Christmas Decorations for Fireplace Mantel

 My fireplace has been my area to always have looking nice. When my kids were younger, and even as they have gotten older, they made it hard to have nice decorations without them getting into them. The mantel has been my claim. To high for them to reach - perfect for fun decor! I love trying to find new ideas and making different arrangements with my things to make it look nice ll through out the year. This is the focal point of the living room so I try to have it decorated instead of being a catch-all. Which is pretty much what every other flat surface is in my house.
On the hearth, where little hands do reach, I keep our nativity that the kids can play with. I also keep a basket of Christmas books, puzzles, and stuffed Christmas bears that they can enjoy through the season. A lighted garland is the backdrop for the top of the mantel with red candles on my black, spiral, 3-teird stands. A tea-light glass star hangs from a stand on one end with my clock on the other. On top of my mirror is draped a glitter coated red berry garland. It's beautiful all lit up at night!

 

I struggle with bouncing between elegant and whimsical style decor for Christmas. My eye is drawn to both. My project this year was to find new decorations for my wall shelves above my piano and I went with whimsical! Love the decorations this time of year. The hard thing is that the house seems so empty when it all gets put away. That's the time my Mom always said to go out and buy one new thing for your house for a little "lift-me-up" for those after the holiday blues.

But right now, I'm loving the evenings of December with the twinkling of the lights!