24: Tidings of Great Joy

One of my most favorite Christmas traditions is to watch the other Jimmy Stewart Christmas classic, "Mr. Krueger's Christmas." It has such a sweet message. The movie is less than 30 minutes long, and is available in its entirety on YouTube:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

23: Scenes from My Christmas

The Mr. and I are lucky enough to spend Christmas with my family in Utah this year.

Here are some scenes from my Christmas at home:

Close-ups of the tree.

My Mom uses Pashminas as runners for the large coffee table. 

Clever, huh?

My favorite place to lounge + Our stockings and Mom's nutcracker collection

We usually have a themed Christmas tree for every room in the house, bathrooms included! My mom made the Christmas countdown out of a cookie sheet (all the hanging knick-knacks are magnetic).

We've enjoyed several snow days and can't wait for Christmas to come! 

Tomorrow, I'll share one of my favorite Christmas traditions for the final day of my 24 Days of Christmas.

22: Tiny Christmas Surprise

 

I found this teeny, velvet orange in my sister's room. 

My mom bought it from a street vendor in Paris.

 

I never expected to find a nativity inside. How cute!

20: Castle Christmas

Ever wonder why we decorate Christmas trees?

Credit for popularizing the tree-trimming tradition is given to Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. They hung trees from the castle ceilings (?) or put them upon tables... of course, pretty much everyone puts them on the floor these days. Maybe that's where the tree skirt came from? An evolution from tablecloths?

The current Queen, Elizabeth, used to do a broadcast every Christmas morning to give a Holiday message and talk about the state of the kingdom. But what I'm most interested are the little peeks into the castle's Christmas decor! My favorite of these is from 2001--I love the copper and gold ornaments.

 2001

 2004: Yellow Drawing Room

 2007: 1844 Drawing Room

(what the... flat panel TV?)

 2008

 2009: White Drawing Room

BBC

And how about Queen Victoria's dinner service, all done up for the holidays? Wow. I would not like the job of polishing all that intricate silver!

19: Silhouette Tree

Happy Last Weekend Before Christmas!

I'll be traveling all day... I am so excited to be home to see my family and friends!

 Better Homes & Gardens

Speaking of family... isn't this a beautiful way to personalize a tree? Love it.

18: Just a *Little* Christmas

ohdeeoh

Ah, I love subtlety. 

 The holiday decorations in this home are just beautiful.

17: Non-"Christmas" Christmas Colors

I am really into aqua + anything this year.  I suppose that's fitting, considering Pantone's 2010 Color of the Year was a similar shade of turquoise.

 Martha Stewart

 

Martha Stewart

 Color Me Pretty via decor8

 Kath Kidston via Print & Pattern

 Martha Stewart

16: Lanterns

BHG

I love lanterns. I used these at my garden wedding reception, hung from shepherd hooks. I think a big collection like this would look great in an entryway or on a buffet table for a holiday party. I'll be keeping this thought in the back of my mind for sure-- time to start collecting lanterns!

So cozy.

15: Lights Around the World

I love Christmas lights. I'm a little white twinkly lights girl myself... but these displays are pretty spectacular!

 

Salt Lake LDS Temple

I get to see these lights next week! Yay!

  

 

Washington, DC LDS Temple 

  

Columbia: Paul Arbolea/AFP/Getty Images for Life

 

Penang Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple (China)

Wouldn't this be incredible in person? The lights stay up for 30 days for Chinese New Year.

Seoul City Hall: Choi Won-Suk/AFP/Getty Images for Life

 

Buckingham Palace: AFP/Getty Images for Life

 

St. Peter's Square & Basilica

14: Wrapping

Happy Monday!

With less than two weeks left to Christmas, it's time to start putting all the goodies under the tree! Sometimes the outside of a gift can be just as exciting as what's inside the box. 

Behold:

 

  

Yuzen Handmade Sheet: Moroccan Blend | Kate's Paperie

Lamali Gold Polka Dot Paper on Natural | Kate's Paperie

 Paper Patisserie Gift Wrapping Kit | Modcloth

Lake Dots Wrapping Paper | Paper Source 

 Bakery Twine| Whisker Graphics

I keep it simple-- I wrap everything in plain craft paper wrapping and metallic ribbons.  I also love the look of plain brown paper tied with red or green bakery twine. 

Sometimes you just can't beat brown paper packages tied up with string!

11: More garland!

I have seen so many amazing, easy-to-make garlands in blogland lately.  The creativity never ceases to amaze me...  here are some more ideas I've saved and keep looking at:

 

Martha Stewart

I love garlands hung in less-traditional places (and made out of things just about everyone gets in the mail this time of year).

 Real Simple

This one is a little hard to see... but it is feathers and lights in little drapes. This is definitely something that could stay up throughout the winter.

Real Simple

Maybe try this instead of cramming all the ornaments (which I have a lot of) onto the tree... or into a storage box.

10: Cinnamon Wreath

 

 my home ideas via apartment therapy

I can only imagine how great this wreath must smell! 

Yum, yum.

Easy instructions here.

9: Bedside Christmas

This little bedside vignette is so cute! A great idea to add a little Christmas cheer to bedrooms.

8: DIY Tree Skirts

Natural/Sage Ruffled Christmas Tree Skirt | Horchow

This tree skirt is my favorite (goes with the stockings I love). It would be pretty complicated to make yourself... layering a bunch of coffee filters might give a similar effect, but would probably be too fragile for laying on the ground. 

How about something a little simpler to DIY?

Poinsettia Tree Skirt | Garnett Hill 

It would be pretty easy to DIY this one, almost no-sew. Though cutting and positioning all the little felt leaves would take some time.

Burlap Tree Skirt | Ballard Design

A few yards of natural (or colored) burlap, rounded with a few inches of fraying at the end... almost no-sew, except a seam down the middle.

 Real Simple

This one is so simple, it's barely do-it-yourself... more like done-for-you. There is no sewing or even cutting involved-- just lay scarves around the base of the tree and secure with safety pins. I think I'd use scarves in the same color family. Can't get easier than that!

7: Guy Gifts

I have a hard time finding gifts for my husband. I can find plenty of things that I like for him or think he could use... but it's much harder to guess what he wants. Here are some of the gifts on the short list this year:

Anchorman Pencils | Earmark
The Pacific | Barnes and Noble
Chicago Neighborhood Poster | Ork Posters!
Tailored Cotton Two-button Blazer | Banana Republic
Clearplay DVD Player + Membership | Clearplay
Cassette Tape iPhone 4 Skin | Top Decals 
Wii Motion Plus | Best Buy

Hidden Message Collar Stays | The Hummingbird Nest

6: Girl Gifts

I can literally think of 100 things I'd like for Christmas, probably more. There are sooo many pretty and fun things! Here are some things from my list this year:
  

Handmade Leather Tote Bag in Tan | Adele Shop
Mountain Peaks Bath Basket | Anthropologie

Formal Monogram Letterpress Notecards | Impressive Ink
Photo 101 Online | Nicole's Classes
Sveje Flatwoven Rug in Black/White | IKEA 
Feathered Finery Headband | Anthropologie

Ikat Mini Bowl in Chartreuse | Anthropologie

Hunter Original Gloss Boots in Pillar Box Red | Zappos

5: Cinnamon Ornaments

 Martha Stewart

Cinnamon ornaments are far and away my favorite kind of ornaments because they smell so great. When I was younger, the little Christmas tree in my room was covered in them. When my husband and I were dating and living in different states, I mailed him a little tree and cinnamon ornaments hand-stamped with the logo of our alma mater. We still have a few on our tree now.

They smell fantastic, but the brown cinnamon color can be a little boring. I was so happy to find this tutorial from Martha Stewart on decorating cinnamon ornaments with glitter. I had never even thought to cover or paint them, and I really I love the bird theme.

4: Handmade Garland

Last year, I lived in an apartment that wasn't big enough for a tree, but did have a staircase. I bought a bunch of pre-lit garland and decorated it with all my tree ornaments. This year, I wanted something a little more fun and unique.

I strung small black ornaments on some twiny stuff I found in the jewelry section of Michael's, spaced about every 4 inches with knots on either side.

Garland doesn't have to be green or hung on a stair rail. Here are some other cute ideas for DIY garland:

 Once Wed via Creature Comforts

Wee Wonderfuls via Ohdeeoh

via Apartment Therapy