Our Christmas Mantel

Hello everyone, how is your week going?  Things here have been ticking along nicely.  On Monday we picked out our tree, and while Travis was busy trimming the branches from the bottom, I got started on the other decor for the house.  One of the things I was most excited to tackle was our mantel.  I haven't had a mantel to decorate before, so this is something new for me.  The fireplace is in our family room, which is open to our eating area and kitchen.  We decided to put the tree in the living room, though I thought it would look great by the fireplace, the living room offered a little more space.  Now that rooms have a bit of Christmas in them, I'm loving the decision we came too.  There is a balance of Christmas in the house.  Love it all!!!

Anyway, enough rambling, here's some pictures of the mantel.  (Remember this is my first Christmas mantel, I'm sure over time it will evolve and change)  Everything I used is stuff I already had on hand.  

I guess I was lopsided when I took this picture.  

The stockings were purchased last year.  Since we were travelling to spend Christmas with my family, we opted not to dig out any of the Christmas stuff (that's a literal "dig out" as we were still living up north, and the Christmas stuff was stored in the shed which needed to be dug out to get into!)  I picked up the stockings to bring with us, and used paint pens to add each boy's initial. (as you can see, we don't have stocking hangers, I used 3M hooks and put them on the top of the mantel, as hanging them lower looked dumb)  The garland, was made by my Mom.  It's the first year I've been able to decorate with it, and I was so excited when I hung it up and saw how pretty it looked up there.  For me it adds that special touch of whimsy.  And it's beautiful!

Mrs.Claus was made by my grandma.  The Father Christmas was a gift from Travis last year.  He came home with him one night, and when he gave him to me he said it was because he wanted me to have a bit of Christmas out before we left for our trip south.  That man is such a sweetie, he knows me so well.

The angel came from my grandma as well.  Normally she sits on top of the tree, but we did things different this year. 

These little guys were given to me by my Mom.  They're perfect for adding a little bit of cute and a little bit of glitter.  

The ball candle holders were my grandma's, the candy dish came from my Mom, (It's filled with mini candy c canes) and the ornament hanging on it was a gift from my best friend.  

Each item on the mantel holds a memory or a hundred.  Every time I look at the mantel I smile!  Here's one last look.

Do you have a mantel to decorate?  Do you have decorations that evoke memories of Christmases past?


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