I explained in my last post why I’m a little late getting the decorations up, so I won’t go into that again. Today I am trying to finish the mantel and other vignettes in the living room. When you last saw the mantel, it looked like this. Today I am doing my best to morph it into Christmas! Many years ago, (1979, if you remember), I wanted to make stockings for our first Christmas together. I ordered the blue ones on the left from a crafting and needlework catalog (that was before the internet, folks!). Maybe the name of the catalog was Lee Ward’s, but I’m not really sure. Anyone know the name of that company that sent out catalogs of needlework kits? Anyway, these two stockings were in an applique’ kit that came with everything in it, felt, sequins, thread, etc. I was not an extremely accomplished crafter, but worked on hard on them and completed them in time for our first Christmas. Three years later, we added our son and I wanted to do a similar type of applique stocking. I found the Santa with the puppy applique’ kit (I guess from the same catalog), and completed it for him.

The happy couple shortly after their engagement.

Fast forward thirty years. Although Callie and Russell had been dating about four years and I had gotten her Christmas gifts in the past, I had never thought of having a Christmas stocking for her until they got engaged. I looked online and in stores and could never find one that looked right with the ones that I already had. One day David said, “Why don’t you try eBay?” I’m an inveterate eBay shopper, and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that myself. Hoping to find something similar that would look good with our existing stockings, you can imagine my surprise when I saw the exact same kit that I had made for Russell all those years ago! I showed it to David, and he said, “Bid as high as you need to,” (very unusual comment from Mr. Cheapskate). As you can tell, I won the bid, and we got the stocking finished just in time for Christmas. Later Callie told Russell that it really made her feel a part of the family.

This is the  last time that you saw the Christmas salt and pepper shakers, and I now have morphed them into various vignettes around the living room. On the mantel, I have added red tapers to my brass candlesticks (wedding gifts) and my vintage Santa Claus, one of my most prized possessions. I got him about fifty years ago and have always loved it. Since Santa was on the mantel, I decided to use Santa and Mrs. Claus sets only. I also added one of my brass trays and the NOEL stocking holders that I found at Dirt Cheap the same year that I made the stocking for Callie. Previously we had three stocking holders that were in the form of different Christmas characters (teddy bear, snowman, Santa) and were very brightly colored. I wanted something more elegant and less childlike, and I felt very lucky to find these.

The waving Mr. and Mrs. Santa were a birthday gift from a friend about fifteen years ago. I received the Mrs. Santa holding the lantern for Santa as he goes down a chimney when I was in high school, so that certainly makes them vintage.

I chose the Mr. and Mrs. Santa in rocking chairs in an antique mall several years ago. I guess they are resting after their busy Christmas season. Almost twenty years ago, I admired the kissing Mr. and Mrs. Santa while at a friend’s house for a Christmas get together. The next morning she brought them to me! She is very sweet like that.

The three-tiered table is next to the flat screen (I’ll tell the story of the getting the new flat screen another time), and the photo of it does not show up that well. I put my small brass candlesticks on the top tier, then more shakers on the other tiers.

The Santa with his sack of gifts came from an antique mall almost fifteen years ago, and a friend gave me the snowmen next to them. The Mr. and Mrs. Santa in front of them are vintage, and I am pretty sure that they are Bakelite.

The next row contains the rest of the snowmen sets. I purchased the waving snowmen in the middle at a flea market many years ago, and I can’t remember where the kissing boy and girl holiday angels came from. The other two snowmen sets, the Santa Claus set on the tray, and the snowman set I mentioned previously were all given to me by a former colleague. Her birthday is on Dec. 4 and mine is on Dec. 2. She and I taught next door to each other for many years, and we usually gave each other a little “happy” on our birthdays. I had a good time remembering those years when I unpacked those sets that she gave me. 

The shelf on the entertainment center contains a beautiful snowglobe set, a kitchen set featuring Christmas trees (gift from my son when he was in elementary school), silver-plated musical angels, and glass Santa boots.

I took some closeups of the snowglobes and the angels to show some of the detail. Unfortunately, the shots still aren’t really that good and just don’t do the beauty of these sets justice.

My pics really aren’t good, but one is playing a flute and the other is playing a violin. I think it’s great that I’ve had these musical angels for many years, and my son married a violinist.

I put my other brass tray on the coffee table and topped them with these vintage Santa boots. My mother-in-law gave me these many years ago.

I also decided to display the Christmas trees on the coffee table. The crystal ones with different colored stones on them are Lenox collectibles, a birthday gift from my mother several years ago.

I’m not quite sure if I remember where the ceramic trees came from, but I think I got them from my teacher friend mentioned above. I think that I picked up the little Christmas houses at an antique mall, and they are very unusual. They may even have been made by someone in a ceramics class or something since they really don’t look very “polished.” But they are really cute, and I have always liked them.

Thanks for allowing my trip down memory lane and following my mantel metamorphosis. I hope you enjoy your own memories as you get out your Christmas decorations from years past!

I am joining: A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday (vignettes, tabletops, tablescapes), Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life (decorating, gardening, recipes, collecting),  Sunny Simple Life (decorating, projects), Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday (tablescapes) and Metamorphosis Monday, Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage (crafts, home decor, thrifty finds),  Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday (deocrating, garden, projects),  Under the Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase (any project or idea made by you this week), The Charm of Home for Home Swee Home (home & garden), Cuisine Kathleen for Let’s Dish (tablescapes), Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill (home decor, projects, recipes), Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense (recipes, projects, decorating),  The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday (tablescapes),The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday (thrifty decorating, tablescapes),Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now (recipes, crafts, home décor), Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much (projects, decorating, recipes),  Spotlight Saturday at Classy Clutter (recipes, crafts, home décor), Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage (decorating, crafts), Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound (anything pink),You’re Gonna Love It Tuesdays at Kathe with an E (recipes, crafts, home décor), Mop it Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor (projects, decor, recipes), Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style (recipes, crafts, home décor), Potpourri Friday at 2805 (decorating, recipes, crafts),  Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House (decor, projects), Flaunt your Fall at Chic on a Shoestring (decor, projects, recipes),  Tuesday’s Treasures at Uncommon Suburbia (projects, decorating, recipes),  Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life (home decor, projects), Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters (centerpieces),Open House Party at No Minimalist Here (crafts, home décor), Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage (memories, projects), Tips and Tidbits at The Stone Gable(projects, home décor, recipes),Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine’s Corner (projects, home décor, recipes), Sizzle into Summer at DIY by Design (home décor, projects)