walking in a winter wonderbelfry

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life got in the way of holidayificating (real word) thebelfry at the beginning of the month, but i finally managed to put everything out. the santa collection was the last to get set up. odd, but the moment i began unwrapping the santas, the stress of the previous weeks seemed to melt from me. that santa, he's a magical one, he is.

i recently re-hung thehobbit's wee coat rack, so elfling could hand his jacket & hats. of course, a few pegs had to be reserved for the little decapitated santa heads. my mother made these for me many, many years ago - i love them so.

speaking of my mother: these tiny bottle-brush trees came home with me this past summer; i found them in her studio. we are now on our way to a yule tree collection!

thehobbit is now in charge of decorating our actual tree. i have no photo to share with you. rather, i have a photo, i just have no intention of showing it to you. let us just say that thehobbit, whilst he has many talents, shall not have a career in tree-decorating. but isn't this a lovely photo of a tiny gingerbread ornament?

i hope you enjoyed this riveting tour of thebelfry's winter holiday decor. i would love to see what's in your home. post a link in the comments if you'd like to share.

~peace.

santa peggie

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put some presents under the tree. for me. (that is how we are singing the song these days.)


unlike his first 2 decembers, elfling is good & truly aware of the magic all around him. that awareness has breathed new life into traditions that had become stale, or forgotten over the last few years. don't get me wrong, thehobbit still adores the winter holidays, but he has long since outgrown the squealing at even drawings of santa stage. know what i mean?

oldies may remember me babbling about my santa collection last year. well, when we set them out the other day, elfling went mad! he wanted to hold each & every one, kiss them, hug them, & even have deep conversations a few. unfortunately, most of the santas are old, with a few being quite fragile, so we had to limit his santa-loving.

which brings us to the santa peg you see in the above photo. i knew elfling needed a santa that he could carry about with him, one that would survive a month of toddler kisses. it was great fun to paint, & i love the way it turned out. i did forget to paint arms, but i am pretending that i meant to do so - that can be our little secret.

as with steve, the santa peg is nowhere near perfect. i rushed it, so it would be ready when he woke from his nap. it is coming in whispers, but i am actually learning to find peace with doing things good enough. 


sing with me! santa peggie, put some presents under the tree...

~peace.

a rockin' ho ho ho

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photo ::  property of  mimi kirchner

ok, i know i am always one of the first in line each year for complaining about early xmas posts. that said? i just had to show you this doll. isn't he fabulous? i always knew santa was hiding tattoos under his velvets.

you may return to your candy now.

~peace.

in which there are many santas

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earlier this year, i was gifted with my mother-in-law's many bins of christmas decorations. i had already vowed to purge my own holiday bins when christmas rolled around, so only kept the things that made my heart go pitter-pat. the rest i donated (with her permission) to a thrift shop.

so what pitter-patted my heart? why her wonderful collection of santas, that's what! i had long admired the many santas, & wanted to have a collection of my own. i made it to a grand total of two santas before quitting. you see, a certain hobbity boy was born & from then, on, all my christmases focused solely on him.

i figured i'd begin again once he was a teenager. having elfling thwarted that plan - i'm already blind to everything else, watching him as he discovers all the wonders of the holiday season.

that's ok however, because i no longer need to collect santas. thanks to my m.i.l. i've plenty of my own. plenty enough to split in two, when the boys begin their own families, even. don't you think that would be a lovely thing? they can grow up with the tradition of putting out the santas each december, then continue the tradition with their own children - with the same santas!

although...

there is room for more.

~peace.