Christmas Week

We're having a Country Christmas here 

happy Christmas from Bindie and Tammie

Its been a great couple of weeks here. Our church had it's annual Christmas Banquet. Just look at all these yummy salads!

I was so busy eating and visiting and having a good time, I hardly made any pictures, but I did make this picture of my necklace and pin I wore, and I found this napkin in my pocketbook! LOL

It was prime rib, baked "taters", rolls, and salads. And a big dessert table, of course, LOL.

Later that week, there was the Sunday School Christmas supper. I didn't make pictures, except I wore this red blouse. LOL

Got out my Christmas tree ring, it's so old, but keeps on holding up! LOL:

Making some of our Christmas card pictures:

It was SO HOT that day, and we were burning up!

Tracie and Amybelle finally got into their Christmas dresses!
And after all that hard work posing, they had a tea party! LOL

Enjoying all the Christmasy December magazines:

so many pretty pictures!

Country Living magazine

Country Living magazine

Country Living magazine

Country Living magazine

Having fun wrapping up some of Fairy Granddaughter's presents:

A scrapbook and lots of fun stickers

this is not a good picture, but it's the old German painting of the children crossing rough waters on a ramshackle bridge, and the big angel guarding them along. It's my favorite painting of all time, and I think she likes it too:

The Christmas dress for her American Girl doll, which I buy for her every year. Even when she doesn't "play" with dolls anymore, it's fun to dress them up in seasonal/holiday outfits and display on her dresser.

Mermaid canvases:

Yesterday I made up a batch of homemade butter for friends at church, so I could hand it out after services this morning after Christmas Eve church.

Headed to church, Christmas Eve

Mr. Front Porch's Christmas tie! LOL

It was a beautiful, slightly chilly, clear night. I think the Cold Moon will be the day after Christmas. It's almost full, but not quite.

It was a pretty night for our Candlelight Christmas Eve service.

I love singing all the old hymns and CAROLS, like Away in the Manger, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Silent Night, and Joy to the World.

I hope your weeks leading up to Christmas have been warm, safe, cozy, and happy.

Happy happy Christmas, friends!

This was a fun album my Mom played for me years and years ago, when I was little. It was kind of like the old Chipmunks songs, only it was CRICKETS. HA HA LOL

Deck the Halls!

 

December has arrived!

my John Sloane Country calendar

And with December's arrival, we began "decking the Halls". 

one of the mantels

First we had pizza. Cant decorate while hungry! LOL. Yes, I LOVE ANCHOVIES! ha ha LOL. Not many people like them.

Here's some of my favorite Christmas CDs:

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra one is full of great music, and my Osmond Christmas one is full of happy, toe tapping songs, especially "Sleigh Ride". Yes, I am a life-long Osmond fan.

Here are my old, old, Blinking Snow Man and Snow Lady. They are Avon and My Mother gave them to us when the kids were so little. They blink in different colors.

This little snowman below is actually a tree ornament, and I added him because he's made of the same plastic as the Avon ones. Beside him is a little white ceramic tree. It has a battery, and lights up, but so faint, you can hardly see the color bulbs at all.

Our treasured old Nativity Scene on another mantel.

and some of the angels and animals gathered around it.

this is a 3D Christmas card that opens up and you can see the pretty Santa scene inside it. It's shaped like a box and I got it this year, I thought it was so cute!

The  kitchen mantel:

Probably my favorite one of all. Just an assortment of different things. Reindeer, pine cones, blue and gold ornaments.

Tansy is so enjoying the new issue of the Pioneer Woman magazine:

I see White Christmas pictured on there! One of my favorite Christmas movies.

Pioneer Woman magazine

Lots of familiar things on the pages. I have a couple of those little Santa mugs. And I had an Easy Bake Oven, that was alot of fun! Mine was the aqua color. And we loved watching the Grinch and the Rudolph movies! I read that they are no longer allowed to show the Charlie Brown Christmas special on the main networks TV, because Linus mentions the book of Luke in it.

Pioneer Woman magazine

Pioneer Woman magazine

Pioneer Woman magazine

Got out some of the Christmas wrapping papers:

Sparkly gift tags and pretty ribbons

My Reindeer collection:

Every year I adopt a new one, or TWO, LOL!

Here's one of my new ones, He's covered in gold glitter, he's very sparkly!

And, we got the Christmas Village all set up. It's been quite a few years since we've had it displayed. Fun putting it up again, I sure enjoyed it!

Fun to see all the tiny people again, and ice skating, and the church, and the Manger Scene!

 I think I see carolers and the town Library.

Lots of tiny people out and about, enjoying a snowy cold night in town!

and over on this side of town....a carousel is playing loud music! Busy, tiny ladies, arms full of packages, stop to watch.

This was Mr. Front Porch's Grandma's. The brightly painted little horses blink colors, and go up and own and up and down! Fun to watch. Of course they play Christmas carols.

The village is set up underneath the big Christmas tree. We have a big one this year, and also our small little 4 foot table tree, which was the only one we used for quite a few years. 

I have a whole bunch of other Victorian houses (painted ladies) on another mantel, there wasn't room under the tree for them all.

I got this book from a dear friend for Christmas last year. It's fun to sit down after a long day, and enjoy all the fun things in the old Sears Wish Book. 

So fun to see the pictures, and THE PRICES!

Farm sets and animals were popular

and of course, dolls, all kinds of dolls

Loved seeing all the dressing table accessories! Hand mirrors, pretty comb and brush sets

Fancy Soaps, talcums, colognes

Hosiery! Anyone even remember hosiery?! LOL

Home decor and furnishings from the 1940s

Hats, pocketbooks, and SLIPS! Lovely, slinky, satiny slips. Seems no one seems to wear them anymore. Back in the day, we ALWAYS wore slips underneath skirts and dresses. Remember Princess Diana and HER SLIP accident? LOL

 And we would never have been caught with bare legs at church or to work, or anywhere you wore a dress. Now nobody wears hose anymore. Hose, pantyhose, nylons, stockings. Nurses and waitresses used to wear white stockings.

Speaking of dresses, Tracie and Amybelle are so ready to get into their Christmas dresses!

Hope your week has been great so far! I'm now working on Christmas cards and getting presents wrapped up, especially the ones that get shipped. Did you put up a Christmas tree? Are you sending out Christmas cards?