers to create a Christmas message on a plain white platter.

You can see more of our Breakfast Room Hutch here.

The table was simply decorated with potted trees.

More mini trees topped the pretty blue chest by the table...

Just a touch of sparkle...

You can see more HERE. 

Now let's move into the Dining Room.  

Regal Mr Buck over the mantel keeps a close eye on things...

The Woodland themed Mantel features cedar and magnolia and grapevine and feathers...

 I love these lanterns -

...but I adore these French Grain Sack Stockings.

This has been one of my favorite mantels of 
all-time.  I will be sad to take it down.  

If you would like to see more of our Woodland Mantel, click HERE.

Also in the Dining Room is our English chest which serves as our Buffet.  It also was inspired by nature, and included this English Staffordshire Soup Tureen filled with mini trees and ivy...

Some cute little friends took residence here for the holidays -

A hand-cut star with our initial sits atop of pinecone topiary...

A beautiful swag of greenery and berries hangs above, filled with sparkling white lights.

Oh yea, and as hard as it is for you to believe, there was this....

A stamped tag with a handwritten message.  :)

Now, let's head into the Family Room.  I didn't really go all out here, with lots of small touches.  Because this is the room where we spend most of our time. (aka - where the little ones play and romp and frolic) (aka- tear things up being the typical rough and rowdy little boys they are.)  :)

Our tree was a mixture of cardinals and birdhouses and twigs...

You can see more about our Cardinal Themed Christmas Tree HERE.

The Family Room Mantel was also 
English-Inspired with a Gallery Wall of
 English prints above...

A pair of regal, gold deer hold court surrounded by magnolia, dried hydrangea and white lights -

To continue the Woodland Theme that was throughout our home this year, I added these vintage-style clip on birds.

You can see more details of the English-Inspired Family Room Mantel HERE.

The room arrangement is new, and it features two gallery style walls.

The second one is above the couch...

A new magnolia wreath features a gift from a friend, a pair of deer antlers.

Another wall features an antique marble-topped Belgium chest with my beloved English-painted cat plates in Royal attire. 

A collection of decanters and crystal is displayed.

By the way, these French Willow Wall Baskets are part of the new collection I will be introducing right after the Holidays in my online shop. 

 I love this collection.  Yes, I went shopping in my inventory again.  After all, I have to try out the quality of what I am offering for sell, right?  :-D

Look for these and more that I am so excited to present.

So that's the end of the 2012 Christmas Tour at The Everyday Home.  I know there were a lot of pictures, and I thank you for hanging in there with me.  Thank you for allowing me to share our home with you.  I wish you could feel the joy and the love within these walls.  

Next week, postings will be at a minimum.  I will have a look back at some of the projects of 2012 and choose my fave.

May all of you have a Blessed and Memory-filled Christmas, surrounded by family and friends.  And may the most precious gift you receive above all,  be the love of our Jesus Christ.  May God Bless You.... xxoo

(As always, you are welcome to pin any pictures from my blog, with my permission.  Just click on the Pin With Barb button

 found below.)

Sharing with: Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday Jen at Tatertots and Jello for Weekend Wrap-Up Party

Jennifer Rizzo's Christmas Linky Parade

Pinning Party at Debbiedoo's and Fox Hollow Cottage