Time to trim

This weekend I have been slowly but surely hauling out the Christmas decorations. And I have to be honest: I'm not planning to get them all out this year. Between some of the non-holiday-decoration-friendly interior design choices I've made in our house, the smallness of our house, and all the other stuff going on in our lives right now, simplicity seemed the right option yet again this year. I do have dreams of someday owning a bigger house and spiffing it all up for the holidays. Just as soon as I get all that extra time and money I've been needing...

But here are some of my favorites that I just had to drag out of their basement hiding spots. Because, you know, Merry Christmas.

1. Fun artificial wreath purchased a few years ago from Nell Hill's
2. Stockings hung by the chimney with care -- mine, which was made by my late Great Aunt Norma when I was a child; CJ's, which I purchased from Pottery Barn Kids but embroidered myself (I was looking for the homemade look and achieved it quite nicely due to my lack of skill); and Ben's, which is neither old nor handmade and needs a little TLC.
3. Santa Claus, which was painted by my late grandfather and is breakable and therefore needs to be kept out of CJ's reach forever and ever.
4. A very old snow glow candle, which was also made by my late grandpa and therefore I will likely never burn. (They look so pretty when they're burning, though...)
5. Flameless candles decorated with holiday scenes, purchased on clearance from Pottery Barn Kids last year (I also have Halloween ones. For some reason, I can't resist these.)
6. One of my many Yankee candles. (Always love when they send their seasonal coupons.) Yankee makes some awesome holiday scents, especially Christmas Tree and Christmas Wreath. Anything that smells like fresh holiday greenery, including actual fresh holiday greenery, is a-okay in my book.
7. Waechstersbach snowman mugs -- a gift from my mother-in-law after we first got married
8. A decorative bowl with a surprise inside -- a recent gift from my mom, who remembers how much I loved my childhood mug with a little bear at the bottom.