Christmas Tour of Homes 2009

Casa de phillips is all a' sparkle these days as we sit and enjoy the twinkling lights of Christmas from the comfort of our couch. I am touring along this fine December day with The Nester as she hosts the annual blog Christmas Tour of Homes.

If you are new here...Welcome. Casa de phillips is made up of one husband, one wife, a four year old little boy and a 2.5 year old little girl.

The first stop on our tour today is the Christmas tree, which is mainly decorated in reds and golds (including the wrapped presents below its branches). Because we live by the philosophy that a tree can never have too many lights. we actually add two strands of lights to our pre-lit tree. We string them up through the middle, which makes the tree absolutely glow.

After many discussions and rearranging of furniture (some of which is now housed in the garage during the holiday season), we opted to place our tree by the piano this year. I was skeptical at first, but now love having it in that section of the room. If only one of us could actually play the piano decently, then the family could sit by the tree and sing carols.

Oh well. Maybe next year.

The best thing about our tree is the two little ones who are often found underneath it.

Our tree has many special ornaments. My favorites are our name ornaments, a tradition I begin the Christmas my husband and I were engaged (a tradition I also totally copied from "Days of Our Lives". Who can resist the yearly Christmas episode when the Horton Family ornaments are pulled out?)

Our family ornament

The husband and my ornaments





The children's ornaments

Our stockings are hung with care on the mantle. These beauties are from Pottery Barn, where I also purchased the adorable picture frame stocking holders to go with them. Then I realized that said ornament holders were made out of very solid iron. I also realized that casa de phillips is home to two very curious preschoolers. Hoping to avoid any and all trips the ER this holiday season, I opted to keep my beautiful stocking holders stashed away this year and am using clear plastic hooks instead.

The mantle also holds a portion of my Santa collection. Every year I purchase a Santa, being sure to mark the date on the bottom. This was the first year that I broke a Santa and was unable to fix him. The children were aghast at the thought of a missing Santa, but fortunately it was one purchased during my college years and was not that great.

A new section of Christmas decor this year is the holiday toy table. We own several pieces of the Little People Christmas village as well as a Nativity set made for little fingers. These toys have a home of their own where they can be enjoyed on a daily basis (they live in storage eleven months out of the year, which makes them terribly exciting during the month of December). I am in search of a cute, cheap red bucket to house some of the bigger train pieces which simply live on the floor next to this table.

Random groupings of Santas, twinkling lights and pictures can be found all over the living room.

The piano decor...which is home to more Santas, pictures, and twinkling lights. One can never have too many twinkling lights, in my opinion

Pre-children I used to set the table in festive holiday dinnerware as if we were expecting company at any moment. Such tabletop decor no longer works. I have made peace with plastic placemats and simple decorations in the kitchen, knowing once the children are off to college my elaborate table scape can return.

I always spruce up the light over our table

Collection of Christmas plates above the fridge

I *heart* Christmas trees and have a few scattered around the house.

Here is the tree in the master bedroom.

Each child also has a tree in their room, complete with theme.

We found out Miss E. was a girl the week before Christmas 2006. I rushed out and began her snowman collection that very day. Every year I add a snowman to her stash, being sure to mark the date on each one. This year was the first year that she helped choose her snowman (the glitter one to the left of the tree). Her tree's theme is pink and green.

As our four year old little boy starts to leave his baby years behind, we decided to change the theme of his tree this year. It has been safari animals in the past but now has a global theme. Isaac loves geography and maps. Every night the husband teaches him a new country's name and location on his globe (he is up to knowing about 100 different countries).

When I discovered tree garland with tiny globes affixed to it, I knew we had a new tree theme for Isaac.

Thanks for touring casa de phillips this holiday season. Be sure to leave a comment so I can tour your home as well.

In the midst of being a stay-at-home mom, I also dabble in freelance writing. Take a minute to tour a few Christmas articles.

Getting the perfect Christmas card photo

Our un-picture perfect experience trimming the tree

Sugar Cookies 101

Creating Family Traditions this holiday season

Preparing children to meet Santa

Top 5 ways to ruin the holiday season

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!