It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like........

 

CHRISTMAS!!  Now that we are home from the Thanksgiving mini-vacation and all of the Autumn decor is put away (even though it's still Autumn officially, it's also the start of the Christmas season so out comes my Christmas decor), I have begun to decorate.  I started on Sunday after choir rehearsal when Courtney came over to help Dave move the piano to a different wall in the living room and I could put up the new little tree I bought. It's actually standing on the top of a side table because I forgot how tiny a 5 foot tree looks.  We used to get an 8 foot tree when we  would get real ones, and then we bought an artificial tree around 2010 and it was 7 feet. Sunday night I thought I might be getting a head cold as my sinuses felt all stuffed up and I had a slightly scratchy throat.  So Monday I did the grocery shopping and then just the living room decor.  Today I felt much better and back to normal, so I really got into decorating and finished the house minus the Christmas linens.  Those will come up from the storage box in the basement tomorrow. I know the trends this year are  curtain lights (YUCK YUCK YUCK...I am NOT a fan of those!!)  and the colors this year are pinks, burgundies, and emerald green.  I also know that vintage is back and that woodland whimsy is making a comeback.  I'm not one to follow holiday trends BUT....I happen to have many woodland/nature Christmas items so I was super happy those are trendy again.  I've done my home with the more natural items before it was even a "thing" so I'm all set. :)  And I have a lot of emerald and hunter  green which is good as it's a fave. I also have lots of burgundy and cranberry red or barn red so I'm all set!  The only new thing I bought besides the smaller tree was a new Christmas gnome from Ikea, and some branch/twigs lights for the front flower bed to go next to our tall candy cane.  We also have an old tree on the porch which is made to look like a bare maple tree.  All the branches/sticks and the porch post with the evergreens, have the white lights. I love white lights as they're super classy and simple. I love simplicity. 

I also have been collecting signs for the last couple of years.  This year I didn't get a new one (yet!).  I try to find signs that are from classic Christmas songs or hymns.  I've scored well on that because I buy them from Hobby Lobby.  

Here's the signs I'm using this year: 

on the wall between the stove and the sink above the counter
the song is obvious, n'est pas? 

assuming you can see the print:  Good tidings of comfort and joy
from the Christmas song God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen 
If you click on the link, you'll learn the origins of the song
This hangs on the wall between our two living room windows 

Another obvious one!  
This hangs just to the right of the piano on our living room wall 

This isn't a song (that I know of) but it's a popular saying
for Believers to put on everything marketed for Christians
...sometimes to the point of ad nauseum!
This hangs above the cupboards on my kitchen wall

And of course...!!
Hanging on the kitchen wall 

another one with a woodland based look
hanging on the wall to the living room/kitchen doorway
Note the big ornament hanging above:  BELIEVE 
This was from one of my students last year. 

This is from Messiah by Handel
A song that I just love but that most churches don't pull off
thankfully, as a music major for undergrad school, I got to sing this in choirs
This hangs above the cupboards in the kitchen.  

Another obvious Christmas hymn
this hangs in our dining room 

Not a song but another popular saying for Christians
This hangs in our dining room

and the last one......

This is from the Christmas hymn:  We Three Kings
If you click the link, you can read about the origins of this carol
This hangs on the wall in our family room ..
it's actually prettier in person than on the screen here. 
It's white with little silver sparkles...the coffee  colored wall and lighting 
is throwing off the color in the sign

Those are the signs hanging in my home and all of them will come down in early January except for the Star of Wonder one and the Comfort and Joy one because I like the aesthetic they bring to those rooms for the winter. 

What about you?  Do you replace regular art or photos on the walls of your home with Christmas themed ones?  If you don't celebrate Christmas, is there a holiday in December you do celebrate??