curated Christmas decor, I MUCH prefer the "hodgepodge" theme. It's so warm and cozy and nostalgic. One of the reasons I have trouble getting rid of holiday decorations is the nostalgia. Our main nativity was a gift from Dad's older sister to Mom and Dad for their first Christmas as a married couple. The same sister--who died of cancer in 1995--went to Germany with her husband and kids in the late '80s and brought us back a Hummel-esque music box that is both in the shape of, and plays, The Little Drummer Boy. We have a plastic Santa boot to keep cards in; Mom got that at some thrift shop but she loved it so. Atop one of our bookcases, I've assembled a "forest" of mismatched trees, in all styles and colors, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I also smile every time I look at the ceramic tree one of Mom's Sunday School students made for her in 1976. The wiring finally gave out so it no longer lights up but it still goes on the one corner table every year. Then there's the snowmen decor, the two different sets of caroler figurines (one a nice paper mache, one made from wooden rods), the basket of faux evergreen boughs and pinecones a cousin made for us, the jingle bell wreath, a couple nutcrackers, the holiday village that I don't love but put up because Mom loved it, and don't even get me started on the mismatched Christmas ornaments <g>. The best way to describe our Christmas aesthetic would be...chaotic <g>.
I bet I would love your holiday decorations.
