First up are some photos of my village. I have more houses that remained in the basement buy I was pretty happy with how these looked this year.
I had the first group on top of my antique steamer trunk and the other was on the dry sink in the dining room.
Next is the hutch. I brought in the HUGE shutters that I found at a yard sale last summer. Originally they were going to be hinged together to make a screen of sorts to hide the laundry area of my kitchen (because I loath seeing it!) When I brought them in they were just too massive and too dark. I put them on either side of the hutch and love them there. After I paint the hutch this summer, I think I will like them even better!
These are a few of my favorite items on the hutch. I love the bears and bring them out every Christmas. I picked up the white bowl when I was thrifting and filled it with old glass ornaments my mother still had from when I was a child.
I FINALLY got the tree up and finished on Christmas Eve day. It stays up until the weekend after Epiphany so I do have lots of opportunity to enjoy it. I took all of these photos on Christmas morning before anyone else was out of bed.
I certainly simplified my decor this year. I had a wreath on the door and candles in the windows but that was it for exterior decor. I usually set up all of my Nativity sets and bring out all of my Holy Family pieces but only put out one Nativity and a couple of small Holy Family sets. For the first time in years, I did not have any holiday decor in the kitchen or the bath. I think being so busy sewing I simply didn't have the time or energy. I don't think anyone missed it because the house still looked "Christmas-sy". (Low lights, lots of candles and the smell of Balsam Fir electric air freshener help a lot!)
