Christmas Home Tour: Part One (2013)

Now that Christmas Day is just a week away- (how did that happen??)- I think a festive tour of my home lovingly decorated for the holidays is in order. I've actually been intending to write this for the last ten days, but it's taken me until now to edit the photos. There's just no hope for me!

I'm splitting the little peek through the keyhole in to two posts, and today I'm showing you the highlights of our living room..

The focal points in the room at Christmas are the fire place and mantle, and of course, the Christmas tree.

The fire place dressing has been my job at Christmas for as long as I can remember. I begin with foliage as a base or backdrop; this year it all came from the garden, but I normally buy it. (Which seems kinda stupid, now I think about it.) I then add in woodland animals we've picked up over the years, and a generous helping of pine cones.

The rabbit is made from a coconut husk, and was bought back from Sri Lanka by my parents. I'm still not quite sure what I think of it.

The squirrel is glittery, and the hedgehog is made from twigs.

My favourite of the fireplace zoo critters is this lovely red fox.

The mantle is dressed with fir branches from the garden, some of which have tiny pine cones attached to them! I wasn't even aware we had a fir plant large enough to harvest, but my Mum had them magically appear. They look amazing, but I managed to get sticky sap all over me, which is a bitch to get off! Amongst the branches, are gold candles (never lit), and a random assortment of pine cones. The large ones were collected on a beach in France when I was thirteen, and most of the small ones were shop bought. 

Showing off my 'wonderful' photography skills... could this photo be more wonky? Well, you get the idea.

I filled a vase with the remaining little pine cones and mixed in some star-shaped decorations. It's perched on a side table between the sofas.

The worst display ever done? Probably! What a mixture! More holly branches; a vase filled with red and gold baubles; a snowman village globe thing; red and gold tinsel; a reindeer; and a bird... I wasn't to blame for most of this.

Baubles in a vase.

Mr Snowman. I'm not quite sure what this ornament does, exactly. I think it might be musical. My Mum picked it up last Christmas for herself.

There's a village scene in his stomach.

Out tree doesn't have a colour-coordinated or set theme. Anything goes! Our decorations have been collected across decades. They've been collected throughout mine and my sisters' lives; from when my parents first got together; and from my Mum's childhood, too. I think there's a couple that belonged to my Nana, too. Most of the decorations hold some sentimental value, and decorating the tree always brings back waves of nostalgia for me.

The robin is one of a pair, and I think they're older than I am!

I love these white frosted orbs; when the fairy lights hit them the colours look amazing.

This one is so pretty.

I can't remember if my Mum or my Auntie cross stitched these decorations, but with cross stitchers in the family, there have always been a few like this on the tree.

And finally, I was treated to this traditional drum decoration (along with two Mickey Mouse decs and a hobby horse ornament) when I burst my ear drum when I was four or five, on the way to or from the hospital. I only realised the irony of this decoration this Christmas! Well played, four or five year old me!

So, that's the best of the living room decorations. I haven't actually taken a decent photo of the tree yet, but I'm sure I'll post one or two when I blog about Christmas Day next week. All of these photos were taken in the dark, so my apologies for the quality of them. 

Keep an eye out for the second part of my Christmas home tour over the next few days, when I'll be showing you how I've added a little festive cheer to the bedroom