It's beginning to look a lot like...

We've been spending some of our spare weekend hours over the past few weeks getting the house ramped up for the holidays. If it doesn't happen before December then it won't likely happen at all. Things just get too crazy from December 1 onward. I know some people begrudge the extended timeframe during which Christmas is celebrated, but I don't mind it one bit. If you're going to go to all the trouble then you'd might as well enjoy it as long as possible. Plus, there have already been some Christmas events that have come and gone to start putting us in the mood. We have already gone to our local Santa Claus Parade, and our Operation Christmas Child gift boxes had to be packed and dropped off last weekend.

So, other Christmas tasks have been on the to-do list, too. Tasks such as planting my amaryllis... which I really hope I did earlier than last year, because last year the bulb bloomed... on December 30th. I stalked the stores starting on November 1 this year and bought the first bulb I could find.

The  garland has been strung on the mantel. Last year's lights bit the dust and those were the last incandescents we had been using. These ones are LEDs and they're a little blinding if you look at them for too long. Not quite the 'warm' and 'homey' vibe I was going for, but it's the way of the world, I suppose.

The side table has been transformed from 'Halloween' to 'Christmas', but this will soon disappear - maybe even this weekend - because this is the spot where we put our tree. The table gets relegated to the basement for the season.

The display on the buffet in the kitchen. I'd still like to get a banner made to hang along the top of the mirror.

My wreath survived a year of storage in the basement and it's back, baby! Still love it just as much as I did last year.

And, the stairs. It has taken me several years to work the kinks out of our holiday decor but I think I am finally there. I have tried a few things in different areas and now I know what I like. I like red and turquoise and white and silver and a little bit of green, I like vintage, I like clear lights rather than coloured, and I like the garland swagged on the staircase like with ornaments and stockings mixed in better than any other way I've tried it. There are lights, too. They just weren't on for this shot.
Perhaps best of all is the outdoor decor we put up this year... for the first time since we've moved here, I simply adore it. Pictures to come.