Hey, internets – welcome to the 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes!
I’ll go ahead and confess to y’all that I panicked a little bit last week when I realized that this tour-o-homes business was on the horizon and, HELLO, MY HOUSE LOOKS JUST LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES AT CHRISTMAS, OH SWEET MERCY THE PRESSURE.
But then I remembered that there are a few little traditions that I’ve never shared with you, and as you can imagine my relief was palpable.
First, though, let’s look at all the stuff that looks just like last year!
THIS MUST BE SO EXCITING!
And with lights!
Oh, we are very fancy. And once again I can take absolutely no credit at all for my tree, because Mama decorated every single bit of it. Thankfully she didn’t take any tree-related tumbles this year, though the decorating was briefly interrupted by a pesky stomach virus. Obviously she rebounded and finished the task at hand remarkably well.
As always I decorated the bar in our living room. For those of you who aren’t familiar with why there’s a bar in our living room, here’s the gist: our house was built in 1974, and apparently early-70s homeowners felt it was imperative that beverage service be located within ten feet of the television. For whatever reason I get a kick out of the fact that the wet bar now boasts garland, lights, Christmas stockings, and a one-armed monkey stocking hanger.
See? That’s our one-armed monkey stocking hanger. The monkey used to have two arms, but then he tied up with a certain two year-old a few years ago, and the two year-old won. The monkey still does an absolutely beautiful job holding a stocking, though, and I smile every single time I walk past him.
(He’s also completely broken in two at the waist, so it stands to reason that he could use some encouragement.)
Our Christmas card tree – which is a 6 1/2 foot tree that we got for free and now use to display Christmas cards in the playroom – is one of my favorite traditions. It brings me untold delight, especially around December 24th when it’s chock-full-o-cards.
And, as always, I LURVE me a festive table.
For the last several years I’ve put my parents’ aluminum Christmas tree (from way back in ye olden 60s) in our little boy’s room. He loves it because it’s shiny (it’s also very lean-y) and because we put Mickey Mouse lights on it. All the ornaments on this tree are from my childhood – my brother’s elves, my sister’s carolers, my handmade stuff from Sunday School and kindergarten – and it’s so much fun to see how much the little man enjoys it.
And another fun thing in his room? This giant stocking hanging from a curtain rod.
In the past I’ve always done garland and lights outside our front door, but this year I wanted to do something a little more simple because, well, I just wanted to do something a little more simple, AS IS MY PREROGATIVE AS A FEMALE, OH THANK YOU. So I found this cool iron container at TJ Maxx for $9.99, and I filled it with some pieces of a shrub that’s in our backyard.
And just to clarify for all you gardener people, I believe that the Latin name of the greenery I used is shrubae in our backyardae.
Be sure to look for it in your favorite horticulture journals.
The container tends to clang against the front door when people walk in or leave, so it also works as a bell. Who knew my $9.99 would provide me with a container for greenery and an entry notification system? I’m completely undeserving of such good fortune.
Finally, when we were visiting my brother and sister-in-law last weekend, I was totally captivated by the Nativity scene they have in their foyer – and I took a picture of it just for y’all. Because I love how every single creature in the stable is looking at the manger and anticipating the arrival of Jesus.
May the same be true of us, sweet friends.
Thanks so much for joining in the fun today – I hope you have a great time touring and commenting and visiting and whathaveyou. Remember, as I’ve said before, this is a marathon, not a sprint, so PACE YOURSELVES, PEOPLE. Drink lots of water, eat lots of protein, and please, as always, no wagering.
Oh, I kid. But y’all make this so much fun, and I am grateful.
Four quick things before I go:
– It would be great if you’d leave a comment when you visit the blogs that are participating in the Tour. Even a short comment can encourage someone so much!
– Here’s a refresher on Christmas Tour guidelines.
– Everyone who leaves a comment is eligible to win a very special door prize from Engraved Euniques. I’ll draw for the prize this Friday, December 19.
– Please make sure to leave a link for YOUR POST’S SPECIFIC URL, NOT THE GENERAL URL OF YOUR BLOG.
Merry Christmas, y’all!
I love this! Traditions are certainly my favorite part of the season. Your table is gorgeous.
Love the website! Thanks!
I can. not. believe. how many links you have on your tour.
I was not planning to stay up all night….
Cool.
Such a fun idea! I had a blast with this post. Thanks for the fun touring! Happy holidays…
I love this! its so fun :) mine isnt great.. but its my first house. & first christmas away from my parents house.
I’m new to blogging and this is great. I’ve gotten so many ideas for decorating for next year!
OK. My comment may well get buried among the seventyleven already here, but in the interest of “cousinness” thrice removed; I must at least give it the ole’ seersucker-wearing-southern-lady try.
You did a great job of convincing me earlier this year that we were somehow related because we both dearly love people that wore their seersucker jackets and carried the matching handbag in spite of the 100+ degree weather with matching (because we MUST coordinate in EVERYTHING y’all) humidity to any event.
Now, I must say for the record, just in case there was any smidge of reluctance on your part to fully accept our obvious relatedness, that after seeing these photos of your Christmas home; I am FULLY convinced that you are the sister that my parents never quite gave me the full scoop on.
Why? I’m sure you’re asking (because I know we’re related and I’d be asking if I were you). Well, those dishes on your festive table? The EXACT same pattern that my dear Mama and I both have had FOREVER! I actually received her set when she went to live with Jesus because as beautiful as they are; we were pretty sure that she wouldn’t be needin’ ’em there. And, as if that weren’t proof enough, the nativity pieces? The EXACT same set we have! Again, Mama was quite sure that the actual heavenly version would be way cooler, so I got this set passed on to me as well. Seen’ as how I played with it non-stop from Thanksgiving right through to the new year anyway, she figured I should have the privilege of telling my kids to ‘please stop putting the lamb on the ladder’, and do NOT put Baby Jesus on the camel.’
Yep! I’m convinced! We are fer’ sure related. Done deal.
Merry Christmas, Sis!
Beth
So much fun!!!
Such a great way to get good ideas from others :)
Merry Christmas!!!
Such a fun idea… thanks for sharing!
I love touring all the homes!!!!
What a great idea. I found you through Jeremiah Films and Feedjit. Your tree is really beautiful and I love the idea of a Christmas Card tree. What a wonder that we have this time to be with family and friends and to talk about the wonder of the birth of Christ.
Maggie @ Maggie’s Notebook
I adore your Christmas Card Tree!! What a fantastic idea. Thanks for the tour and Merry Christmas to you.
Thanks for hosting this Christmas Tour. It’s fun to be able to participate, even if I’m a little late!
This is great! Lots of wonderful homes to look at.
Is there any way to delete link #862?
My typing fingers screwed up and entered the wrong link! Sorry.
xo
jeanne
I added another link just because I want to help push you to the 1,000 mark. That would be amazing!
Kimba
Thanks for doing this!!!! How awesome to see everyone’s style and uniqueness! Merry Christmas!
Kim
Ooops. Can’t share without a link huh?? Kim
i think this is the most brilliant idea ever! LOVE it.
Wow 869! The chances of anyone seeing my entry are pretty slim.
Hey, Boo! Remember a couple of years ago when you were trying to decide whether to do this?
Yeah.
ROTFL!!!
I just didn’t get my act together in time but what a fun idea!
What a beautiful home!
Thanks for hosting this. What a fun idea!
Fantastic little tour you’ve got going on here! Thanks for hosting! I hope you top 1,000!!
Love the nativity scene this looks just like the one my Mama had when I was growing up. I could not belive my eyes. Great idea doing the open house!
Sorry I am so late linking up. I hope I didn’t miss out on all the fun! Thanks for hosting this wonderful party!
Jen
Wow, what a fabulous Idea to get to see everyone’s Christmas Decor through Tour of Homes online! I love your decorations and thanks for posting this wonderful site! Got some ideas for next year!
Loved the tour, wonderful idea. My favorite thing is peeking inside other peoples homes to see their decorating. This is better than progresive dinners, home tours, and peeping toms.
Love the card christmas tree, gave me a great idea for the next holiday season. also have added your blog to my favorites. I found and followed your link from work place like. Happy and safe holidays to all.
Thanks so much for hosting this great tour, so fun to see everyone’s Christmas Cheer.
What a great idea! I love the tour of homes!
Thanks for hosting this!
I’ve added mine to the list! This is a really fun idea!
Please accept my apologies for being so late. I cannot believe I forgot what day this started. I have pictures for every day this month. Thanks for hosting.
I love nothing more than a home tour! Thanks for doing this – it’s a great idea!
Merry Christmas!!
Thank you so much for hosting this, I have so much fun on the tour and I love reading your blog.
This is my first time and I love it. I really like looking at all the sites…it will take me several hours to go through them all, but so worth it.
Merry Christmas
This was so fun!! I love getting to show my decorations and get great ideas from others! Thanks!!
Love your christmas decorations! And your blog always brings a smile to my face :) Thanks for hosting the Christmas tour!
Amazing list of linkers! I could be here until next year, I can’t wait to check on all the neat Christmas sharings!
What a neat idea! Such beautiful homes. Merry Christmas!
This was a hoot!!
Sweet mercy I am only on 65 and the list is up to 896! I’m going to be here through February going through all of these. At least I’ll have my Christmas decorations for next year planned by March!
Hi There!
I can’t believe how many people are sharing their homes!! This is so much fun! I am going to write to you with some questions I have about how to enter and how to put the pics up on my blog – I am brand-new at this!!
I love your door hanger thingie!!! Your house is beautiful! Thanks for doing this “tour” – it’s so much better than TV!!! LOL!!!
Blessings to you this CHRISTmas!!!
I love the one-armed monkey…he’s really cute and that story will forever be told I’m sure. When my brother and I were little there was a little mini bear named Boo Boo that we always fought over (to put him on the tree, to play with him, everything). Thanks for sharing and for hosting a fab home party.
Thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity! It is so much fun to see everyone’s great ideas and decorations!!!
My grandparents had a silver tree like that, too! What fun memories :)
Thanks for doing the Christmas Tour of Homes. It has been so fun. Love the monkey with no arm!!!!
My mom has put up my grandmother’s original silver tree from back in the day. It is georgeous, although not very big. I love the one you put in your sons room. AND I LOVE your table…decorated very nicely!!!
Thanks for hosting this every year. I really look forward to it
Sneaking in at the last minute! Thank you for hostessing:)
Better late than never!!
I can’t believe how many people are having open houses! It’s great! I hope I get to them all before next Christmas! Merry Christmas… =)
Thank you! I love seeing the decorations. I would love to join in but that would mean I have to finish the decorating and obviously I can’t seem to get it together enough to get that done. It’s fun to look at everyone else’s
I am a little late to join in however I love this and love the idea! I will be posting to my site on Monday woohoo!
Merry Christmas everyone and great job!
What a blast. Thanks for the Christmas fun!
Well, here I go – my very first blog for a House Tour! I hope I did this right!
LOVIN ‘ ALL THESE CHRISTMAS PRETTIES!
sblilly14(@)yahoo(.)com
We are so last minute!
We had a nativity just like that when I was little! I had forgotten about it until I saw your picture. We kids played with it so much, the paint was worn of the figurines. Thanks for bringing back the memory!
All love this!! So fun to see everyone decking the halls!!
I found your link through Beth Moore’s blog. My Christmas decorating is still in progress but I’m excited to join the tour!
Thanks for keeping Mr. Linky up just a little bit longer. I was afraid I had missed it. I was so excited that it was still up that I linked my post when it was just words, and then went back and added the pics to it. I’m sure there’s some southern, redneck term for blogging like that. It was like trying to purchase an online deal before they run out of the product.
Here is my home. The first pictures are from my own home. and the second blog is my friends house that I decorate which is basically my home also.
I hope you enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
WOO HOO!! I made it!!
dang, i got all excited and posted the link to the blog, not the post! Whoops
Thanks for answering me BooMama! I re-entered using the link I think you meant when you said: permalink? http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4e6a45794e54417a4d413d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link&blogview=true
Oh- I have so much to learn!!!
Carol in MI
too fun!
I have thoroughly enoyed going through the tour–altho I haven’t even made it to 100 yet! You all are so creative and I’ve gotten lots of ideas for next year
~K
This is so much fun! I participated in it for the first time this year and it’s been wonderful. I’ve gotten to see lots of beautiful homes and I’ve had a lot of visitors to mine.
Thank you for doing this,BooMama! This is a wonderful holiday experience!
God bless you and Merry Christmas!
Love in Christ – Julie
Im going to be reading these into the summer I think. LOL Thanks for hosting this!
Great tour, BooMama! It was a lotta fun!
love it. can’t wait until the new year to see what God will be doing with ya’ll and with me. Merry christmas. love , Jeanette
Just barely made it…I’ve loved checking out everyone’s beautiful decor!
Thanks for hosting us Boomama!
This is so much fun!
Hi Mama,
You home is beautiful. It’s noce to see that there were no decorating mishaps this year. Your mama did a lovely job on your tree. Thanks for letting us drop by.
Loving this! Everybody did a great job decorating their homes!
Happy Holidays!
I’ve really enjoyed seeing everyone’s beautiful decorations!! This is an awesome way to get new decorating ideas!!!
This is so fun!!!!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all!
Thank you for hosting such a wonderful tour. I’ve enjoyed it so much. Many blessings to you and yours this Christmas season!
Hi BooMama!!! I know this is not relevant to the topic, but I am faily new to the “blog world”… and I want to make friends, Ha! I feel like the new kid that doesn’t know her way around! You ladies have LOVELY Christmas decorations!! Blessings!
Yeah Boo! Thanks so much for hosting this blessed event!
~The Bargain Shopper Lady
I’m a bit behind this year but I’m finally done and ready to participate in this year’s tour. Merry Christmas everyone!
Love it all…your trees…your home & decor and this blog!! Merry Christmas!
Well, Better late than never…Mom always said. I hope that people will still find the time to come by my blog for a visit.
I loved looking at all your Christmas decorations. I especially like the “extra” tree being used for Christmas cards. I think I will steal your idea and use it as my own next year. Don’t worry I’ll tell my family where I got the idea. haha.
Merry Christmas!
Oh, your tree looks so beautiful! Do you have a special filter to make the lights look all sparkly like that or is that just your awesome photography talent??
I am going to be looking at people’s Christmas decorations all year! (almost a thousand people!!-how cool!)
I hope people don’t mind me commenting on their Christmas decorations at Easter…heh-heh.
Merry, Merry Christmas Sophie
Melissa~
Thanks so much for making this fun tour of homes! I have enjoyed many a chai while perusing in my PJs. I finally got the nerve to add mine on Christmas Eve. Have wonderful visits and thanks for spreading the lurve!
Oops…I did it wrong the first time. Even though I DID read the rule page. Trial and error to figure out the diff between GENERAL linkage and THAT post. Now I know. And knowin’s half the battle. Can you delete link 953?
I’m concerned about those lights on the silver tree…my mom always said it was the fire hazard kiss of death…mine are on the table surrounding the tree but to this day, I still can’t bring myself to put lights on the aluminum tree…be careful!
This is SO fun!
Well, better late than never… this is just too much fun to not participate. I’ve loved visiting all the tours… boo mama – thanks a ton for letting us play! ~ kim
Man, do I LOVE to decorate for Christmas! I enjoyed doing this and have REALLY enjoyed getting to see how others decorate for the holidays! Thanks for the experience and hope you have a very Merry CHRISTmas!!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Such beautiful homes here – thank you Boomama for hosting us!