Do you know exactly how you want to decorate for Christmas?
How about your bedroom?
For me, decorating seems to evolve
from a vague beginning
that is changed, added to, and rearranged
over a period of several days.
Yes, Christmas Day has come and gone,
but the Christmas season is far from over,
especially at my house.
You have heard of the twelve days of Christmas,
but have you heard of the thirty days of Christmas?
The thirty days do not have to end with Christmas Day.
All the frenzy leading up to Christmas becomes
a slow-paced relaxing rejuvenation after December 25.
My
Christmas Bedroom
is an example of an ongoing
decoration process over the Christmas season and
during the non-hurried days after Christmas Day.
The first challenge is finding Christmas decorations in
bleu.
The angel pillow is the first thing to appear when I begin
bedroom Christmas decorations each year.
This angel is my all-time favorite angel.
Over the years I have found many variations of this pose in
Christmas cards.
This framed Christmas card is in the living room.
At one time the colors were vibrant mauves, corals, and blues.
Because the card is displayed all year,
the sun has faded the colors into softer muted tones.
For several days, the angel pillow was the only
sign of Christmas in the bedroom.
Well into the thirty days...
The second challenge is finding greenery that will not dry out
over thirty days of Christmas.
A little rectangular preserved boxwood bouquet appeared,
found at Tuesday Mornings, a discount decor store.
The perfect backdrop for a favorite Christmas photo taken
many Christmases ago by my brother-in-law who is now deceased.
The photos on the chest of drawers stay out all year,
but are special reminders at Christmas of the ones I love and hold dear.
Six of the people in the photos are no longer with me physically,
but all are with me in my heart every day, not just at Christmas.
Looking at photos of the bedroom, not my loved ones, gives one
an eye-opening perspective.
The bedding needs fluffing and spiffing for Christmas.
Out comes the down comforter to replace the quilt.
The white sheet and pillowcases with the blue scalloped trim,
freshly laundered and ironed, look perfect with the toile pillow covers.
The white flannel sheet with its lacy embroidered border looks like winter
and is an extra layer that easily can be thrown back to adjust how much
warmth is wanted on a cold winter night.
The sheet is several years old and has begun to show its age.
The top was tattered and torn from washing, drying, and
softening with fabric softeners
over many years.
I could not bear just to throw it out.
A first fix, with a promise to find a better solution, was
to trim away the top of the sheet following the
embroidered pattern.
Part of the first fix was also to carefully hand stitch a few
torn places in the embroidery.
Boxwood
A solution for long-lasting greenery...
Preserved boxwood lasts for many years when
spritzed with water occasionally,
but has been out of my budget.
I have pined for boxwood wreaths for so long, but have resisted spending the money.
Then along came Decor Steals with a price within my budget.
~***~A Christmas present to me...***~
A boxwood wreath on the print above the bed says,
*~"Christmas"~*
and will last far beyond this year's thirty days of Christmas.
Hung with a second blue ribbon from the top of the wood paneling
adds another touch of blue curls
without damaging the paneling.
My husband made all the paneling in our bedroom and dining area.
He "floated" thick pine panels set inside pine borders.
He used a router to create all the ogee edges
on the borders and to create the raised panel sections.
He reluctantly consented for me to paint them blue.
Every time I look at them I see him working on them.
The thirty days of Christmas at my house are still in progress.
The bedroom will probably receive a few more Christmas touches,
but here is how it looks today.
The best part is being able to relax under the soft flannel sheet and
fluffy down comforter, without feeling any of the Christmas frenzy.
❦
~~~~~~~~~~
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