Christmas Past

Weeks ago many bloggers started sharing photos of their holiday decor,,,but I'm still here scrambling to get some festive touches in place around casa CREED before Christmas day actually arrives!  Ah the joys of running your own design business usually means you don't have any time left to focus on your own home.  So since my halls are still only half decked for xmas 2010,,,I thought I'd share some photos of xmas's past.  These pics are also mostly from pre-blogging days so I'm sorry to say they're not the best quality photos but I think you'll see a glimpse of holiday decor despite the really bad flash exposure. 

My tree this year, looks exactly like my tree last year, as shown above.  Its simply adorned with white lights, hand-blown glass ornaments, glass icicles, dark chocolate brown balls, lots of silver balls and natural pine cones. I'm always on the lookout for new tree ornaments and usually pick up something new every year but nothings caught my eye this time round.....

Like usual I was running short on time last year so out of necessity I kept the mantle simple, these vases are on the mantle all year long I just added some evergreen branches and silver balls.

During the day an oversize bowl filled with huge sugar cones and evergreen branches sits on the coffee table, when guests arrive I move it to make room for food.....

This is what our coffee table looks like all day long on Xmas ,,,,always covered with food and wine! A guest brought the flowers.

Our dining table last Christmas,,,,,and our $2 light fixture from Habitat for Humanity (which replaced an unsightly ceiling fan).  Even though this is just a rental property and is not a 'designer home' by any means it's never stopped me from entertaining here -  I can't stress enough how strongly I feel about this - never hold off from entertaining family and friends because you think your house isn't 'perfect' yet, your guests really won't care.  Make the most of what you have, you can create an inviting and festive atmosphere with simple things and have memories you'll cherish forever.

Our Christmas table in our Condo about 4 or 5 years ago.  I had more hydrangeas,,,but of course they died a few hours after I brought them home, this was only one that survived. : /  The disco balls were from the dollar store, I loved the sparkle they added.

Another Christmas at the Condo, I think about 4 years ago, orchids instead of hydrangeas on the table.  I had hung crystals from the arc floor lamp the xmas before this and I liked them so much they stayed permanently.  

This is a pretty good reflection of my holiday decor style,,,I keep it really simple and as natural as possible. Some fresh evergreen, white flowers, pine cones and silver balls are my essentials. This was a favorite way to dress up the mantle at the condo, one bough of evergreen with a vase of orchids and branches at the end with a few oversize silver balls.  And probably my favorite holiday accessory I own are the 3 white letters, JOY.  I especially love the subtle effect of them on white walls.

My brother and I a couple of years ago.  This was the first Christmas my family celebrated since my dad's passing,,,,he's wearing dad's Christmas Pants - my dad wore these every xmas for about 30 years or more (they're really old!) until he finally outgrew them, and my brother took over the tradition.  Yup, he actually leaves the house wearing those!!

Ah the morning after, this was boxing day morning from 2 years ago here at the house, my most favorite day of the year.  (Seriously it is).  The centre piece on the table is an example of what you can whip up in about 2 minutes as your guests are pulling in the driveway - I can't even take credit for it, my 'handyman' made this literally seconds before the doorbell rang.  He took a glass cake stand, laid some pine cuttings on it,,,,threw some silver balls and pine cones on top.  Done.  I loved how it was elevated but low lying so it didn't obstruct any sightlines or take up table space and it lasted for weeks.  I thought it was brilliant. 

Here's hoping this Christmas will be just as brilliant as Christmas Pasts!