holiday decor

The kitchen window sill is sporting red and white. Can you believe these candles were from the dollar store a few years ago? I can't bring myself to burn them. Isn't that silly?! I made the red paper ball. They are so fun to make and can be done in any size or color or patterned paper. You just cut a lot of circles, fold them so they have triangle centers and glue them together to form a ball. My friend, Sharon, taught me how to make them. The greeting cards are from the 1940's and the one with the tree sticking out of the car was signed from my Mom to my Dad in 1947.

This snowman candy jar is a treasured item that I grew up with each year for as long as I can remember. I couldn't wait for it to be unwrapped from the newspaper that protected it inside the box of Christmas decorations stored away since the Christmas before. I have continued to fill it each holiday season with peppermint nougats, like my mom did. Sometimes when I was little I remember my mom would fill it with ribbon candy, but I can't always seem to find ribbon candy in the stores. When I do, I get very excited. I love Mr. Snowman, dirty Styrofoam face and all.

I have been looking for my felt elves with the plastic faces. They are still packed up somewhere with the other Christmas stuff. I love Christmas elves because my Grandma's house was decorated with the same little felt ones from Japan, called knee huggers. She also had an aluminum tree in the corner of her living room with the color wheel that would spin and cast a different colorful glow against the tree as it turned.

I tucked this folding snowman card on the porch of the doll house. The kids have not yet decorated it this year and I thought it looked a little bare and neglected. Click here-the doll house decorated in the past.

N. commented, "A Snowman on a porch???Oh Mom!!!!"