The kids finally headed back to school today after a nice, enjoyable Thanksgiving break and all we could talk about last night is counting down to Christmas break!  I've enjoyed having them home and we've done tons of decorating, eating, football watching, movies, and spending time together.

We have so many Christmas and Advent traditions in our home that the kids are busting at the seams with all that they are anticpating coming up.  Our tree has been up for a couple of weeks now and our holiday decor has been up for even longer and I don't foresee anyone tiring of it anytime soon!  In fact, the only thing I am not looking forward to is the weather getting colder.  But I've treated myself to a couple of pair of new boots recently to help me cope.

Here's just a glimpse of what Christmas looks like around our home.

I absolutely LOVE this candle holder trio I bought several years back.  It is so versatile and has served me well!  Remember my post about using it in my Halloween decor?  Well, I simply took out the orange tissue paper and filled the glasses with holiday mints ($2.49/bag at Target) and I really like the way it turned out!  And, yes the kids DO want to eat from it, but thankfully I bought them their own bag to eat out of!  They know these are off limits!

This is part of our entryway table decor.  I loathe decorating my entryway.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because we NEVER come into our house from our front door….always the garage.  Anyway, I've had this table FUH-orever and it floats from upstairs to downstairs, depending on the time of year.  I decided I wanted to display the kids' nativity scene downstairs this year and then next to it I just put one of my hurricane glasses, filled it with pinecones and a strand of lights, then set it in the middle of this wreath that has these ice-like little crystals that I just LOVE!  By the way, I am getting a new wreath for my front door this year…just waiting on it to be delievered!  It's homemade (not by ME, silly!) and LOVELY!  I can't wait to share it with you!  So, I am loving how this table looks, especially at night….so bright and festive!  Plus our stair banister has lit garland throughout too so it's really a "lit-up" entryway at night!

Now, this is one fun countdown tradition the kids can't wait to start!  In addition to checking their Christmas Countdown Socks, they love taking turns moving the candy cane in and out of the correct day each morning!  This is just hung on the backside of our entryway door and the kids see it right as they come downstairs.

Our mantle.  Or mantel.  Whatever.  I prefer the first spelling.  Anyway, it's back!  This year I added a strand of white lights and it is a stunner at night!  Love having it on in the evenings.  Can't wait till we start our fireplace up soon!  In case you can't tell, I am a minimalist and prefer a modern feel and look.  I didn't buy anything new this year except the one strand of lights ($2.29 at Target).  The little faux-filled snowmen on either side of the stockings are from my favorite home store, CB2, and just about everything else is from Target or Michael's – including the stockings and crystal monograms pins on each.

And our trusty elf, Eggbert, is back for more of our shenanigans again this year.  This morning he was found on our tree, hamming it up with our BEVO ornament.  Gosh, Eggbert sure does know the right team to root for!  SO glad Santa sent us a smart, Texas-loving elf! 

There is a lot more going on in our home right now but this will suffice for one post.  Plus, I've got to stick something in the slow cooker for dinner tonight.  :)  So, how are your holiday decorations shaping up?  I'd love to see your goodies!  Feel free to share links in the comments.  Happy holidays!