These are a few of my favorite things!

Every year when I decorate for Christmas I get all nostalgic and think about how each of my favorite decorations came about. I love decorating and so I thought it would be fun to share a few of my most favorite decorations that are now decking my halls.

This is the candelabra that I haven't bought candles for yet. When I was growing up we always had dinner by candelight in December. My parents gave us these a few years ago and we love having candelight dinners for the month! The kids also love taking turns lighting them and blowing them out!

This isn't really a decoration because I have to hide it under my bed to keep it from Kate and Rocky. But it is special because it is an important tradition. My Grandma Strebel started it when I was little and then my Mom did it when I started having kids. After she died my Dad decided he would carry on the tradition himself. There is a bag for each day of December with a little goody or treat inside and the kids just love it! My Dad has totally outdone himself with the treats and he bought these cute new boxes this year.

This is my luminary for Phil. He made the picture in the middle and I wanted to make it more of a focus point this year so I added the candles on either side.

I love my tree that is full of ornaments from my girlfriends. I love taking them out each year knowing that my friends have the same ornaments on their trees. However, my favorite ornament is the one of my Mom and I also love my star that I made 11 years ago out of cardstock and twine. It has held up great and people always ask me where I got it!

I just love this spot. The stocking are the first ones that Richard and I had when we first got married.

This little quilting project is in my entry way and it is special to me because my Mom helped me make it at a Relief Society Super Saturday. I didn't know what I was doing and she helped me step by step and I think it is so darling!

I love my stockings (I got the pattern from Julianne, so I'm sure she has the same ones!) that I cross stitched. I love to do needlework and I worked on them each time I was pregnant.

I had to do a close up so you could see the details a little better.

These are all my nativity sets. I never tried to collect them, but these have all been given to me over the years and I love setting them up on the piano and having it be the true meaning of Christmas spot in our house.

This is the Nativity Set that Landon made when he was like 5 years old. He made it one night with a babysitter after I had given them some supplies- isn't it fun?

This is my favorite craft project. I have done ones for Halloween and Thanksgiving as well and they turn out super cute! It is just scrapbook paper mod podged onto a metal star! So fun and cute!

This is the advent calendar my Mom made. I can't even fathom the amount of work that went into it. But I love it because she made it and the kids love putting another ornament on the tree each day.

This is the house that Layne Huff made me years ago. She made it out of cardstock and it is a little replica of our house. I love it and I always think of when they used to live by us and we would get together and eat good food and sing Gift of Love and Alfred Burt Carols with Richard and John. Then Layne and I would play Ruloph, Sleigh Ride and Petersburger Schlittenfahrt duets on the piano.