The Christmas hymns are the absolute best thing about church services this year. I always cry when singing them, they are so beautiful. We are so truly, truly blessed and this whole time of changing seasons reminds me to pause and tell God- “thank you.”
I decorate in layers and I try to start 1-2 weekends before Thanksgiving. First thing I do is move all the furniture away from the windows and vacuum the drapes, clean, then put our electric candles in as many windows as we can that are street-facing. This is probably my favorite thing we do and we keep them on in the evenings until the spring. It really helps everyone in the house to be cheerful in the dark winter days. If you decide to do this don’t use suction cups- when pushing them onto the glass the pressure causes the glazing putty to fracture and fall off outside your window glass. (Ask me how I know. Lol)
Stunning!
Then, right after the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared from the table we bring all the tubs and tree up from the basement and start decorating!
The Front Hall
Our front door with a real wreath inside! Smelly-yum!Our breakfront chest between the library and dining room pocket doors has part of my Christmas Annalee collection. This sweet little baby Jesus is my favorite part. This year hubs bought me a Mrs. Claus for our Santa! They are both from 1987. This detail is fantastic! The Annalee logo printed on her skirt! Our huge front hall with fireplace inglenook. Son of God, love’s true light. This is my family/childhood nativity. My mom painted it and had it fired. More Annalee! Plus Christmas nativity books and cards.
The Rest of the 1st Floor
In the corner of the staircase sits the tree!It’s even pretty during the day!Looking over the bannister, coming downstairsOur old-world Santas have been on every tree we have had since we got married!
The Living Room
Our leg lamp. Hubby’s favorite decor. We have lost our beautiful golden retriever Abbey this past year, and last summer our other sweet kitty Madeline. Spooky and my son’s little rabbit Betsy are all that’s left.I’ve been in the living room a lot this year. Sitting with my family, watching Christmas movies, doing art. Here I am working on cookie designs for my new Martha by Mail Noah’s ark cookie cutters. Christmas records ready to be played. I am OBSESSED with ice cream parlor furniture and bought this amazing doll-sized set. My collection of Gabrielle Designs Pooh characters fits it well!The china is my miniature Royal Doulton Brambly Hedge set. I wanted to have little Christmas tea party vignettes this year!Our living room is very “open concept” for 1907! Across the hall is the library.
The Library
The windows in this house make me feel so joyful. They are a delight. The mantel is hung with stockings and festooned with greenery. More Annalee! And some lovely clip-on glass mushrooms from Amazon that are new this year. One of my favorite Annalees because it is so funny. One of the first I bought from a great antique dealer friend of mine Mrs. Bobby Elliot. She and her shop are no longer, but her memory lives on. THE ice cream set, transformed by tartan! Brambly Hedge Christmas china awaits a cozy, book-reading tea time. Library sofa- I tried moving it to the other side and the house hated it! Lol. “Listen” to your house!Library pocket doors through to the dining room. I feel like Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien could come out from here and do their Meet Me in St. Louis number- “If you like-a me like I like-a you…”
The Dining Room
This room is something very special. Dining room by candlelight. Dining room by daylight.
The Kitchen
Here, all the magic happens! Cooking and baking galore! Beswick mice from Beatrix Potter’s Christmas tale- “The Tailor of Gloucester”Big cabinet rescued from the carriage house with my rubber boots and a grocery haul. I added dome battery-operated led lightsAnd bought 3 Calico Critters cafe tea sets from Amazon cheap for Prime day, and I got a…Maple Town Patty Rabbit Family tea! These were my favorite characters growing up and they were my dollhouse family most of the time!
Trying to make a tea latte in the french press 😉
Gingerbread cookie baking started in earnest over Thanksgiving!Delicious!Some new cookie cutters for Christmas!Martha by Mail Noah’s ark animals!A gorgeous lamp our aunt Judy gave us. It shines out of the breakfast room (really the Butler’s pantry now) window. We lost her a couple of years ago, but hold her memories in our hearts. Yes, we have to store our bikes inside or they get stolen. Sigh.
Upstairs to the 2nd Floor
This window seat on the landing is why we bought this place!Upstairs balcony.
The Studio
Studio Pooh tree with lots of Starbucks love. In 2018 the Christmas colors for Starbucks were my favorite colors so I added them to this weird and wonderful tree!Making me want a London Fog tea latte and a snowman cookie!My R. John Wright Pooh characters having tea on the studio Heywood-Wakefield table! If you get the regular, not pocket-sized versions and you wait for good prices and for your own sales to be good on E-Bay you can get an affordable set one at a time!
Master Bedroom
Our fireplace in our bedroom. Love this feature. Wish the chimney still worked, but the big decorative top of the chimney outside collapsed in a storm a long time ago. Another new edition- led clip-on candles from Amazon. I have been so inspired watching- “Kirsten and Jeorg: 2 Germans in Britain” and their Christmas videos on Youtube! Lovely!My daughter’s favorite movie and it’s got Christmas in it! First time “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was performed. It was written for this lovely musical movie. It sure did inspire my love of Victorian life as well.
The rest of the house isn’t decorated and is our children’s bedrooms anyway, plus some guest rooms. I hope you found something to inspire you from this post and are having a lovely Christmas.
Life on Kansas Street 