Our Home at Christmas

This year I decided to participate in The Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes, so this post shows what our home looks like at Christmas time. If you would like to browse through pictures of other homes at Christmas, click on the Tour of Homes link above and you will find lots of great decorating ideas, recipes, fun decorations to make with your kids, and pictures of beautiful things that just delight the soul.

I'll try not to narrate too much but let the pictures speak for themselves.



(skates my husband actually wore when he was a little boy!)


This is our entryway, so the nativity is the first thing you see when you come in. I love our nativity set, and I love seeing it every time we enter our home, reminding us what the true meaning of Christmas is.


We even have a little nativity in our half bathroom!




In our dining room we added a new decoration this year, the homemade orange pomanders our children made (from oranges and whole cloves). Our dining room smells sooooo good!


Gingerbread houses made by our three oldest children.


Winter village on our piano.


The mantle in our family room.



And under the mantle, our toy nativity that the children play with each year.

And finally..... the tree!


Some of my favorite ornaments:




Finishing the tour in my kitchen, here are some cookies and hot chocolate to share!

Oatmeal Jam Cookies

Mix together in very large bowl:

1 1/2 cups butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups oatmeal

Mix well. Place a dollop of dough on greased cookie sheet. Put about 1/2 tsp of jam on top of dough, and top this with a 1/2 tsp (or less) more of dough. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Jam will appear as a "ring" around top of cookie after baking. Enjoy!