Decking the Halls

For the last few years when it is time to deck our halls, I try to  suggest we only put out a few things rather than all the decorations...I never win.  I am continually amazed at the sentimental feelings the kids and Bill have about all of our collections and decorations.  Here is a look at some of our favorites:

This manger scene is usually the first decoration up and the last one taken down...it is always Bill's project and by far our favorite.

Bill and I started this snow village the first year we were married...we added to it off and on but in the last 10 years the only additions have been the accessories that the kids found when we were out shopping.  Setting this up is Madison's favorite thing to do each year.

Merideth had the most fun decorating this year...I think this girl could have decorated for hours and not complained!

The nutcracker collection is mostly Coulter's...he started collecting when he was little and the fascination continues today...there a few others around the house but this is how the bulk of them looked this year.  The tin collection underneath it is from the last 25 years...my all time favorite one is on our mantel and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Last year we started wrapping 25 books to read...every night we read one book by the glow of the tree and the fire in the fireplace.  Merideth loves having different members of our family read with her...even when some of the books are from when she was a toddler.

Our snowman collection is out of control...when we lived in Crystal Lake we used to take these guys out for decorations in the month of January but since moving here they have become part of Christmas ( I guess that is because snow is not on the ground and the temps are often above freezing for most of the month)...you can also see that we put out pictures from previous years...it is so fun to look back at the kids when they were younger and allow the memories to flood our minds.