Halls: Decked

I finished decorating for Christmas last weekend. My goal was a clean, non-cluttery, but still festive look, and I’m very happy with the result! I set aside about half of my previous decorations to give away or swap.

I didn’t do much to the mantel – just added some pinecones and fake holly in addition to stockings. My new stocking looks as great as I hoped it would! :) I’m going to have it monogrammed after Christmas. The cats’ stockings don’t really coordinate with it, but I’m not going to knock myself out trying to find green velvet cat-themed stockings right now. Or maybe ever.

I’m thrilled with this flower arrangement – it’s very close to my inspiration picture from last week! I found the amaryllis at Pier 1 for $6 each (they have white ones, too). The pinecones were $5 for a huge bag at Hobby Lobby, and I already had the green glass vase. It’s a little narrow for the pinecones, but it works.

Here’s my tree! :) I’ve always had fake Christmas trees, except for the years when I lived with my friend Kathy, who grew up with real ones. For pollen-, expense-, and pet-related reasons, I far prefer a fake tree. Mine isn’t pre-lit, but I’d like to get one of those eventually.

I also bought a few new ornaments! This one is great, but the title of my favorite new ornament goes to…

:D (I can’t hang it yet because the “straw” is broken.)