A Merry Little Christmas........

Yes, indeed, we had a Merry Little Christmas! And now it's time to wish you all a

Happy New Year!!

I think 2012 is going to be a great year!!! This past year wasn't too bad but it was a bit hectic. Seems we had more visits to doctors than we would like and my husband keeps working and I keep hoping he'll retire. LOL!

I thought I should share some photos from our Christmas before the New Year becomes Valentine's Day!

Lots of pretty papers, ribbons and packages surrounded the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.............

 and Kaiser the Wonder Beagle tolerated his reindeer antlers..........

but he was more interested in the smell of the ham coming from the kitchen. That's son, Devlin, on the left and husband, Steve, doing the carving.

 The table was ready and I'd share pictures of us gathered round the table........

but I realized they are on my husband's camera and he hasn't downloaded them yet. So, here's the place setting at each place........

I just love these holly dishes that I bought at Target several years ago. Holly is my favorite Christmas greenery. At our old house, I actually had a holly bush and enjoyed real holly. I'm happy with artificial holly and found this velvet holly to surround a very special log.......

The log in that picture came from the birch tree in the backyard of my husband's home and it's been with us for over 40 years. Finally, with the photo shoot for Womeninc looming, I got him to drill the holes for candles!!! The little angels are from an antique shop in nearby St. Peter, MN. I am known for my Dollar store purchases but these angels called my name and I had to have them. They make me think of Christmas Eve programs from when I was a kid in the 1950's and so, they make me smile. And here's the cake we had for dessert..........

I made the cake a few days before Christmas to share with the ladies in our Bible Study group. We didn't eat enough of it so I figured, why make another dessert for Christmas dinner? This was just an ordinary chocolate cake mix topped with fudge frosting. The thing that made it so tasty was the white filling........a jar of marshmallow creme mixed with a container of vanilla frosting and then spread between the four layers. It was as good as a Hostess cupcake. Maybe better. :-)

In the corner of our dining room, I changed from a little green tree to this little white tree. It was a real deal at just $4 a couple years ago. Then last year after Christmas I saw those blue snowflakes at JoAnn Fabrics. I bought every one at ten cents each. As I was placing them on the tree, I decided to count and see how many there were............

and there are 43 which is the number of years my husband and I have been married (our anniversary was Nov. 24th).  I thought that was kind of cool.
After we ate dinner (ham and really thick potato soup with apple salad and sweet potato hotdish, etc.), we gathered in the living room to open gifts. A few of my teddy bears were already there............

Here's the tree in the living room.........my "I have always wanted a gold and silver tree" come true............

 Above is how it looked in the daytime and below, later in the evening.........

It's prettier when you see it in person. The photos just don't do it justice. I began collecting gold and silver ornaments in the late 1990's. Always bought the stuff at 70% off or better. More on this tree in a future post.
There were gifts under the tree and Grandson Jacob was the first to open a really fun gift ...... he got a wallet and thought that was it. We told him he might want to check inside and was pleasantly surprised to find some cash. We couldn't figure out what to get him and thought he might like to shop for something special.

Son-in-law, Daryl, always gets in the spirit and wears his Santa hat.......

and my husband is always being a tease so there are two versions of this photo.......one with and one without those rabbit ears. That's his sister, Linda on the left. She and her husband, Roy, joined us for Christmas this year!

And this is the four of us.......daughter, Collette, Steve, me and son, Devlin. 

We had a very happy Christmas. The weather was so unbelievably mild that I thought we were in San Diego.........almost. :-)
Just a couple more photos.........this little tree is in the room just off the kitchen.........

The ornaments are all from Europe and were bought in the 80's and 90's when Steve's job took him to meetings in Germany, England, etc. Several are from Denmark where Steve's Dad was born. And opposite the tree is Santa.........

My mom had quite a collection of Santa's and when she "downsized" we all took a Santa or two. I chose this one as it's one we bought her a number of years ago. Santa reads (thanks to a cassette) "The Night Before Christmas" as his head nods from side to side. And Kaiser the Wonder Beagle is totally scared when I turn on Santa and he starts to move. LOL!
And this tree is in the basement family room...........

Yes, it may seem like we have a lot of trees but not nearly as many as some folks. This tree is covered in about 400 ornaments that span about 50 years as I have some from my mother and my mother-in-law. I'm going to share more about this tree in my next post. Under the tree are a couple of special gifts from the past. One is my bride doll..........

This pretty doll was my Christmas gift when I was about 10 years old. I saw her in the window of the Gambles Store (department store chain based in Minnesota, check it out here ) and wanted her so much. She had articulated arms and legs so could be positioned in any number of fashion model poses. She wore a sheath-type dress but my mother made her this embroidered wedding gown. She still wears her original white plastic high heels and fortunately, I never cut her hair like I did to so many other dolls I got for Christmas. :-)

Yes, indeed, we had a lovely Christmas. From Thanksgiving when my brother and family, and my mom and our family gathered to Christmas with my husband's sister and our family.......it was really lovely. Seeing so much family for the holidays hasn't happened like that in a number of years so it was a sweet gift.  I hope your Christmas was also happy and that your new year is, too! Sometimes, I find it hard to believe when I realize it is 2012. Can it really be 12 years since the Millennium?!! Time flies so fast. And speaking of time, it is just two hours til the clock strikes midnight and the new year arrives here in Minnesota. I think it's time for a snack and a cup of cocoa. See ya tomorrow!

Sandi