It Began With Red & Silver Garland

One thing that may surprise you to learn about my husband is that he LOVES HOLIDAYS!! He loves to decorate for Holidays and loves to go shopping for Holiday decorations. Christmas is his FAVORITE though! Brydon adores Christmas, but he is rather particular about his decorating. When we got engaged, he had one rather random request. He wanted our family to have a Red and Silver Christmas tree. And not just any Red and Silver Christmas tree, we were to use a specific red and silver garland (or tinsel if you ask Brydon) that his mother had used on their tree growing up and was saved just for Brydon to have. Fortunately for him, I love silver and although Christmas in my house was not themed, I couldn't deny my sweetheart his dream Christmas. So my dear hubby, brought a sentimental bag of tree garland into our marriage! And the decorating plans began! This year will be our 9th Christmas together and we have spent a lot of time gradually creating a magical Red and Silver Christmas at our home. We have been able to collect things on after Christmas sales or 50% off sales. Others have been gifts or just given to us. It does make shopping easy because we know exactly what we are going for. This year it feels like we have started to finally complete our look a bit and I feel pretty good about what we have come up with!  We have had so much fun decorating together.

For our 3rd Christmas together, we found a little Christmas shop that was going out of business.  They were selling beautiful Christmas lace and these cute village pieces for great prices.  That is when we discovered Department 56 villages.  We fell in love with the Dickens Christmas Village set that tells the story of the Christmas Carole and found two inexpensive pieces to begin our own village.  We soon discovered that this is not a cheap village to create but we fell in love with it so much!  And so we have decided to stay true to the brand and just gradually build our village over time.  Each year we have found or been given at least one small piece to add.  This year it is surprisingly big!  The village is how our family tells our family's story.  It most definitely reflects us and our lives.  One of our best friends has given us pieces such as a "Toast to Your Anniversary", a mother/teacher teaching a little boy to read, and a man polishing a large bell.  We have found village pieces in Rapid City when we go home and visit, in downtown Salt Lake, at Flee markets in Lancaster County, and others have been gifts.  We can tell you when and where and why we got each piece.  Neither of our families had a Christmas village, but this is a tradition we have loved and is something we get so excited about!

This year the village was large enough to move to the piano!

The best it has ever looked!

Tomorrow is our Anniversary and Christmas has always been a magical time for us.  A few years ago we found this Bride and Groom and had to have it!  But we could not find a church we liked or could afford at the time.  Last year for Christmas, Brydon's Mother gave us this church for Christmas.  Now the beginning of our family's story is complete!  Caleb calls it a temple and we are so excited to finally have a place for our Bride and Groom!  Isn't pretty!?!

Since I was able to visit Jerusalem for a study abroad, I love pulling out my Nativity and frankincense and myrrh.  These items have always been a focal point of our Christmas.

The Christmas Tree!!  It is a 6.5 foot Christmas tree and has 1300 lights on it.  Red of course!  Can you see the red and silver garland.  A few years ago we did find the exact same garland from Brydon's childhood and were able to replace it.  Brydon was so excited!  The moves have been a bit hard on the tree but it is hanging in there.

The Stockings all hung with care!

So truthfully we are a bit of Christmas Snobs!  If it isn't red or silver and isn't sentimental, we don't use it.  (I will even admit, a bit shamefully, that many random Christmas tree ornaments have been regifted!)  But not many people have a husband that truly loves Christmas this much and means so much to him.  If your husband had brought a bag of sentimental tree garland into your marriage, could you have said "No"?  I have to admit that he has sold me on a Red and Silver Christmas and now can honestly say we love decorating for Christmas!