In this "special edition" post, Abigail highlights our holiday decor from our very first Christmas living at Hummingbird Hollow.
We were anxiously awaiting our first Christmas at Hummingbird Hollow. In fact, we've been waiting since last Christmas when some unfortunate health issues prevented us from celebrating here. However, this year proved to be everything we had been hoping for and more. Last year, we wouldn't have been able to decorate the way that we had wanted to since so many projects were unfinished during the winter months; so with the siding complete, electrical finished outside, and the completion of many different rooms in the house; we were able to deck the halls the way Hummingbird Hollow was always meant to look...a vision that we had since we first saw the house in August 2014.
Outside
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| "Our Christmas Eve Tree" |
This tree is next to our mailbox at the entrance to Hummingbird Hollow. The Tractor Supply store was selling trees on Christmas Eve for $4.99 and we couldn't resist! We intend to make this a Christmas Eve tradition to welcome our guests up the hill for Christmas parties.
The barn was the only part of our property that was decorated for Christmas last year. I had hung the garland the week before I went to the hospital and never imagined that I would not return to our home for five months. This year, we happily hung the garland, wreaths, lights, and candles throughout the property. The farm certainly transformed into a winter wonderland this year and we couldn't be happier!
Entry / Living Room
Our front hall and living room had been my favorite rooms to decorate in the Spring, Summer, and Fall because the shelving that flanks the fireplace allowed for more creativity with decor. I never realized how much I loved our living room until Christmas time. I do love the decor and how many memories are attached to so many of our decorations but I particularly love this room because we were able to seat our entire family to create our very first Christmas memories at Hummingbird Hollow. Even with this massive tree, we comfortably sat 15-20 people at a time in this room. We look forward to creating more memories in this room as our family grows over the years.
Dinning Room
While this year had been difficult for us with my cancer diagnosis, it was important for us to recognize the "JOY" that this holiday (and every day) brings us. We have overcome so many obstacles and we are grateful and feel blessed to have been able to open our home to so many throughout the holidays. If you look closely, the word "JOY" (Jesus.Others.Yourself) is subtly spotted in many of our rooms. It is no doubt the word that best describes our gratitude toward god, our friends, family, home, and the lives we have built together.
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| Ted cut these festive coasters out of the base of our Christmas tree! |
As you can see, this room has a "Woodland Creatures" theme. I started doing themes in my head long before it was even time for the holidays. However, I never really realized these were theme rooms until I started sorting my decor. The decorations in this room were inspired by the woodland brush ornaments that my mother purchased for me the year we purchased the farm. To say that we are "planners" would be an understatement! However, she knew these cute little creatures would be the perfect fit for our home. I tried to keep many of the natural wood elements in this room (complete with decorations we made out of the trunk from our first Christmas tree at the farm). You'll notice that there is one element that I can't resist in Christmas decor, though....a little glitter!
The Office
The office's theme had to be manly since Ted is the only one who uses this room. However, beyond being "manly", Ted and I both have been very sentimental about Christmases that have past and hope to create the fun memories we so fondly remember with our own family. So, we decided to call this tree, "The Tree of Christmases Past and Present." When we first met, Ted and I hosted a Christmas party at his home and invited friends over to decorate ornaments for our first Christmas tree. We spent hours making holiday designs on ornaments, laughing, eating, and listening to Christmas Carols. These ornaments were just meant to be for fun but they now have a home on our "Past Tree". Strangely, no one signed their ornaments, but we can remember who decorated each ornament and are so pleased to say that we are still friends with these friends many years later! Oddly enough, as photo cards become more and more popular, we began struggling with finding enough room for our cards and thought how on earth will we be able to display these? Well, that is where the tree of the "Past" also became the tree of the "Present." One day, while Ted was at work, I decided to organize our cards and thought there must be a better way to display them! So, I pulled all the clips off of Ted's bulletin board and hung every photo card that we received onto our tree. We love looking at this tree because it isn't "just" a tree. It is a tree full of so many memories, friendships, sentiment, and love. We once thought this retro tree, with old fashioned lights, would just be a cool looking addition to our home but it has certainly grown into something larger than that!
My love for red plaid certainly is evident in this room. Strangely, as I write this, I am wearing red plaid pajama pants. I think red plaid is such a statement in Christmas decor not just because of it's current trend, but because it is a throwback to Christmases in the past. I can remember a Christmas where my little brother and I got matching red plaid pajamas on Christmas Eve. My nightgown even came with a plaid bonnet and I can recall being sad when these things didn't fit me anymore. My father was always wearing plaid pajamas or flannels at Christmas and to this day, we buy him a new plaid flannel shirt for Christmas and my mom often gets a new plaid nightgown. These are memories that will never fade and adding these elements into our decorations make celebrating the holidays in this home with our family even more significant.
Kitchen
Since we have not yet built our front porch, our guests enter our sun room and walk straight into our kitchen when they arrive. It is often the most popular gathering spot for parties and gatherings so we had to include the kitchen when it came to decorating! We are so fortunate to have such a large fireplace in the kitchen to warm and welcome our guests. When we purchased the home, I never would have imagined how beautiful this kitchen would be at Christmas! Our pictures don't do it justice because we were always too busy entertaining to get a shot of the entire room but like the history of this home, one can just imagine the beauty and gatherings that have occurred here over the past 200 years!
Sun room
The sun room was the first room that I decorated for Christmas. By the time I got through half of the boxes from our old cape cod, I wondered if we would even have enough decorations for the rest of the house! I'm sure after getting this far in our blog you are wondering, "how do they have enough time to do all of this?" Our answer is simple, I started decorating at Halloween! I would never have thought I would do something like this but juggling a home renovation, hosting parties, and decorating for Christmas would be a daunting task if we didn't get a jump start on the holidays. By decorating the sun room first, we were welcomed home from a long day of work with a beautiful Christmas tree shining brightly through our backdoor. Even in early November, it was a glimpse into the beauty that was in store for Hummingbird Hollow in December.
Guest Bathroom
When people ask how many Christmas trees we have at the farm, I giggle because I'm not quite sure how to explain the tree that I put into our guest bathroom. Everyone has a tree in their bathroom, right? One of our guests did say that if you ever have a child who is potty training, just bring them to our house during the holidays! There is apparently something magical about a tree in the bathroom for those who are potty training!
Bedrooms
My mother was so great about adding a little slice of the Christmas spirit into our bedrooms when we were children. Even with four children, she somehow found the time to add a few Christmas decorations into our rooms to make it special. Currently, Ted and I don't have any children but since we love to entertain, we chose to continue my mom's tradition and decorate the bedrooms for our guests. We felt that it would make things even more inviting if the room had some holiday flair! Our guest room had simple touches including a small tree of gingerbread ornaments, some snowmen, and a lot of greenery.We also included some festive throw pillows and blankets in both rooms to add some softer elements to the rooms. In the room we are currently using as our master, I chose to add greenery and lights around our bed frame and on our chimney. I loved this look and found myself actually enjoying folding laundry because it meant being surrounded by twinkling lights. One of my favorite things about decorating for Christmas is the lighting. I find the soft glow of white lights to be so soothing after a long day at work, sitting in traffic, or the long lines that go hand in hand with the holiday season. I am one of those people who gets sad as the New Year rings in. I find taking down the holiday decorations (especially the lights) to be so disappointing. However, as I sit here writing this entry on New Year's Day 2017, there are Christmas boxes piled high for storage behind me, Ted is taking lights off of the barn, and I am already scheming my January decor and figuring out ways to hold on to those twinkling white lights just a little bit longer.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. May you find JOY in 2017 and look back on 2016 with as much gratitude, blessings, happiness and love as we have cherished this year.
