Christmas Tour of Homes

I found the BooMama Tour of Homes during some blog-hopping on the internet and thought it was such a cute idea that we had to participate. Plus, it gave me some incentive to unpack our Christmas decorations (2 moves to rental houses in 2 years has made me loathe to do any more unpacking than necessary).

Welcome to our house!

(Yes, this wreath is on our wall instead of our door, because I lost our wreath hanger in the move. Sigh.)


Here's our real live Christmas tree (which was a little hard to find--I think we bought from the last tree lot in town, so if he closes, we may have to cave and buy artificial):




My favorite thing this year is the Moravian star we bought during our year in Winston-Salem. I'm going to have to figure some way to rig it into a tree-topper, it's perched a little precariously this year.



Perhaps my most favorite Christmas decorations are our stockings (made by Nana). Will badly wanted to play with his, but I told him he couldn't until Santa came, then he could take it down and hold it. So now he thinks that Santa's sole purpose is to allow him to play with his stocking. Due to a lack of fireplace, we're substituting the TV armoire for a mantel this year.



Will's favorite Christmas decoration is his Little People nativity set (also courtesy of Nana). It is not usually in place like this--more often, Mary and Baby Jesus are enjoying a ride in his Little People bus, while the animals hang out at the garage.




I made this wreath last year to display our Christmas cards, from an idea from Shutterfly. It was full to overflowing last year, but either we lost some friends with all of our moving, or they (like me) are still waiting for Shutterfly to ship their cards. :-)

I made this advent calendar for Will from an idea I found online. It's easy to make (no sewing skills required!) from a minimuffin tin and some scrapbooking supplies. Each paper "door" hides a scripture and a piece of candy.

And finally, before I forget--refreshments! This is a recipe for Santa's Punch, from my grandmother, Mimi. If eating tons of chocolate Christmas morning doesn't give you a sufficient sugar rush, this punch will do the trick! And if you're a member of the McClellan family, nothing says Christmas morning like this punch in a 12-days-of-Christmas glass (accompanied by a little fried turkey, of course!).

Santa's Christmas Punch

2/3 cup Tang mix

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups water

2 cups pineapple juice

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 quart ginger ale

Mix first 5 ingredients and chill, then add the ginger ale just before serving.

Thank you for visiting, and Merry Christmas!!!