Christmas mantels

Tcu Mayıs 29, 2022

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here--beginning with the mantels!

Our living room is at the center of our home, and this is the hearth that we gather 'round each night as well as on Christmas morning.

As usual, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care--Dad's, Mom's, Will's, Preston's, and Lee's. These stockings have been with us a long time--this is the 22nd Christmas that Will's has hung by our fire. Preston and Lee tease Will that his is the only stocking that faces left. I must admit that it's nice that the one odd stocking goes in the middle of the group.

I've recently realized that it's not very fashionable to keep the central art above our fireplaces the same no matter the season, but I've also realized that I'm not particularly fashionable anyway. I'm more of a traditionalist, and my mantelscapes reflect that aspect of my personality.

Here's the scene with the candles lit:

I've been on the hunt for pairs of mercury glass candlesticks for some time. I finally managed to collect three pairs, and I love the way they look on the mantel, both during the day:

and in the evening:

The mantelscape is completed with fresh greens and two of my DIY moss topiaries for added height. And, of course, our basket of Christmas books. Even though my boys have outgrown these books, they still get a kick out of picking them up and looking at them once a year. And I still cry when I read The Crippled Lamb or The Legend of the Candy Cane.

We're doubly blessed to have two fireplaces in this house. The second one is in Jack's study. This room is very masculine, with its stone fireplace and nautical art, so I keep the seasonal decor here very simple.

Don't you just want to curl up in that chair with a good book?

This year I made a couple of moss-covered trees for this mantel and placed them with a large pine cone I found in our yard. I added a fragrant garland and a couple of poinsettias and called it good.