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It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 Jingle James, our Elf On The Shelf, showed up on December 1st with Jack and Wyatt's Advent Calendars. I'm not doing on for Ethan yet, as he doesn't seem very interested in them, but I found a good idea for one I plan on doing next year - stay tuned!!
 My decorating has come A LONG way from when I first started and each year I think it's even better than the last. I got this way by watching and copying from others so I like to share my own so that you can find things you like and incorporate them into your own home.
 This is our entryway. I've started collecting Nutcrackers over the years so you will see a lot of them in our home.
 This is our family/keeping room and I LOVE the Naughty or Nice banner my friend made for me.
 A closer view.
 Well, this is out of place - these photos are the boys opening up their Thanksgiving cards from their Nana and Granddad.



 Jack got a Star Wars Advent Calendar and Wyatt got an Angry Birds calendar.



 Then came the tree and the family evening of decorating it.
 The boys love to help with the decorations.

 All done.
 All Mommy wanted was one nice photo of the boys and the tree but apparently that was too much to ask for.
 This is our formal living room all decorated.  Jack was placed all the Nutcrackers on the mantel in the spots he wanted and I think he did a great job.  Guess my love of decorating is rubbing off on him!!
 Closer view of the mantel.


 I love this flag at the front of our walk, made by my same friend that made all my inside banners.  I love the touch of personalization.
 Welcome to our home.  I love all our outside decorations; it gives you such a sense of our personality.


 I absolutely LOVE our larger than life Nutcracker that greets you at our front door and I have started using my tiered basket for non-plant items.  This year I just tossed a bunch of large bulb ornaments and then tucked in some forever greenery and poinsettias.
 Wyatt would like to welcome you to our home.


 This is our entry way and can I tell you how much I LOVE that big poinsettia from Costco?  Look at the size of that thing!  AND it was only $14.  Score!
 Can you see my love of Nutcrackers yet?
 I've sprinkled little bits of Christmas decor throughout the bookshelves without changing up too much of what is normally there.



 I even decorate the bathroom.  It's so easy to add little touches here and there.
 I normally drape greenery down the staircase but this year I decided to just tie the large flat metal ornaments to the staircase.  I bit more simple for me.


 This is the other bookcase.
This is one of my favorite Christmas pieces to put out as it's the footprints of Jack, Ethan and Wyatt from a couple years ago.

I've changed up our Christmas dining room table a bit this year, adding some greenery down the center of our Christmas runner and adding some of our smaller Nutcrackers to the tablescape.
Here is is up close.  I've also added smaller balls hanging down from the chandelier along with our typical larger ones.
I love the jingle bells but hate them on door that open constantly, as it can be too much, but added to a drawer hook that doesn't open much is perfect.  You get the look without the noise.
One of the very first tips I learned when I started working in the decor business was that plates are for more than tables!  I love to add them to my wall candle sconces to change up the look of a room.  Here I've just layered two plates to get a Christmas look.  Simple!
This is my candy bar. On the center pedestal is a jar of candy and since I took this picture I've added a tidbit bowl to the top of the plate stand with M&M's.  It's perfect to have here as the kids can't get to it too easily and it's in a room that we aren't in a lot, so we're not too tempted.  I also love the idea of adding a photo in a seasonal frame to your decor (a tip I just learned in the past couple of months). Now I just need to get an actual photo of the boys in it!!

I hope you enjoyed a little tour through my Christmas home and that it has helped give you ideas for your own - if you needed them.

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