A poorly documented festive house

I decorated the inside of the house (minus the tree) the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We put the lights up right after Thanksgiving and decorated the tree the week after Thanksgiving.  Basically everything was done by December 1st.  But do you think I properly photographed the house in all its glory?  No, no I did not.

This was the first year we did colored lights instead of white icicle lights, and these are the only outside pictures I have. 

Nick gave us about six boxes of brand new white icicle lights so we've decided we're going to alternate years.  It will be 2019 before I can take a proper picture of the colored lights.  

Fail.

At least I got the skiing pig from all angles. 

I took all of the inside pictures as I took decorations down. I really liked how everything looked this year, so I'll probably do a straight repeat next year. 

The wine sign was new and a great purchase. 

We continue to have major lighting issues with the tree.  The tree itself has held up very well, even after 11 years.  The lights.....a nightmare.  We even wrapped it with four strands this year and about half of those lights failed too.  We threw all those strands away so we are forced to start from scratch with lights next year. 

I feel like I finally got my Santa display on the top done the way I want it. 

The tin on the left belonged to my aunt.  I put it out long enough to take a picture and then I packed it.  The tin on the right was purchased by me in 2001.  It's amazing how perfectly they go together. 

I always decorate the little white tree with gold ornaments and then leave the tree out with the New Years decorations.  I never decorated it this year, despite the box of ornaments sitting out on the floor the entire month. 

The nutcracker in the blue shirt was my aunt's. 

The new frame and snow globes for 2017.  I'm actually going to gift the frame to somebody next year and I already have a new one to replace this one.  Elliott picked this one and it was like $5, so I was OK with it only lasting a year.  It's a long, complicated story, but this frame and snow globe will move locations two more times and I don't want the frame to say the year in its ultimate destination because its ultimate destination won't be in line with the two other frames that have the year on them.  I'm insane, I know. 

The little box was my aunt's.  I'm not sure where I will put it next year. 

I bought the Santa holding a nativity picture after Christmas 2016. 

And I bought this one this year. 

I pretty much quit taking pictures once I got to the dining room, so my apologies that you don't get to see the kitchen or family room.  They weren't really different from previous years though, so you're not missing much. 

I started taking decorations down last Friday, the 5th.  I used a mattress to block the front door so I could keep it open without Ginger escaping. 

I wanted to cry in the thick of it.  Such a mess. 

Ugh.

I made Michael pitch in a few solid hours when he got home from work, and everything but the tree and the wreaths was done by the time we went to bed that night. 

All the big hanging Santa's.

Christmas, all packed up and ready for another year in the garage. 

See you in late November decorations!