Photoblog: Deck the Halls

My kids have chickenpox. Bad. They also have cabin fever, sibling rivalry, and pale complexion from calamine lotion. A mouse got into my cupboards (all of the cupboards, apparently) and delighted in acts of rodent defecation all over my clean dishes. All that, and it snowed. Seriously - I'm in need of some cheering up. Care to join me?

We live in a really cool old one-room school house. For the bulk of our time living here we've been too busy or too distracted to really capitalize on the charm and appeal of a Schoolhouse Christmas. This year - varmints and diseases be darned - we're pulling out all the stops. We have already decorated, and continue to make cutesy crafts to supplement our already-decadent decor. (I'm a bit sleep deprived, here. Forgive me for substituting alliteration for truly clever writing today.) We're even hosting our very first, grown-up Christmas party (complete with mulled cider and fancy finger foods), and a Christmas Tea for my co-workers. Oh yeah - we're rockin' this Christmas season.

So, in keeping with our festive theme, I'm going to ignore the piles of laundry and the stacks of dishes, and take you on a tour of the well-decked halls of Evergreen Schoolhouse. Enjoy.

 

Our first stop is the upstairs dining room - aglow with a peaceful light and the soft sound of brilliant children thinking about their peaceful game of chess. Yes - it's always like this. Always.

 

Next up is the cozy living room. Note how the piano is invitingly calling your name. "Come play with me! Sing a rousing carol or two. Invite your friends to join." (It's a bit needy.) Of course, the seasonal central feature of this room is our tree. So pretty. 

This is what our tree looked like when we first put it up. Lovely, but needs a little something - don't you think? 

This is our tree after a visit from the Tinsel Fairy. (Note - this is not an entity my family was aware of when I was a child. It only entered our lives after I married Mark. Late one night. When everyone was asleep. Leaving its handiwork for all to see (and cats to play with, and vacuums to clean up). 

I must admit - ever since that first (and subsequent) midnight visit from the Tinsel Fairy, I always think a tree looks a bit naked (or, at least under dressed) without some shiny floss.

But, the tree is far from the only glamorous thing around here. (Besides us, of course.)  We've hung up lots of lovely features - like  these decorations in the windows and doors.

 

 And even put out a bowl of lovely glass balls. Oooohhh - shiny!

No chimney (save the stove pipe, which gets really hot), so we hung stockings on the steps. It works!

Best of all - our Nativities!

We've had some accidents, of course. Besides just these, heads have also rolled. Joseph's and a shepherd's head, to be exact. A little glue fixed 'em up, though. I think they're going to pull thru. 

Besides just these broken pieces, we also have some other interesting features to our Nativity sets. For example - this one is missing Jesus. Kind of a big deal. I debated whether or not to get rid of it entirely, but it's a lovely, old, nine-piece set. So, the wise men and Mary and Joseph now look adoringly at a little lamb. It's actually scripturally accurate, in a way, and much less blasphemous than putting in a troll doll.

This set is one of my favorites. They're almost a foot tall, and gleaming in brilliant jewel tones. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a decent picture without also having our wall chart of the presidents involved. That's right - home schoolers decorate their walls with geeky learning things. Might be a bit ugly, but once you hear a four-year-old sing all the presidents in order you'll agree - it's totally worth it. 

 Continuing in that theme, we also left our presidential flashcards up. I mean, people like to *receive* dead presidents for Christmas. Don't you think they'll also want to *look at* dead presidents as well? 

And, finally, here's the part where you come in. See - I've hung up a lovely ribbon from which to hang all of the Christmas cards we receive, and photos from our upcoming holiday events. I'm saving a spot on there just for you. See it - right there?  Yep - that's your own special place in the very decked halls of Evergreen School. Can't wait to see you there!

Merry Christmas, all!