The best way to celebrate Christmas is to fill your home with lots of trees

This is a big year for me. For the first time ever, I have my own house to decorate for Christmas! Last year we were in between homes (we were basically homeless) so I wasn't able to decorate. I did insist we get a little Christmas tree anyway because it was our first married Christmas and it was so cute. This year I had big plans for DECORATIONS GALORE. When we finalized our Christmas plans and realized we'd be away for Christmas, we decided to keep things to a minimum. I wasn't able to bring to life many of my Pinterest ideas, but there's always next year to make a snowman out of wreaths!

Welcome to our living room, the place where Christmas exploded. (I just wrote "Christopher exploded" by accident. I'm happy to say that has not happened. Although, had I made all those Pinterest crafts he just might have ended up in a million pieces. MOVING ON.)

I made this Christmas sign one week when Christopher was working late. I hope it lasts for at least 12 years because that's how long it will take me to recover from all that cutting. 

We set up the Nativity #1 on the bookcase in the kitchen. Two of the wise men didn't fit with the other pieces (there's a lot going on in this nativity what with the sheep, people getting water from wells, unknown characters with huge bags on their backs, etc.etc.etc), so we put them one shelf up to make it seem like they're traveling to see Jesus. I think it's very biblical. Either that or they were just late to the party because they stopped to read  The Story of Wine, the book they're sitting on. Somehow that seems slightly less biblical.

Grandma gave me this nativity last year. She couldn't find the correct baby Jesus so she gave me a Jesus from a different nativity set. Look how huge this baby is. He's practically bigger than Mary and Joseph. 

A few more decorations we have around the living room. I made the little people decorations after the first Army ball we went to together. (The clothes are accurate, but the extreme roundness is not.) Nativity #2 came from Christopher's parents. Jesus is the correct size .

 

We have no mantle or staircase to hang them on, so the stocking were hung on the windowsill with care. The pumpkinman stands besides them, keeping an eye over the proceedings. 

If I was impressed with how well the people decorations turned out, than I was BLOWN AWAY with our gingerbread house. Never in my life has a gingerbread house looked anything like a house when it was finished. I might keep it forever because like the Christmas sign, it will probably never happen again.

We have two three trees this year. A fake tree, a was-supposed-to-be-small real tree, and a Charlie Brown tree. I affectionately refer to it was The Forest In Our Living Room. 

This is our non-themed fake tree. For your viewing pleasure, I've included a picture of the tree at night and during the day. Or possibly I couldn't decide which to put so I put both. 

We decided to do a red and gold theme for our real tree. I didn't have an extra tree skirt so I used burlap. (It looks greenish but it's the regular color.) 

We found some gaping holes on two sides after we set up the tree. (Obviously we didn't do a thorough tree investigation before we bought it.) I attached little birds among the branches so it would look like we got a tree with holes for a reason.  

I love love love how our living room looks at night!

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away 

like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks~

Linking up with Kelly's Christmas Tour of Homes.