Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes and lives? Every month a group of six bloggers share their work-spaces, homes, towns, thoughts, with posts based on specific prompts. It’s been so interesting over the years to see the different ways each of us interpret the topics.

Oh, how I love Christmas decorations! As a kid, I used to love driving around the neighborhood with my parents and then more recently with my daughter, looking at all the wonderful lights and trees. Everything looks a little magical with all the twinkly lights, bows, wreaths, garlands.

I love the beautiful tasteful displays, and I like the gaudy “everything but the kitchen sink” style of decorating. I recently saw a post on social where like Every House on the Street had a giant inflated Santa. in their front yard..so as you looked down the streeet it looked like a line of Santa Sentries guarding Christmas. It was amazing.

Dyker Heights in Brooklyn has the most outrageoulsy over-the-top amazing decorations, like all the houses in a few square block area all go CRAZY, I’m sure most of them use professional light installers and I always wonder where they keep all the decorations when they take them down. They must rent storage units just for Christmas stuff. But I always loved going there and driving up and down the streets.

My cousins lived near a street called Christmas Tree Lane (oh, come on!) and the neighbors would all decorate collaboratively, throwing strands of lights in the trees from one side of the street to the other, so you drove under a chaotic galaxy of light streamers.

My across-the-street neighbor when we had our little house, collected every plastic Christmas decoration he could find and his front-yard was filled with them come December. It added such a nice glow to the street.

When I lived in Brooklyn there was a store I’d pass by with all different colored aluminum trees – pink, silver, aqua…and I always thought it would be fun to be that person…or better yet to know that person, so I could enjoy that tree vicariously.

I tend to decorate a little more low-key. Strands of white lights, white candles in vintage crystal candlesticks tied with ribbon. Ornaments I’ve had forever…and my parents for forever beyond that. A live tree in the corner brought me So Much Joy from mid-December to mid-January.

My favorite tree decorations are some semi-transparent large cranberry glass balls I got at the NY Gift Show back in the 80s. So I start with those, spreading them evenly-ish around the tree. I think I had 15 when I started and I’m down to nine cuz. Glass. Next on is the robin’s eggs ornaments – also from the Gift Show in the 80s…and I’m probably down to 8-9 of those as well. Once these “foundation” ornaments are hung, then I start with the like “themed” ornaments – birds, fruits/vegetables, angels…these get tied onto the tree with this pretty chartreuse wired ribbon. Once all my favorites are on, then I fill in with vintage glass ornaments. My mother had all these pine cone shaped glass ornaments from the 50s in different shapes and sizes…as well as silver bells. These also got tied on with ribbon. if there were still empty spots after all these were on, I’d go to the random assortment of different sized /color glass balls I’ve been collecting since the 80s from garage sales and junk stores.

So I definitely have a system…and only in recent years have I “allowed” Katie to “help” ha ha. Her main job is mostly to string the lights. She’s tall and wiry and much better suited to that job than I am. I’m not one to buy new ornaments from year-to-year. I love what I have and I’d be perfectly happy with a similar looking tree every year for the rest of my life.

I do miss having a mantel – that was a wonderful decorating opportunity.

My favorite glass bulbs my mother brought back from Japan in the 50s. I wish I could find a whole string of these, that would be amazing.

I love filling bowls and countainers with multiples of the same thing.

Doing lights outside was a lot of work by myself…so over the years I did less and less…until finally it was just a wreath on the door.

I just love this magical time of year. It’s always such a downer in January when the trees come down and the lights go off and the world is just dark and cold.

I’m surprised at all the Christmas decorations I’m seeing here in Korea. I know the holiday itself is not such a big deal here – it’s more of a couple holiday than a family holiday. I know I will have that one day off from school…but I’m used to the whole week from Christmas to New Year’s, so that’s going to be a little rough. What do you mean you want me to conjugate verbs?? I’m supposed to be home in my nightgown on the sofa with hot cocoa and a movie! And a cat! 

But I think the BEST decorations, are loved ones spending the holiday with you…they brighten your rooms…and your life…

Make sure to visit my friends to see what’s on their gratitude lists!

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris will not be joing us this month and we miss her….Iris’ Original Ramblings <-
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own