Decking Halls

The holiday season crept up on us. Usually we have a plan - foods we want to make, cards mailed out well in advance, some obligatory gifts bought or made, and travel plans nailed. But this year, there will be no travel, no out of town visitors, no original holiday music created, and maybe only a few baked treats.

We even got an early start with warm festive drinks, and even putting up not 1 but 2 holiday trees the day after Thanksgiving. But somehow hosting a baby shower, attending a wedding, performing on stage at a company holiday party (the bf, not me), movie night, theme park, an unexpected home project, and being sick twice didn't help.

This is what we've managed. And at this point, it's not worth it to go any further, right?

Stockings for each human and each canine (although they are empty)

Candy cane ornaments hung from the chandelier

Tinsel garland wrapped along the banisters

Yet even more (a lot more) stockings strung up on a tension curtain rod hung in our pass through

Holiday cards sitting on the ledge of the pass through below the multitude of stockings

Also on the pass through ledge, a Christmas Tree scented candle because our artificial trees have none, alongside some glass tea light holders (received as a gift a few years ago)

And some surprise gifts from beloved (and slightly stubborn) family

The gift on the left is not from me, but wrapped by me - yep it's wrapped in comics. And the white box on the bottom right is still in it's shipping box because if I know my parents well enough, the gift itself is not wrapped (wrapping would add to additional shipping weight, duh).

I welcome any easy or thrifty holiday decor ideas you may have.
Next year we'll do better...