Fa la la la la lala la laaaaaaaaaah!

One week from today and Christmas is over.  SAD FACE.  I love the holidays - all month of December is just so fun.  My decorations in the house and outside, the parades, the decorations in town, the music on the radio and everything is just so much fun.  I love it.  I am truly working on me and my house and my life and trying to make the other eleven months as joyful.  Make the house happier, make me happier, make my life happier.  But where do you start on something that monumental????  

Geez, I came here to show my decorations and I went all deep.  Stop that!  

Oh, and thanks for all the love on that last post.  I appreciate all of you that come here to read whatever silly things I have come to post.  You guys are me tribe.  Okay, I must admit.  I loathe that saying.  I really only said it as a joke.  But you guys are MY friends.  My, Boo, if you will (Right, Ree Cee?)

Okay, let's look at my crap-ola.  

I took out the tablecloths before the Fall Junk Ranch and culled out a few to sell.  A couple did, but one did not so I put it on ebay.  It sold but they never paid.  So, I relisted and THEY never paid.  So, back into the pile it went.  I can take a hint.  Don't sell tablecloths......

The Santa's.  Right after I took this photo, out dingbat cat jumped right up on the bottom shelf, but only managed to knock off the little one in the brick chimney.  How that is all that fell is beyond me. He hasn't gone near it since, thankfully.  

I added two squeaks and a Liddle Kiddle Santa this year.  I pulled a few to donate too.  

This tiny hutch is one of my favorite things to decorate.  It's so silly, but I have such a love of tiny things.  So, this is the perfect place to display them all.  Oddly enough, one of the other cats jumps on the cabinet where this sits to get to his perch in front of the window, but he has never knocked one thing off the hutch.  Miracles of miracles!

Let's go outside for a minute.  I've always wanted to hang the big Santa head on the door, but couldn't figure it out.  This year, I configured the lights around the door so the cord looped back up to the side and then I shoved a 20 count set of lights into the Santa head and plugged it in to the end cord on the lights.  It works perfectly.  I would rather no cord, but I knew those battery operated lights would cost a fortune to run all month.  I snagged that Santa head of the MIL's porch when we cleaned out her house.  It hung there 365 days a year for years.  I grabbed it as a joke as this was before my vintage loving days.  Whodathunk it would be one of my favorite things one day?  

Oh, how I love my porch.  All my Santa blowmolds lined up like soldiers.  I want to find one more HUGE one to stand on the other side.  I will someday, I know it.  *fingers crossed.  I found that light up Merry Christmas sign after Christmas last year, so I was happy to be able to add it to the spectacle.  

Let;s go back inside - it is 9 degrees tonight!  Brrrrrr!

Kneehugger Central.  I had a lot of kneehuggers and my girl Carol sent me some more and then my friend Paula gave me even more!  So, I have quite the collection now.  I was collecting these long before the Elf on a Shelf made them so popular.  I found all the ones on the tree in an old Whitman's Sampler box at a sale years ago.  Those are the sort of finds we all always remember.

The Dime Store Decor.  Another favorite area of mine.  I hardly find anything to add to this collection anymore now that vintage is so hot and I tend to sell a lot of what I find now.  I did find something since I made this display, but it will have to wait until next year to be added in to the display.  

I found these four packages of LEAD tinsel at the thrift last week.  It's heavy and thick.  I have never seen it before.  Apparently, Ist Das Beste!  The packages aren't really old, but they aren't new either. But, I love the German graphics, so they will look great in there somehow.  If there is a will, there is a way!

Annalee Mice.  And Santa boots.  They go together in my world.  The shelf isn't wonky, the photo is wonky.  I love those old boots, but my requirement for buying them is that they have to have a name written on the bottom.  Or a date.  My favorite is from Mommie.  1949.

Annalee Santa's and Mrs. Claus with an occasional elf thrown in for good measure.  The big glittery Merry Christmas is just from the Dollar Tree, but it looks like it cost a lot more to me.

Par of the village.  Top shelf is all glittery churches, bottom is my dream house located between Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kreme.  I can dream, right?

Hazel got a new Christmas dress this year.  My self imposed $1.00 or less an outfit rule for her almost got broken when I saw the $1.50 price tag on this dress.  Luckily, it was half price day, so new duds it was!  Whew. That was close.  I'm pretty strict on myself.  :D *Note that she is wearing a 24Kt gold baby bracelet and a 14K gold child's watch all bought within the price limits.  

Gurley Candles.  I never find these, so they are all contained in this old clock cabinet.  In the back you will see The Bean's Kindergaren TP roll candle.  A keeper, for sure!

Friday I found TWO Gurley candles.  Still in the original plastic.  

Now I will have to work them into the clock cabinet.  

Are you tired yet?  Need a potty break>  A snack?  

I'll wait.

I never really appreciated or even liked these old plastic candy containers in the past.  But this year they are my NEW FAVORITE.  Why?  Who knows.  But I can't get enough for them so my radar is on point right now.  I haven't found any - but I am LOOKING!

Okay, now that you're back.  We're almost through.  This is where I usually put all my glass garland. I had a good year of finding glass garland.  So much, in fact, that I sold q lot of it at the Junk Ranch and at the booth.  So, I carefully place all my garlands on here  going this way and that and to and fro and stepped back for the big reveal and it was AWFUL.  Too much, too tacky and just not good at all. So, I took a lot of it down and just left the multi colored strands and a couple silver strands.  I added in the few elves that looked like they had been nipping on the eggnog and called it good.  But, it needed something at the top.  

Friday night I had a fitful night of sleep (We had a town emergency of a fatal car accident, gas main eruption, 100 foot high flames in a fire, all utilities cut and mandatory evacuations.  The fire burned for nine hours, taking out a duplex and everything in it.  It was a scary day and night - all of this was less than a half a mile from me.  The whole sky was glowing orange and the noise was so loud.  It was really a scary night.)  Anyway, as I was trying to think HAPPY THOUGHTS and try to go to sleep, I devised and made this wreath in my head.  Today, I actually made it.  My friend Paula had given me some kneehuggers that were not perfect - missing legs and hats or stained.  I hid their imperfections in the bottle brush trees and Shiny Brites.  I think it's kind of AWESOME.

Well, that's it. That's a lot, isn't it?  And, every single item is in my living room!  I like the WOW factor so I put it all in one room.    

Here's one last photo, but I will save that story for another day.  

SUCH A TEASE!