My Christmas Style

I love Christmas! I always put up my tree earlier than many consider appropriate, but I don’t care! It’s all over so quickly, and I get quite sad on Christmas night, knowing that I have to wait another year to do it all again. 

In keeping with my own personal style, of course my tree is decorated with a neutral colour palette – silver, gold, white. Most of our decorations are the same, except for the little red reindeer you may (only just!) be able to spot here sitting in the fireplace and atop the surround-sound speakers either side. They happen to be red, but being a gift from a dear friend, who cares what the colour!

Here’s a little pictorial timeline from last year’s Christmas to inspire you as you plan your own family celebrations…

All the pressies were wrapped in either white or silver – with a few “Tiffany” blues thrown in for good measure. Of course it’s all in the name of staying true to Big Al’s “personal style”!

It doesn’t matter how old my kids are, they still like to get up a bit too early for present opening! To help us feel more alive, we first awaken our tummies with a bowl of cereal as we sit around the tree. Boof knows the milk is his when we’re done and finds the waiting excruciating…

Here are some sneak-peaks at our Christmas table as it was being set last year – again, all pretty neutral, with lots of white and silver. I just love white, but then, I think you’ve all worked that out by now! I made blackboard placemats with our names written in chalk. My gorgeous son, Corey really gets into setting the table and zshushing (how on earth do you spell that?) so I let him. He’s good at it. Actually,  I wish he’d come to work for me – with eye for detail, we’d make a mean team!

And on the twig tree (made for me by my daughter’s lovely man, Hamilton) you just may be able to spot the little blackboard love hearts with our names on them too. It’s our “family tree”. I heart it!

We like taking photos. We like looking back and reminiscing at  how much our lives have changed each year. Some years are more sedate, depending on our personal circumstances. There sure have been a few of those. Last year’s was a little more upbeat as we welcomed our nephew’s daughter Amelia. Of course for the photos, our gorgeous (blind diabetic) dog took centre stage, thanks to Elle (she’s pictured again with me below. Note how hubby is eyeballing us in the background?  Probably thinking we’d lost the plot. We probably had!

Elle and I really love Christmas. We love clowning around and just doing things together. This year, 2012 has been a bit tougher than most, but my Elle-belle was always there to get me through. Thank you Elle…I love you.

We like to take a group shot of our motley crew. The people in that shot are always different. One year it could be with friends or other extended family members. But every year one constant remains. The four of  us. I know that will change over the years as our kids fly the coop and create their own family Christmases, but for now, I’m going to record as many memories of us all together as I can. Our stairs seemed like the perfect spot to do it in 2011. Note Big Al on top? There was method in my madness as I styled this shot. It was the only time I was ever going to feel taller than anyone. You can’t really blame me, now can you?

Shane, Corey and I went out for a quiet post-Xmas dinner a few days later. Like we needed more food. Not! Shane often drops me at the door and then goes to find a car park – bless him!  Corey took this shot of me as we waited for him to return – I was keeping Xmas alive and wearing a dash of Xmas red. See? I really do hate to say goodbye to the festive season!

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy holiday season. I look forward to a happy and healthy 2013 (how’s that for positive thinking?) and wish you all the love, luck, health and happiness you can grab hold of. Love your loved ones with all your might. Tell them you love them as often as you can. Life really is too short. Live it to the best of your ability every day. Christmas or not.

So! What does your Christmas look like? Do you have a personal style that seems to find its way into your family festivities each year? Share them with me here and inspire us all! Please don’t be shy!