Bittersweet
Our house is filled to the brim with family now. I’ve had 2 of my granddaughters staying with me for the past 2 weeks and last night my son, his wife and Lily arrived from Germany. Every bed is taken, the dishwasher runs everyday, along with the washer and dryer. There are gifts to wrap and a house to clean, but these times are precious and I’m thankful for every minute.
My house is decorated with simple things this year and my granddaughters helped with every decoration. We made photo tags of family members and mixed them with little woodland animals on the tree. It’s the perfect Christmas tree for Lily’s tiny hands and she loves looking at the photos.
A simple candle in glass…
…surrounded by cranberries and glitter stars…
And on the mantle candles are wrapped in Christmas ribbon…
We decorated a topiary with pink Christmas lights that were sent to me from Pamela in Indiana. I love these lights!
Like so many of you I find the holidays bittersweet. It’s a time of joy mixed with feelings of loss for those who are missing.
I hope this Christmas finds each of you surrounded with joy. Merry Christmas everyone!
Hugs,
Anne
16 Comments
Donna
I will copy your 2012 tree decorations for sure. Little folks will come to Grandma’s for 2013 holidays and the family pictures will be so appropriate for new family members.
Silvia
What a beautiful decorationsa ! Hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas!! I wish you have a Happy New Year!! Hugs
Irene
Happy holiday Anne to you and your lovely family. I love the photo tags on your Christmas tree and the lovely ornaments. The candles look very special. Happy New Year. Bless you
Sinta
Happiest of holidays to you Anne… sweet and simple is a great idea! It gives you more time to enjoy all those special people filling up your house with laughter and making new memories of time together! May you continue to be blessed in the new year! xxoo
Renee
Everything is beautiful! Enjoy this special time with your family. Many blessings!
Pam in Indiana
Hi Anne!
So happy to see that you are enjoying having your family with you, too, this Christmas! I love the idea for ornaments that are ‘kid friendly’! When my children were small, I had them put their hands behind their backs when looking at Christmas ornaments. When our eldest, Meaghan, was about three, would obediently put her hands behind her back but she would manage to ‘touch’ the ornaments with her chubby tummy!
We have three of our kids home from college — the older kids had to work over Christmas — and we have had tons of their high school friends come to visit, play old Mario video games, spend the night and eat! I love having them home and reminiscing about growing up together. Right now we are in the midst of a blizzard — so we are staying in and eating all of the food I have been cooking all week!!
I am especially delighted to see what you did with the pink lights I sent! Thanks for posting the picture! You can NEVER have too much pink, can you??? :0)
XO
Pam♥
SandyD
Merry Christmas.I love the tag ornaments
three of our four Daughters 6 grandkiddies and SIL will be arriving soon. Daughter number 4 is a police officer 5 hours away and will not be home.
Janet
Merry Christmas, Anne. Enjoy your time with family!!
mimi'sdarlins
Hi, Anne. I’ve had little time for internet lately, as December is devoted to all things family and holidays. Your tree is lovely and so meaningful with the photos. I love the feathery little owl….I made wool owls for my ornaments this year, which I give to family members each year. I am sitting here with my hubby, fire warming our toes, enjoying the lights on the tree, and the aroma of turkey is already filling the air. Soon our children, DILs and grandkids will be arriving to open gifts. A very Blessed and Happy Christmas to you and yours, I know how precious it is to have your children with you at Christmas.
Hugs :)
Joanne Moore
Merry Christmas Anne! ENjoy your beautiful family! Love the tag ornament idea! I have been grousing that I wish I had picked up ornaments over the years from travels and outings. I was thinking of using photos somehow…the tags are a darling idea!! Plus they wont break and wont pull down the branches. May you be blessed with a healthy, creative New Year!
Jeanne Langston
I so enjoy your blog, your lovely pictures, and your store full of goodies !
your Christmas decorations are so sweet . I love your woodland ornaments!
and picture name tags . I just love everything you do ! Merry Christmas and thank you so much for sharing all your ideas . (And MOLLY MAKES!)
Jeanne L in Missouri
Sharon McQuistion
Thank you for the wonderful Christmas wishes!! I love the little woodland animal ornaments on the tree. Are they from Europe? I would love to find them myself. They’re adorable! Thank you for sharing your family and your wonderful talents with us. Happy New Year!
BJ
Your decorations are wonderful and so perfect with little ones around. Christmas is a time to enjoy what’s most important without all the “don’t touch” words! Enjoy your wonderful family.
sondra
What a beautifully decorated tree! Christmas is a time for making wonderful memories with friends and family. Sure makes the bittersweet ones easier to take, doesn’t it? Merry Christmas! Love your blog! Wish I had more time to sew!
Hildy
Merry xmas to you and your family! Love your cute ornaments. Hildy
Lynette
What a fantastic idea to make the photo-tag ornaments!