A Precious Keepsake

Hi everyone!  I literally just published a post to link to Vee's Note Card Party a few minutes ago; and I hate to publish another post right away, but please bear with me.

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December Note Card Party

December is such a wonderful month filled with lovely images, and it's time for Vee's monthly Note Card Party.  If you'd like to participate, here's a link to Vee's blog, A Haven For Vee, and the December Note Card Party.  We're not limited to a particular theme for the party, but since this is a holiday month,  I couldn't resist doing Christmas note cards.

"Festival of Lights"

Christmas at My In-Laws' House

I promise I do realize that Christmas is not all about the decorations.  My friend Dotsie, who blogs at Podso wrote about all the symbols and traditions of Christmas much better than I could have.  To a large degree, our decorations and traditions are tied to the meaning of that first Christmas.  Most of us have secular decorations tied in with our religious decorations, but it is all about remembering the birth of the Christ child.

Today I'm sharing some of my mother-in-law's Christmas decorations from last year; she does such a pretty job every year.

A Quick Look At Our Christmas Mantel

I just finished tweaking our Christmas Mantel for this year and thought I'd show you what it looks like.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out!  This is the first time I've done a totally different mantel in more than ten years.  I love tradition, especially at Christmas, so I have a hard time changing too many things in my decorating.  However, I felt that it was time for something different where the mantel is concerned.

Christmas at Mom and Dad's House

For more decorating inspiration and eye candy, I'm sharing the rest of the pics from my parents' house last Christmas.  You can see the pictures I shared earlier Here.

A Few Words On Christmas Trees

I've recently determined that I suffer from a condition called Christmas Tree Selection Disorder (CTSD).  Have you heard of this?  No?  Well, it's basically a condition wherein you go to the Christmas tree farm with your husband and or family to pick out a tree(s) for your house.  One to fit inside your house.  Well, as we all know, in the wide-open outdoors, most of the trees look like this (minus the tree skirt)...

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Images of Christmas Past

Alma, who blogs at The Tablescaper, has a wonderful idea for a link party.  Tomorrow, for her weekly Seasonal Sundays party, she's suggested we link our posts from previous Christmases.  I think this is a brilliant idea because we're all busy as bees trying to get ready for this Christmas -- decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, addressing Christmas cards.  Soooo, I went through my archives and found some things to share from previous Christmases.  Some things were published in posts, but others are just pictures we took, but I never got a chance to do a post on them.  I hope you enjoy!