Sunday, November 24, 2013

Christmas At My Parents' House

Hello everyone!  It's been a while since I've done a regular post; I hope I can still remember how.  :)  Have you had a nice weekend?  Have you bought your turkey and your cranberry sauce?  How about your sweet potatoes, pecans, green beans, and french fried onions in a can for all those veggie casseroles?  Do you have your pumpkin and whipping cream, broccoli, brussels sprouts, eggs for deviling, rolls and cornbread?  No?  Me neither.  :)

I'm not going to skip over Thanksgiving, but I don't have anything Thanksgiving-related to share today.  Instead, I've got some pictures of my parents' house from Christmas last year -- hope you enjoy them.


This picture was taken on Christmas night in my parents' family room.  The french doors lead to their screened porch.  This is not the house my sister and I grew up in; my parents had it built about nine years ago this past summer.  It has lots of big windows; my parents love all the sunlight and my mom loves to decorate the windows at Christmas.

The hubby and I returned about a week after Christmas to take some more pictures during the daytime.  It's hard to take a lot of pictures on Christmas day when everyone is trying to eat, visit, and open gifts.


window decorations...



I love how she decorated the mantel last year.



Bookshelves are always fun to decorate.  :)


I love the afternoon sunlight on the chair and bookcase above; it looks so warm and cozy.



Festive, peppermint-striped candles.



This is a German Christmas tree, made by a member of my parents' church.  My parents attend the Moravian Church, where they observe many German traditions.


I dearly love this nativity set.  My mom bought it at Woolworth's many, many years ago.  We had it when my sister and I were very young and our family lived in our first little house.  I can still remember the excitement and anticipation I felt when my mom brought this out of storage to put out for Christmas.  My mom said I was so excited to help her set it up, I could barely stand still.  :)


The candles on the wooden tray are Moravian Love Feast candles.  They're hand-dipped beeswax, and they smell wonderful.  They're made in Old Salem, as well as in some of the other Moravian churches in our area.


The candle above is an electric Moravian candle; the outside of the candle is covered with beeswax.  Many people here put these in their windows at Christmas, and they have such a soft light, they look like real candles from outside.


A vintage book of Christmas carols.


And finally, some close-ups of the Christmas tree in the family room.





I'll show the rest of mom's decorations in a second post.  I'll also share some pics from my in-laws' house last Christmas.  I love the way our moms decorate for Christmas; their homes always look so pretty and welcoming.  I can't wait to start decorating our house, but I have a few other things to finish first.  So tell me; have you started your Christmas decorating yet?  Do you like to decorate inside or outside first?

Thank you for your visit and have a good Monday!

  I'm linking to:
Seasonal Sundays, hosted by The Tablescaper
                              Amaze Me Monday, hosted by Cindy
Metamorphosis Monday, hosted by Susan at BNOTP

Please stop by these parties for lots of great seasonal ideas!



Denise

12 comments:

  1. How very lovely!!!! Have a wonderful day!!

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  2. Thank you for sharing your parents' Christmas decorations with us. I love them, especially the unique Moravian details. May I ask you a question? I'm so excited to see the big colored lights on the tree! They look like what my family always called "cracked ice" bulbs. Do you know what your parents call them and if they've bought them recently? I've been looking for replacements for my vintage ones from my parents and haven't been able to find them in a number of years.

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    Replies
    1. John I don't remember what my parents call those lights. I can check with them; I do think for some reason that they've bought them recently. I also know that we had big lights like that on our tree when I was growing up.

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  3. Your parents' home is lovely. The mantel looks elegant and simple with the candles and flowers. No decorating here yet - not until this weekend when I'll put up some Advent things. We'll decorate more throughout December.
    Have a Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrated in October here in Canada, so we're just on a straight run to Christmas.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your parents' Christmas decorations! Beautiful! Your mom has a way with decorating! I love her mantel especially! Hope you're staying warm in this arctic blast! And have a wonderful Thanksgiving>

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  5. Denise, what lovely traditions are represented in your parents' collections. Always love seeing the nativity sets displayed well. Thanks for sharing and hope to see you more often. Have a great Thanksgiving.

    Helen

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  6. I always love taking a peek at other peoples homes, Denise. Your mom has a special style and such pretty touches. It all looks so homey and cozy. Thanks for sharing. xo

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  7. A wonderful gift for mom would be to make a book out of this post for her. The photos are wonderful. Shutterfly and Apple ( iPhoto) birth do beautiful books. There is also a website that will turn your blog post into a book.

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  8. My decorations look so beautiful! Can't wait to get them up this year. In answer to the question about the Christmas lights, we call them "ice lights." Most of them are very old. About the only place to find them now is on e-bay. They are some of our favorite lights. Thanks to son-in-law for taking the pictures. Love you, Mom

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  9. I agree that it would be a wonderful gift for your Mom if you would have a book made of this post. Her tree is lovely and the nativity is precious. You have beautiful memories of your Mom's Christmas spirit in her decorations. I do love the way Mom decorates the windows, they look very festive. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving..... Candy

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  10. Denise her home is just beautiful! Love the mantel! Yes, I have started decorating inside and out!!
    Sherry

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  11. This is the first time I've seen your blog. I love it. I grew up in Winston-Salem but have been in Texas for decades. Your Christmas photos brought me right back to my childhood Christmases enhanced by the Moravian traditions firmly interwoven into my hometown's festivities.
    Even now my home is full of Moravian Yuletide decor complete with Advent star hanging from my front porch and love feast candles scattered throughout the house and tin ornaments from the single brother's house tin shop on my tree.
    Thanks for the tour~Merry Christmas
    The Texastarheel

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. I ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

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