Christmas Pyramids!

Christmas pyramids are yet another one of my favorite Christmas decorations.

It is unknown when they originated, but it is thought as early as the 1500s from the Erzgebirge region in Germany.

How do they work?

The heat from the candles rise, causing the blades above to spin.  In a dimly lit room, the figures dance on the ceiling and walls.

They come in all sizes.

Here are mine:

The rabbit one is powered only by wind.  Set him under a heating vent and he will turn!

The one below is one I got at an estate sale.  I have never seen anything like him before. 

I don’t know his age, probably at least 1960s or older.

The candles provide the power, and then when the fan turns it rings a bell.  I had this one sitting under a vent… it turned annoying very quickly!

antique pyramid

 Here is my kitty cat wind powered pyramid:

My “big” pyramid, a single tier, sits in the center of the table.  I never took a picture directly of this one!

A sampling of single tier pyramids:

By Christian Ulbricht, love how the birds fly above

Another single tier pyramid.  Single tier are the most popular.

a more modern pyramid, I like how it resembles a palm tree

Now, double tier!

a very fancy pyramid

another double tier! from Kathe Wohlfahrt

And now… THREE tier!

three tiers!

Three tiers not big enough? How about… FOUR TIERS!

from Kathe Wohlfahrt

 another 4 tier….

oh my goodness, FIVE TIERS! They had to add another tier of candles to power this baby!

Not big enough for you? You can buy a 6 tier pyramid! (Note, this one is electric!)

a colorful large pyramid

And of course, the Germans have a really big pyramid in the center of a Chriskindlmarkt.  How cool is that?!

And, another German city has a large pyramid as well.

a very large pyramid!

What size pyramid do you want to have?  I am thinking either a 3 or 4 tier pyramid for me.  The question is, go for the painted colorful ones or go for the natural wood ones?  Another question, Nativity themed or Winter themed? What do you think? Help me decide!

Images from Erzgebirge Palace unless otherwise noted.  These are all for sale, I highly recommend visiting their website and checking them out. (I have no financial interests in this company).

.. say what?

Schwibbogen.  Shwi (short i)- BOW-gen (gen as in again).

I know you’ve seen it before. Maybe you just haven’t heard of its name.

It’s a candle arch made of wood.  It started over 250 years ago in the Erzgebirge region in Germany.

Some light up with candles. Others with lights.

Below is the one I own:

The nativity scene is one of the most popular scenes, for obvious reasons.

from Kathe Wohlfahrt

Kathe Wohlfahrt

from Erzgebirge palace

from Erzgebirge palace

from Kathe Wohlfahrt

picture taken by me.

picture taken by me

picture taken by  me

picture taken by me

from Kathe Wohlfahrt

They make nice nightlights for the Winter!!

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

My Steiff snowmen collection

One of my favorite things to display at Christmas is my Steiff Snowmen collection.  I have been collecting these for the years and frequently receive them at Christmas presents.

Steiff is a German teddy bear brand that created the teddy bear.  They create high quality stuffed animals.

Well, I collect their snowmen, which are all made from mohair.

Below, left to right:

The teddy bear plays music.

The tiny snowman is actually an ornament.

The blue knit one has a matching friend in red knit.

The one with the little necklace has matching Hummel figurines.

Below, left to right:
One on the left is my newest, I still haven’t seen one like it.
The tiny one is an ornament
The middle one is actually Muffy Vanderbear dressed as a snowman.
The big one is almost 1 foot tall!
The red knit one’s little friend is the blue knit one.

Aren’t these cute?  I leave them up in January too without all the Christmas stuff around because I think they count as Winter decorations as well.

I link up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and life of the party at the grant life, and the style sisters, and Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard cottage

Tour of my Christmas House

It starts when you walk inside and you are greeted with my tree…

My “fireplace” with stockings hanging below it and nutcrackers at the side.

Underneath the tv is a small German village I picked up this year at my favorite Christmas store… Kathe Wohlfahrt!

My stockings… I made these myself!

In between the living area and kitchen, these boxes are tucked away. They are the 12 days of Christmas. They are from an estate sale… the other boxes were missing.

the song was long enough anyway.

Turn around and the table is right there…

Off to the bathrooms.  Of course I decorated them.  My star wreath hangs on this door, with cardinal towels in the background.

A snowman, Christmas moose, Santa, gingerbread man towel, and Christmas scent decorate this bathroom.

In the other bathroom, another Christmas tree hides.

The Swedish snowman towel and snowman candle are by the bathtub.

 Back outside to the main room…

Advent calendar, snowmen, Christmas platter, and garland are now on top of the buffet table.

My Snow Village sits on the bar!

Couldn’t get it all in one picture…  (DIY card holder in the background)

Now, look up, the nutcrackers are watching you from the fridge…

on top of the fridge

Tree #3 sits in its natural glory.  

A  Christmas vignette in the hallway…

A closer look at the nativity set…

And the Christmas bedroom!

The schwibbogen sits on top of the dresser, opposite the bed…

 And now for the last Christmas tree, tree #4… just red and silver decorations.

looks like there’s two trees!

That concludes my Christmas house tour!

See you back tomorrow for more 25 days of Christmas!

I link up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and life of the party at the grant life, and the style sisters, and Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard cottage

My Christmas themed bedroom!

I’ve decked out my bedroom with Christmas theme decorations this year!

Christmas bedroom

 Well, the only thing that’s new are the wreaths.

The blanket is one my favorites, a Pendleton wool blanket.  You can see my post about my favorite wool blankets here.

A hand-me-down Noel pillow sits on the bed.

The wreaths are from Ikea.  I hung them with ribbon from Costco.  I simply tied the ribbon around the wreath and wedged the ribbon into the shutter door.

ikea wreath

My schwibbogen sits on top of my dresser in the bedroom. 

So there you have it!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a complete house tour!

Yes, it will feature the bedroom… as well as the other rooms!!

I have a total of FOUR Christmas trees.

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

Which Christmas Tree is for me?

Today is a guide about choosing your Christmas Tree.

1. Where do you want to get one? 

do you want cut your own, do you want a pre-cut, or do you want a fake tree?  Today I’m only going to be blogging about the different live trees.

2. Measure your space.

Measure the ceiling height and the width of your space. Most trees are cut to an 80% taper, so trees that are 10 feet tall will be 8 feet wide. Don’t pull a Clark Griswold here.

3. Learn about the different types

doug fir

Douglas Fir: Boasting a pyramidal shape and blue to dark green needles, the doug fir dependable, long-lived cut tree. 

Grand Fir: With bicolor needles — deep green on top, white-striped underneath — it makes a rich foil for ornaments. 

Eastern Red Cedar: Native to the eastern half of North America, it makes a great cut or living tree with homespun appeal and pungent fragrance. 

White Spruce: bluish-green short needles, that are stiff and are great for holding ornaments.

4.  Look for freshness

While you are in front of your dream tree, before you decide to take home, make sure that it is fresh.  Here’s a quick and easy test:  run a branch through your enclosed hand. Needles should not come off easily. If they do, choose another one!  Also look for excessive needle loss, musty smell, needle pliability: if the tree has 1 or all of these things, move on!

5.Don’t forget your supplies!

Bring rope to tie your tree down. If you want to a you-cut farm, don’t forget your saw! Have your stand ready when you get home.  A flashlight might be useful too.

6. Keep your tree alive!

   Here’s a link to tips on how to keep your tree alive so it doesn’t look sad like Charlie Brown’s tree! 

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas tree guide.  When I was 2 years old, I was pictured on the front page Thanksgiving weekend running through a Christmas tree farm.  I grew up in the Christmas tree growing states  (uh, yeah, Washington is the Evergreen state and Oregon has a Doug Fir on its license plate!)

My information was taken from the  National Christmas Tree Association and BHG.

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Fridayand Autumn Abounds Party at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

Christmas Scents

For me, part of the holiday season is enjoying the smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and oranges.  Today I’m sharing with you my favorite scents of the holiday season!

Bath and Body Work’s “Cranberry Woods”

Bath and Body Works “Winter”

Bath and Body Works “Merry Mistletoe”

Crabtree and Evelyn “Noel”

Antica Farmacista “Noel”

Yankee Candle “Cranberry Orange”

Archipelago “Joy”

DIY Orange and Clove pomanders

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

My Second Favorite Christmas Store… Roger’s Gardens!

Earlier I had share with you my FAVORITE Christmas store… Kaethe Wohlfahrt.  The problem is… that store’s in GERMANY. Great. 

So my next favorite Christmas store is Roger’s Gardens located in Newport Beach, CA.  I had a post about them earlier with their Fall and Halloween decorations.

They have tons of great Christmas decorating ideas and items for purchase!

A cool fireplace

decorations!

 They have a WHOLE bunch of themed trees. I guarantee you can find at least one tree that would appeal to you.  I did not post pictures of all the trees because some of my pics are very blurry!

Candy themed tree

This was the snowman tree

St. Nick

Ho-Ho-Ho!

Advent calendars!

The British tree

British tree

very cute bear

 They have a ton of nutcrackers including signing events with Frau Steinbach and Herr Ulbricht.

This ornament was neat

They had a putz house ornament!

Advent Calendars… similar to mine!

I don’t remember the theme of this tree

Gold toned tree

Country Christmas tree

A giant pyramid that was actually turning!

with nutcrackers circling on the bottom

If you don’t have a working fireplace, you could always stack the wood up like below. I think this fireplace is very cute!

Another look at the cute red fireplace!

I like how the outdoor area is mainly white and green… you can continue with that decoration until Jan/Feb! 

all white and green themed outdoor

Did looking through these pictures give you any decorating ideas?  

Does it make you want to head to your favorite Christmas store?

If you live in Southern California or will be in the area, I HIGHLY recommend stopping by here!  

Here is their website

And look what I found… a video they made of this year’s decorations (after all, we are in the land of movie making down here!)

<iframe src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/Sz_5JcKEa0g?list=UU4PdaBc-o3_2sGOd1UBrhfQ” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Disclosure: I am not in any way affiliated with Roger’s Gardens.  I just like their stuff!

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

Nutcrackers

I LOVE nutcrackers!  I have some on display year round, but at Christmas time I pull out my Christmas themed nutcrackers. 

Let’s take a look at my collection:

A Santa with bird.
With a traditional Bavarian on the left.
Phantom of the Opera on the right.

Now for my favorite…

And my second favorite…

Nutcrackers weren’t popular until after the Tchaikovsky ballet was performed in 1892.  They didn’t become popular in America until after WW2, when the GIs brought them home as gifts.

Now, what to add to my collection next?!

There are two main German nutcracker houses… Christian Steinbach and Christian Ulbricht.  You can usually tell the two apart based on their faces.  Ulbricht faces usually have round noses, Steinbach faces usually look a little meaner.

Ulbricht traditional Santa

Ulbricht Shepherd, I know someone who would like this.

I like him, my college team are the Huskies too!

Ulbricht again

Steinbach, although I have a shorter version of this guy already

Steinbach “Caroler”

Ulbricht, love the cuckoo clock

Ulbricht, a hunter.

Steinbach, Tyrolean Santa

Steinbach, 12 days of Christmas “8 maids a milking”

Ulbricht

Ulbricht

Ulbricht smoker Santa on a moose/reindeer

Or maybe I want a Fall themed one, then I can set one out early?

Ulbricht cat smoker

Ulbricht fall

Ulbricht, pilgrim

These nutcrackers are all large.  Maybe I just need a few traditional toy soldier ones?  Either way, I still only purchase the ones that are made in Germany.  The ones made in China don’t quite look right to me.  

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s. 

 Gingerbread Houses of the White House

Every year, the White House chefs produce a wonderful gingerbread house that is put on display.  The first official White House gingerbread house was in 1969.

1969, with Tricia Nixon

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1979

1980

1981

1981

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

Then, after years of creating a traditional gingerbread house… the tradition of creating a White House out of gingerbread was started!

1993… love Socks the cat here!!

…and then ended. The Clinton’s childhood homes were then made for a few years.

1994

1995

1996

1997

And then after creating childhood homes… suddenly, a castle? Okay…..

1998

1999

1999

And then the tradition of creating the White House out of gingerbread resumed… and hasn’t stopped since!

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Then they started baking gingerbread and then coating it with white chocolate! yummy!

2007… love all the animals here

2008

2009… with lights now!

2010

2011

2012… with Santa on top!

Wasn’t that fun?  They keep outdoing themselves every year.

Do you like the traditional gingerbread house, the gingerbread White Houses or the white chocolate White Houses?

I think 2007 was my favorite.

Pictures are from the book “Christmas at the White House” by Jennifer B. Pickens and Whitehouse.gov.

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog,Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here,Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and a stroll through life inspire me tuesday’s.