Hey y'all! Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I wanted to share with you all some of the things I have been doing to get into the Christmas spirit! After spending a great Thanksgiving weekend with our families, Tyler and I came home and immediately put up our Christmas decorations. There is nothing cozier than having a Christmas tree lit up in your living room! Our tree is done up in red, gold, cheetah, and glitter EVERYWHERE. We have ornaments from trips we've taken, ornaments our families and friends have brought us from their travels, and most recently, newlywed ornaments. My grandmother made us a beautiful bow to put on the top of our tree with red glitter and cheetah ribbon. It is so pretty! She also makes the most beautiful wreaths ever. I have several of them in my house that she put together for me. They are just so pretty! During my last visit home, she gave me some snowmen to decorate with as well. Here are some pictures of my decorations.
These next few pictures are of my living room.
This is actually a cool story about how this little Santa collection came to be. I had gone to Hobby Lobby in Huntington and picked up the Santa figurine and the "Cookies for Santa" plate. My grandmother went to Hobby Lobby in Beckley and got materials to make me a cheetah wreath. She just so happened to pick up the smaller Santa to add to the wreath not knowing I had bought other items to match it! If you look closely you'll see he has cheetah fur on his Santa hat LOL Also, the picture I have displayed is of the evening Tyler and I got engaged at The Biltmore! This time of year is so meaningful to us! December is also our dating anniversary!
Here is the entryway when you first walk into the house.
The snowman wreath is supposed to light up, but unfortunately there isn't an outlet near it.
Here is a picture of our front door. Initially I wanted to buy garland, big red bows, and outdoor Christmas trees in urns to put on the front porch. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd be much better off to make do with what I have on hand now and wait to buy these items later when we have a house. Patience is a virtue.
Decorating our table is one of my most favorite parts of seasonal decor. My Christmas gift from my grandmother this year is to finish off my Spode Gold Christmas collection. Y'all I wouldn't have any dishes if it wasn't for her LOL I plan on getting a gold and red table runner with red or gold napkins to put in the napkin rings. Pier 1 has a beautiful red and gold sequin poinsettia table runner that has my name written alllllll over it LOL I'm trying to wait until we get our dining room table, so I know the length of the runner I will need. Again, patience is a virtue! Also, I'll be replacing the wine glasses with goblets from the Spode collection. I already can't wait until next year to have all the pieces to decorate with!
Please note the flatware is trimmed in yellow gold. A big thank you goes to my sweet friend Kandice for getting us this set for our wedding shower. It matches the dishes perfectly!
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Besides decorating, I LOVE gift giving. Sometimes it can be stressful, but I get so much joy from picking out gifts for my family and wrapping them up in beautiful sparkly paper. Between my shimmery holiday sweaters and the glitter wrapping paper I use, I have come to terms with the fact that everything around me will be covered in red and gold glitter. I have to admit I'm okay with that.
I have almost everyone in my family taken care of as far as gifts go. I'm just waiting on the packages to arrive so I can wrap them up. Last year I used black wrapping paper with silver reindeer and sleighs on it and silver glittery ribbon and bows. This year I'm doing all red, green, and gold. I'm keeping it traditional with glitter snowflake wrapping paper and glittery ribbons in cream, red, and tartan plaid. I'm loving the way the gifts look so far! I got all of my wrapping supplies from Hobby Lobby where everything was 50% off!
It wouldn't be Christmas time without attending a Christmas program at church. Let me tell y'all that I have never in my life been to something so spectacular. Our church, First United Methodist, is a beautiful church, but last night it was absolutely stunning. We walked into the sanctuary, and all the lights were dim. A huge Christmas tree decorated with white lights and gold and cream ornaments was shining near the alter, and wreaths with gold ribbon lined the windows. Cream candles lining the aisles created a soft glow. Musicians dressed in black tuxedos sat up front with horns, strings, drums, bells, and the piano in addition to our church's organ. The music began to play to alert us the program was starting. Then it stopped. Everything was so quiet, and then a beautiful voice began singing He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child from the upstairs balcony. The music slowly faded in, and the church doors opened while the entire choir uniformly walked into the church singing, got to their seats, and sat down simultaneously. At that moment, I knew I was in for a real treat. The program was called A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Y'all if they would do it again, I'd go watch it again. I'd go every night until Christmas and watch this program. It was beautiful! I recorded a few of the songs on my phone to share with you all because it was such a blessing for me. I didn't start recording until the end, so I missed some wonderful songs that they sang in the beginning. There is no video. It is just sound. All of the instruments are being played live. Some of the songs involved the congregation singing. Do yourself a favor and listen to these. You will not be disappointed that you did! All songs are performed by First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir.
The Seventh Lesson: The shepherds go to the manger. - Luke II
Go Tell It on the Mountain
The Eighth Lesson: The wise men are led by the star to Jesus. - Matthew II
On This Day Earth Shall Ring
Ninth Lesson: John unfolds the great mystery of the Incarnation. - John I
O Come, All Ye Faithful
The First Noel
The service ended with prayer. The choir stepped down from their seats and formed a huge circle around the sanctuary. The lights slowly faded until they were completely turned off. The only light was from the Christmas tree and the candles lining the aisles. The choir members were holding small candles, and they lit each candle individually. After everyone's candle was burning, we sang Silent Night. It was beautiful. I had chills the entire night.
It is easy to get caught up in decorating, picking out the perfect gift for someone, and wrapping all of your goodies up beautifully, but those things aren't important. Christmas is a joyous time for showing love and compassion to others. We give gifts to our friends and family. We spend time with others. We bake yummy treats to send to our neighbors and co-workers. We think of those less fortunate and try to give a little more than we normally would. We try to make this time of year special and joyous for everyone around us. That is what Christmas is all about. Being a Christian means striving to live like Christ, and Jesus is loving, caring, and always gives us what we need. This is a time when I can really let my light shine so others can see how their lives can change for the better by accepting Jesus as their Savior. All of the materialistic things are so unimportant when you think of the wonderful gift God gave us by sending His Son to save us all. There is no greater gift! I hope when you listen to the beautiful clips from the First Church Christmas play that you remember that Jesus is the reason for the season! It was such a blessing for me and really put things into perspective for me, so I wanted to share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Until next time.. Take care!
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