{deck them halls}

Last night Mr. Mechanic Man and I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas for the first time this season. I turned off all the lights except for the Christmas lights, and watched my favorite Christmas movie in the semi-darkness {save for the colorful lights on our tree}. 

Anyway, at one point in the movie, Lucy asked Schroeder if he knows how to play Jingle Bells, and after he "doesn't play it right" the first time, she says, "No, no, I mean Jingle Bells! You know, deck them halls and all that stuff?"

So here's my post about how I decked them halls in our house, by request of my family mostly.

This year instead of paying a ridiculous price to get a dying tree at Lowe's, we decided to pay $5 for a permit to cut down a tree in a nearby National Forest. We finally found a nice, full one...at the top of a hill. Unfortunately, that mean my strong Mechanic Man had to carry it down the hill.

 Once we got it home we had to trim it, which Hanny "helped" with. {He "disposed" of the trimmings}

 And here it is, all decked out! We decided not to bake our tree in the sun this year by putting it in the corner instead of in front of the windows. Lesson learned...

 I did a little chalk art just today. I hadn't changed it from my Thanksgiving themed board.

 I remember these plates being on sale at Walmart a few years ago and admiring them. I was lucky enough to find this one at a Goodwill for fifty cents sometime this year.

 I finally had some greenery for my window shelf, thanks to the Jarvis'. I also put some white lights with it, and I love the way it brightens up the area.

 I got these at Cracker Barrel, for a dollar a piece. They're really salt and pepper shakers, but I'm just using them as figurines. Isn't the polar bear so cute? I love bears...

 I had enough trimmings left from the bottom of the tree to make four wreaths, one for each pole of our awning. No surprise there; our tree went from being an 8' tree to a 6' before we could squeeze it inside.

 Here's the window shelf all lit up.

Well, I hope that satisfies your curiosity about how I've decorated this year. We wish you the merriest Christmas blessings from our little house on the desert!