Holiday Decorating Extravaganza

Bonjour!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been planning my holiday decorating for over a month, or at least since Halloween. Since we are not exactly going in and out of each other’s homes right now (le sigh), today’s post is a guided virtual tour of how we’re getting festive.

But before you do Anything Else, watch Todrick Hall’s newest music video, “Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees.” (And the the original song, “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels,” and quarantine parody, “Mask, Gloves Soap, Scrubs”). Joyeux Noël!

Outdoor decorations are verging on Clark Griswold territory. The ginormous blow-up dachshund was in the yard for less than ten minutes before I saw neighbors driving or walking by break into huge grins when they saw it. Wrangling him was totally worth the smiles!

To honor a holiday decoration technique of my Great-Aunt Eileen, I wrapped my art in Christmas paper for the first time. I’ve been wanting to do this for years and finally made it happen for this holiday season. As I’ve been proselytizing all year amid the pandemic, if we can’t make things fun, happy, and special now, we never will.

A Christmas quilt and flannel sheets (featuring dachshunds in stocking caps) make the cold Vermont winter feel extra cozy. I flip the quilt over to its red-and-cream check side in January and February to maximize holiday cheer during Seasonal Affective Disorder’s heyday. We typically need flannel sheets until, or even through, March in New England.

I was extra happy to put out my My Department 56 North Pole Village this year after taking a year off in 2019 due to moving a million times. Okay, not a million, but a whole lot of times. This is the fourth Christmas in a row that I’ve decorated a new home for the holidays. Being settled in the new house makes me more inclined to go all in on decorations.

A close-up shot of the Department 56 North Pole village.

Mon Chéri and I have lugged our skinny, seven-foot artificial tree around since our Chicago condo days. Its sudden appearance is always a source of amusement and confusion (and exploratory licking and nibbling) for Le Chien.

Speaking of Le Chien, while he’s not a fan of cold weather, wind, or ice (and what right-thinking people would be?), he does love a good fleece blanket. Or two. Or ten. The holidays mean extra treats, toys, and cuddling, not just for him but for us as well, bien sûr! As evidenced by the pooch’s extreme interest in the mini marshmallows on my Lake Champlain Chocolates hot chocolate.

Did you do any extra holiday preparation and decorating this year?

Merci for reading and please subscribe and share!

À votre santé,

Katie