Home Repair Minimalist: Christmas at Mom's (part 1)

Happy December!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday, filled with friends, family, and good food!

I had what you might call a "working holiday," but I wouldn't have it any other way! My dear mother is in very poor health, so while I am with my parents, I try to do all the things she can't do any more. In particular, this Thanksgiving break was the time for me to do the Christmas decorating!

....and my mother doesn't believe in doing anything half-way....

EVERY surface in five rooms gets decorated. My parents have been living in that house for about 40 years now. There are a LOT of surfaces!

And my mother has also collected a LOT of Christmas decorations. When I was a little girl, we had one deep closet dedicated to Christmas decorations. When the children moved out, my mother also commandeered the basement bedroom...and not just the closet! There are decorations stacked in boxes in a heap on the floor, and wreaths in bags hung all over the walls! And last (but certainly not least), several years ago my Dad put up an 8' x 5' shed specifically to hold more Christmas stuff! Suffice it to say, decorating my mother's house is not a task for the faint-hearted...or time-pressed!

There are three bookcases in the hall. One of them gets a simple garland and a stuffed snowman and penguin (this was probably the last one I did, actually, and I may have been getting tired ;-)).

The next one is little more elaborate: two garlands, and more stuffed snowmen! Oh, and a couple of candle holders with berries.

Some are focuses less on cute-sy, and more on the reason for the season.

I love the gorgeous pink and silver poinsettias.

This gorgeous bookcase is in the living room. It has these amazing spindles on the back and sides, that you can't see right now! The tall glass candleholders are hand-etched with pinecones. Two bronze deer, more garland, some snowy pinecones and sprakly poinsettias complete this vignette.