Our first Christmas

Well, I'm a little late for Friend-Making Monday, but I wanted to give you the holiday tour of my home. I'm quite proud of the way it turned out, although I still have some minor touches left to do.

I enter my house into the dining room (a little strange, I know), and I kept it pretty simple and classic in here.

Lit wreath and pine-cone-filled basket in the corner, cranberry garland in the chandelier with a clear and silver bead garland, and an Advent "wreath" on the table (I couldn't get pink and purple taper candles like you're supposed to have, I'm going to hell).

Whoops! A little sneak peek at my Christmas shopping...

I put my favorite Christmas decoration in the kitchen, where I spend a lot of my time. I've had this fun garland since college when Mom gave it to me to spruce up my cinder-block dorm room.

Santas hanging over the sink.

I also decorated the windowsill over my kitchen sink with some random odds and ends...

Oh yeah... I accidentally started collecting Mr. Potato Head! Friends give me different ones as gifts all the time! I got this one last Christmas.

I had to get a Christmas Yankee Candle! I love this scent; not sure if you can see, but it's a mix of Balsam & Cedar with Sparkling Cinnamon. Yum!

Should you need to use the bathroom...
... there's a stocking waiting for you next to the sink...
... and some fun little surprises on the medicine cabinet over the toilet (please don't mind our deodorant!).

As you enter the living room, don't forget to admire my new Nativity scene. This was Jed's grandmother's, and his mother just gave it to me the other day. I am honored to place it in our home.

Ah yes, and I couldn't forget to share my/our Christmas present with you! Santa came early this year and brought Jed and I a brand-spanking-new, HUGE TV with a fancy-smancy Blu-Ray player!

So, of course, we had to move the Bose surround-sound system out of the "movie theater" in the basement (we have another, less smancy system for down there) and up to the living room. And, of course, I had to decorate the Bose console with a little friend...

Sony and Bose, I'm waiting for my advertising check in the mail...

Here's a close-up of Piglet and Pooh helping me decorate the room, next to the TV components.
The tree lights up, Pooh and Piglet move so Piglet can reach the top of the tree with the star, and it plays music!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care... along with some gorgeous Poinsettia garlands strung with lights. My stocking is missing; it's still at my parents'.

The main event: the tree!
With a pup underneath! Hi Morris! I am so relieved that we got the tree, and it's all decorated. it's just not Christmas without the tree.
My parents' trees were always the bright colored lights with a hodge-podge of ornaments collected over the years (my mom's bulbs are from BRADLEE'S!!! Remember Bradlee's?). So, this tree is a change for me; I actually went with a "theme." We have white and red lights with silver and red ornament bulbs. Yes, I tied the bow on top myself and curled the ends. Maybe I'm sorta crafty after all? My mom got us a tree topper, which I'm sure I'll get when I pick up my stocking...

What have you done for holiday decorating? Are you done?

And the big question: When do you take it all down? This is a huge pet peeve of mine; I leave my decorations up for the 12 days of Christmas, which extend to January 6 for the Epiphany. It makes me sad to see people taking their decorations down the day after Christmas. The festivities are not over, people! Enjoy them a little longer; you put all that effort into putting them up!