DesignsandEvents: Lights of the Season

Well, Christmas is just over a week away. How are you doing with all of your Christmas "things"? I am getting there but, by no means, am I done. I am enjoying the season anyway even with the busyness I am experiencing. I try to make it a point to take in as many moments as I can during the season.

One of the Christmas "things" I always enjoy are the lights of Christmas. At my house it starts with a small spark as I add the candle lights to the windows and then a string or two in the planters on the front step and then it crescendos to where I have added lights to every room in the house! I would like to share a little bit of those lights today if that is OK with you.

I suppose the most dramatic spot in my house is the living/dining room. It is the largest room in the home and has a cathedral ceiling leading out to the back of the house with windows everywhere. This room was what made my husband fall in love with the house as soon as he saw it so many years ago when we were house hunting in the Groton area. For me, it took several years to appreciate its grandeur. I was in love with vintage Victorians at the time but, after owning two in other towns we found we couldn't afford the price tag of the few available Victorians in this area of New England. It all worked out, however. I have come to love the architecture of this home, as well.

Anyway, this room is especially dramatic at Christmastime with all the lights and windows~

We chose a slightly shorter Christmas tree this year. It is just Tom and myself at home now and I wasn't up to decorating a 12' tree for some reason. The slightly shorter one has more than sufficed this time around.

I created an ice-crystal kind of backdrop for the angel. I feel it gives her a place of prominence. We even wound a string of gold lights behind the crystals to give her that Heavenly glow.

I dragged out this old wreath I made years ago. I have added and added to it as time has passed. This year I added a string of lite-up bell lights. I am not sure they show that well in the photo now that I look more closely at it but in real life the lights look quite lovely.

Moving into the family room there is a themed artificial tree with "rustic cabin" ornaments hung on it. Sorry, this photo is not the best :/

At my daughter Brittany's insistence I purchased this climbing Santa. She told me that Gramma and Pooba (my husband's grandfather title--it's a long story why he is called that. Hahaha!) just had to have something fun like this for their tree. If you saw all the Christmas do-dads I own, you'd know that Gramma and Pooba are fun enough! But, I bought it anyway.

This lite-up truck is one of my favorite decorations. It is relatively new. I think this is its second

year in the house.

Moving out to the side yard you see this view through the glass windows of the front door.

More Christmas lights to see~

Because we were walloped with two large early snowstorms I never got around to lighting up the outside of the shed the way I wanted. However, my husband always decorates a tree with multi-colored lights inside the shed. I think it looks beautiful! The lights reflect off of all the windows and give an abundant lighting effect.

Here is the view of the shed from the bedroom window. Kind of magical~

Natural lights are more beautiful than the man made ones, don't you agree?

I wanted to share some other holiday lights with you, as well. I had nothing to do with these lights. The next few photos are from Tower Hill Botanical Gardens in Boylston, Massachusetts. I took a field trip with some of my garden club friends last week and here are a few highlights of what we saw.

I think this was my favorite display at the gardens. I thought the green and blue (showing purple here) were so beautiful! Do you see the moon rising in between some of the trees? It was a perfect night for viewing.

And finally, this plaque doesn't have any lights of its own. I digitally added them. I saw this wall- hanging at Michael's and simply had to have it. The saying always touches my heart and I wanted it to be displayed in my home. The funny thing is, without my knowing, my daughter, Amanda, had purchased the same plaque for her home. I guess it touches her heart ❤ too~