Christmas Home Tour 2012 {And a Few Announcements}

I’ve been slowly but surely putting up my Christmas decorations for what’s going to be a whirlwind of holiday activity in the next couple of weeks.

First up, tomorrow I will be sharing my holiday home tour as a participant in a week-long tour of blogger homes.

It’s going to be so much fun and it’s sponsored by One King’s Lane, so you won’t want to miss the wonderful giveaway we have for you!

Also, this week is the kick-off to another fun Christmas tour full of crafts, decorating ideas, and all things Christmas:

The 12 Days of Christmas Tours kicks off tomorrow but will be going on for two weeks, so you’ll have plenty of time to browse at your leisure. I’ll be participating on Friday, Dec. 13 so please check back!

Then, starting at the end of this week, you won’t want to miss The Scoop bloggers sharing Handmade Christmas ideas.

The crafts are going to be amazing, so you definitely want to see what everyone has to share! I’ll be posting my handmade craft on Sunday. Here’s a hint, it’s made out of something vintage — can’t wait for you to see it!

Until tomorrow, I thought I would share a post from last year in case you missed it. It’s my home all decked out for Christmas last year.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how I’ve changed things up this year. Until then, I hope you enjoy Christmas 2012!

(By the way, with so many tours happening at the same time, I’ll be posting updates on my Facebook page and I’ll be creating a tour page on my blog with a complete line-up and schedule of the tours to help keep you up-to-date.)

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Christmas 2012

My Christmas decorations are up and today I’m showing you a small glimpse of them.

As I mentioned the other day, I love traditional red and green for my decor and it starts at my front door (notice one of my dogs peaking out the window to see what’s going on!).

Once inside, you’ll find some greenery in the foyer.

In my dining room, I hung a new wreath from my chalkboard. I found the cute plaid ribbon at Marshalls!

And I placed some of my Fitz & Floyd Christmas collectibles in my little hutch.

The tree is up and decorated in the living room.

And, the Polar Express train we bought the kids last year is running full steam ahead.

Midst the garland that sits atop our mantle, I always tuck little framed pictures of the kids with Santa from each year. I also include pictures of any special family Christmas outing, like the time we went to Sea World for Christmas.

It’s funny, I was going to re-arrange the mantle this year and do something different with these pictures (like hang them from the garland on the stair banister), but the kids protested. It seems they like this little set-up and are determined to keep this a tradition!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the kids with Santa. My daughter is clutching her blankie for dear life and looks totally unsure about this Santa character!

She’s seven years old now and is totally okay with Santa and this little guy — she absolutely believes in his magic!

Last weekend we had my nieces over and the kids teamed up to decorate these gingerbread houses in a hot and heated competition! Their grandparents were the judges. Guess who won? They all did. :)

(And, yes, you’re not seeing things…one is lighter than the other. We never got around to decorating the house we bought last year, so we kept it and made it this year. Look at how much that gingerbread faded!)

I love this bucket I found at Marshalls a couple of weeks ago when I went shopping with my mom while she was here. I couldn’t resist it even though the last thing I need is another Christmas decoration! I filled it with berries, greenery and huge pine cones I found along the street near my in-laws house.

I also have a thing for plates and found this a couple of years ago at Sur la Table when I was in Phoenix visiting my brother. It’s placed above my stove for a little Christmas spirit in the kitchen.