Holiday Home Tour

I DON'T live here!

'Tis the season for touring homes to view the elaborate Christmas decorations and "ooooh" and "aaaah" over the homes we wish we had.  The first tour I ever took was of historic homes in Ft. Scott, Kansas, with my mother-in-law.  The 100+-year-old homes were gorgeous and, of course, elaborately decorated.  

When I moved west, stately Victorians were tough to find.  The west end of Kansas lacked trees for lumber, and the wealthy businessmen who could afford to ship it in.  Home tours in our area tended to be less about the history of the homes and more about bragging on who could afford the newest home or elaborate remodel - or just plain nosiness.  I skipped them.  

A couple days ago, I was visiting with a fellow blogger and Twitter pal about the craft/decorating projects we found on Pinterest and tried in our own homes. She didn't want to post pictures of her creations because people would see her home and it didn't look like the pictures on Pinterest.  That struck me as kind of sad.  No one should be embarrassed by their home - few of us actually live in the grand houses we see online.  So, I decided to start my own Holiday Home Blog Tour.  It's fun to get to know the people behind the blog, so I'm hoping some of you will join me in posting pictures of your home decked for Christmas - regardless of size, age or legos in the carpet.

Our house is a 1950's ranch-style - living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, one bath, unfinished basement, and an enclosed breezeway between house and garage.  Plenty of space for the two of us.  We gladly sacrifice space indoors for the space outdoors.  Being a rental home, we don't put money into updating (and neither does the landlord, obviously) so we have outdated carpet, wood paneling in the breakfast nook, and ancient linoleum in the kitchen and bath.  But did I mention that OUTDOORS we have 2 acres, a huge garden plot and cattle for neighbors?  Welcome to Green Acres!

Come on in.  We have 3 trees this year . . .

The traditional...

the miniature . . .

and the retro aluminum.

The stocking are hung . . .
 by the coat closet with care?

My Santa collection mixed with my favorite Christmas books.

My newest addition: The Polar Express.
Still searching for house and figurines in proper proportion, but it's a start.

In the kitchen, there are some pretty dishes, knick-knacks, an Amaryllis . . .

. . . and some ornaments and book page trees in the window.

That concludes our home tour.  Thank you for visiting.  If you want to add your lovely home to the tour, just post a few pictures and leave a link in the comments.  I hope that more bloggers will give us a peek into their holiday decorated homes.  It's not about the cost of the decorations or the size of the house - it's about home, family and Christmas traditions.