December 3

Yesterday was another slow day with this cold. I felt as if I accomplished very little toward Christmas.

But I did manage to get all of the fall decorations put away, and to get a few Christmas things in place. (I must note that all photos in this post are from previous years.)

On our front door is a grapevine wreath twined with silk ivy. I just change out the trims seasonally. So I pulled off the fall leaves and added a string of cranberry red wooden beads and a red plaid bow. Centered in the wreath is a small blackboard. I erased "Give Thanks" and printed "Christmas is Coming."

In the front hallway I took down the fall ribbon board and replaced it with the green and red Christmas ribbon board. Before the day was done, I had filled it with vintage cards.

I emptied my hutch of the gorgeous fall items. But since most of my Christmas things are in the attic, I simply filled the hutch shelves temporarily with some of my favorite Christmas books, mugs, etc. Later, those things can easily be moved when I get out some of my treasures.

The kitchen table now has red and white plaid placemats and a pretty Christmas runner down the center. In the middle, I placed my small clear cake dome with a small red and white doily inside and a small holly print teacup and teapot atop the doily. Sorry -- I was too lazy to take a picture.

For the kitchen island, for now I put down a simple red and white striped dishtowel on top and set my large Mitford teacup in the center -- minus the cookie cutters you see in this pic from last year.
Again, my island decor will change, but for now this puts me in the Christmas spirit!

The Christmas spoon rest is on the stove.

These sparkly, jingly heart ornaments are dangling from kitchen cupboard knobs.

In the living room, I took the fall leaves off the pine cone and evergreen garland over the picture window. I will add sparkly snowflakes and icicles once the trims come down from the attic. For now, I have just hung this family photo ornament at the center.

Lastly, I turned and refolded my simple flannel throw on the couch so that the Christmas print side (seen below) is visible. The rest of the year, the plain dark green side is uppermost.

And that's the extent of my simple Christmas decorating so far!

I also spent some time working on crafts for Christmas gifts, but it's awful how this cold has sapped my energy. I'm hoping for more energy today!