A Bah Humbug Celebration of December

I love Christmas, I really do.  It's just that I'm not sure I agree with the need to have it every year.  Last year I think I used up a decade's worth of enthusiasm for decorating and crafting...this year, I'm skating by on basics and focusing on time with family rather than month-long festivity.  Basically, I'm going to my sister's house because her tree is gorgeous and my nephew's three-year-old enthusiasm about the holiday is contagious. 

 

Since I can't just move into my sister's house for all of December, though, I did want some Christmas spirit spread around my own house.  I don't have time or energy for the tree so I got more creative...thanks to Pinterest, of course, who provides ideas like this:

 

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and this:

 

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I had plenty of ornaments since there was no tree, so I gathered my favorites and dug out a roll of white curling ribbon.

 

 

I'm not as ambitious as the blogger who inspired the window decorating idea so I only have a few ornaments...but I love the final product!

 

It even looks pretty at night, though the lights are more noticeable than the ornaments.

 

 

Those lights made the second Pinterest-inspired idea prettier, too: I put the extra lights on the strand, along with extra ornaments, into a vase.  Ridiculously easy!

 

 

I have great intentions of creating a masterpiece of a wreath for my front door, but for now this lovely snowflake from Target ($5 - thank you, Target!) brings festivity to the porch.

 

 

My yard seems to be feeling more festive than I am - my gorgeous tree in the front yard is bursting into amazing pink buds that are sure to be orchids in time for Christmas.  Photos to come as soon as I can get a photograph that looks like flowers and not just a weird silhouette against the wonderful Phoenix blue sky.