O Holy Night...

the stars are brightly shining.

                                               

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Wishing everyone a blessed and joy filled Christmas! 

From: The House of Mugwump

Bits of Christmas

Agnes is all decked out for Christmas. This year our home is a little less decorated, but a little more formal...and a lot more Southern.

Nothing says Southern like magnolia leaves and boxwood. Doesn't Agnes look pretty with her boxwood garland and plaid bows?

Souvenirs from some of our travels grace the sideboard.

Vaillancourt  Santas...

are so colorful!

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Today's tea tray...Susan Branch Santa mug and Rae Dunn napkins. 

Our wonderful neighbor makes a new ornament every year for our family and some others on our street. He cuts them from wood and paints them. I think this little guy is our all time favorite.

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On Friday night, my husband was coming home from his Christmas office party. He was stopped at a red light and right in front of him two cars, going in opposite directions, crashed into each other. One driver took off and then the other driver went after him. It all happened outside a local watering hole...a.k.a. bar. More than likely both drivers were under the influence and wanted nothing to do with any police that might show up to investigate. Our county police force had road checks all over and MrMW saw all sorts of cars pulled over. Please be careful if you are out and about the next couple of days and nights!

Hope you are staying warm and enjoying some special time with family.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Bits of Christmas & a trip to Bethlehem

This jolly fellow spends every December in our kitchen. Unbelievably, he has been a part of every one of my Christmases. My parents bought this Frosty almost seventy five years ago. My sister, who is in her early seventies, left her teeth marks on his backside many, many years ago. He is one of Annie's favorite Christmas decorations and we are happy he's still going strong all these years later.

The Girls are enjoying all the holiday goings on from their baskets above the sink.

They are draped in berries and twinkly lights...

and small glowing candles.

They look so pretty when the lights are out. I'll have to try to remember to snap a pic later tonight.

My four o'clock tea time is sacred to me. A pretty Susan Branch Christmas cup and a floral napkin make it all the more enjoyable. Napkins are something Annie and I are crazy about. Caspari paper goods never disappoint. Homegoods is a good source. A bayberry candle is always burning at our house during the season.

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The church at the top of our street constructs an elaborate town of Bethlehem every year. We, and our neighbors, affectionately call it Drive Thru Jesus.

This is a huge undertaking and requires hours of preparation. It runs for three nights. We hopped in the car last night...Annie and I in our jammies...and went back in time over two thousand years.

Parishioners and their families bring the story to life. (Love all the venerable live oaks overhead).

Characters come up to your car and ask you questions..."There is a family looking for shelter, have you seen them"?

Incense burns and the din of the market make the scene so real.

Joseph and Mary are looking for a place to stay.

Angels...

and Wise Men follow the star.

They find the family in a stable. 

We were so impressed by this lovely production of the Christmas Story. It will become a yearly part of the season for us. Annie thought it was just wonderful! We made a great memory...in our jammies!

Hope you are keeping warm and enjoying the magic of Christmas1

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Santa feather tree...

The afternoon sunlight was lighting up our antique Santa tree yesterday. I did not get my antique feather tree out this year and instead used a new repo tree. It is smaller than the antique tree, and holds only a small amount of our antique German Santas. I love these old loved ornaments that show their age. 

It's a great size! Much easier to put up and take down...and store. 

Under the tree is a "new" antique German Noah's Ark. It, too, is on the smaller size. I like the simple look of these oldies together.

Hope you are enjoying these magic days of Yuletide. It's a welcome cold day here in sunny Florida. 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Christmas with Mickey...

We are home from a few days with Mickey and friends....and our BOG (Board of Governors) family.

It was fun being there at Christmas. We stayed at the Contemporary Resort...the oldest hotel at the park. It's the one where the monorail runs right through the building on the way to the many parks.

We're not really Disney people. We took Annie when she was little and she was petrified of all the critters that kept coming up to her. She loved the Country Bears Jamboree and that was about it. 

We stayed at the hotel and visited with our friends. Annie had a grand time exchanging gifts with her gal pals and eating lunch with the Board. 

We enjoyed all the shops decked out for Christmas...and added a few pins to our collection. Annie picked a keychain to add to her owl bag.

Mickey says Merry Christmas!

I have bags to unpack and mounds of laundry to conquer...and Christmas decorations that sit in boxes in various rooms. Something tells me those boxes will remain unopened.  But we had a fun trip and made some memories. 

We are so happy to come home after our trips!

We had a nice Thanksgiving and Annie has enjoyed telling friends we bought a new black car on Black Friday. We knew we needed new wheels before long, but the sudden death of the A.C. and the four thousand dollar cost of repairing it was the catalyst that sent us to the dealership. It's a beauty, a 2020...doesn't that sound weird? Way too many bells and whistles for me, but I guess that's a sign of the times.

Hope to be back soon with some "Bits of Christmas."

Hope you are all enjoying the magic out there!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

p.s. I'll share more about our "Founding Fathers and Mothers Tree" shown in my header next time.