Is it too early?
When you’re a person who almost always takes down your Christmas decorations on December 26, you like to put them up early. I know some people prefer not to hear anything about Christmas until at least Thanksgiving is past, so if that’s you, just click away from this post now. 
I actually put the Christmas tree up about a week ago, but last night I found a whole box of ornaments and other decorations that I’d missed, so I piled those on, including draping our “Joy to the World” garland across the tree like a Miss America sash. The garland always hung on our mantel in the last two houses, but the mantel in this house is lower and smaller and just didn’t look right. I think I love it on the tree!
We’ve never gone all out with Christmas decor. The tree is usually the star of the show and then I set just a few other Christmas touches around the house. Here, I added a few Christmas-y boxes to the stack of hat boxes that lives here year round.
It’s still nice enough on the screened porch that we’ve been spending time out there, so for now, the Fisher-Price nativity lives out here and our younger grandkids have played with it several times. I love seeing how they’ve arranged all the animals and characters.
I’ve been trying to decorate a bit outdoors too, slowly replacing the plants in flower pots with pinecones and other wintery things, but we still have a geranium and begonias blooming their hearts out on the front porch, so I’ll wait until they succumb to a freeze before replacing them!
I was so tickled to find this adorable little ceramic reindeer that little Amy Buhrman (the daughter of one of my dear Club Deb friends) gave me when I was the library story hour teacher about 20 years ago. Amy is Amy Turner now, and a wife and mama of five sweet kids now. I thought my little reindeer was lost forever as it hadn’t shown up in the decoration boxes for quite a few years. Turns out I’d wrapped it with the breakable nativity set that I haven’t gotten out since we’ve had toddler grandkids. Anyway, he’s back without even so much as a chip out of him and I smile every time I see him and remember Amy’s sweet gift!
It has been such a joy to be near two sets of our grandkids all through the holidays these last three Christmases. (And oh, how we miss our Texas kids and grandkids and our Kansas family!) But we’ve enjoyed hot chocolate parties, playing with the nativity set and ringing bells on the screened porch, and just cuddling by the fire with these precious kids. 
And, if you’re still with me, while I’ve added Christmas cups and pulled all the red and green mugs front and center, that Happy Thanksgiving wish at the top of our coffee bar is for YOU! 
Truly, I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are able to celebrate together this week and give thanks to our loving Father for the amazing blessings He bestows on us all year round. And you, dear friends, are among the blessings I am counting this year! Happy and blessed Thanksgiving! I’d love to hear how you are celebrating the holidays!
