To me nothing is more Christmasy than a fireplace. There are so many Christmas songs that talk about snuggling or gathering in front of fires and it just makes me so happy to have one burning. One of my favorite things about our house, especially now that it’s the holidays, is our giant fireplace. Most of the year I have a hard time deciding how to decorate it, but now my possibilities are endless I really wanted to be traditional this year in my use of color and objects, so for my mantel I used Christmas balls, some pretty mercury glass votives I got at Michael’s for $1, and a cute reindeer statue I just had to have when I saw him!  I also printed off a printable from Pinterest that includes a bunch of Christmas words and phrases. It makes me smile This wreath was outside last year, but I decided to bring it in this year to Christmasify (totally a word) my teal frame. Inside is a Christmas card from an adoptive grandfather that passed away many years ago. I actually incorporate a lot of old cards like that in some of my other decor too. The holidays are always such a sweet sentimental time, I can’t help but try to incorporate things like that.  By the way, I hate that it gets dark so early now! It makes taking pictures for the blog so difficult! And of course no mantel is complete without stockings! I sewed Jesse’s name on his and decorated it with buttons and glitter last year. I think it was a total fail, but of course he loves it so there it is. My stocking on the other hand was given to me by my Granny and Grampy when I was little and it’s adorable.  Because our fire place is so huge, I also get to take advantage of the space for decorating. The little alcove is made for storing wood and I dressed it up a bit with a few Christmas balls and candles.  And these little snowmen are my new favorite decoration. I made them this weekend and am in love! (There’s a post just for them coming soon). Behind them is a vase I have that I filled with a few of the extra branches from our Christmas tree.  Does anyone else get all giddy about Christmas decorations? I absolutely LOVE coming home from work and plugging all the lights in right away!

I’m linking up! The Lettered Cottage and Ten June