I Will Honour Christmas In My Heart

I will honour Christmas in my heart,
and try to keep it all the year.
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!

~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Friday, December 30, 2011

LAST REMNANTS of 2011 CHRISTMAS SEASON!


I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season this year!!

If you would like to read about My One Little Word that I have chosen for the year of 2012 that will guide me through the upcoming year, please click HERE to visit Debbie-Dabble, regular blog and see what word I have chosen....

As this year winds down and the Christmas season is drawing to a close, I thought I would share with all of you what I have been up to.

Yesterday, the 29th, was my oldest son's 30th Birthday! I can hardly believe that 30 years have passed ....

I made turkey for Christmas Day and after I make turkey, I usually make Turkey Soup several days later.

I just make a broth soup and then have noodles cooked up and add it to the broth. I usually send 3/4's of it home with the boys as I did yesterday.

And I did get to do some after Christmas shopping.

Many of you may remember that I had gastroenteritis on Christmas Day last year and remained sick for several days and never got out to shop until almost everything was gone....

Thank God I did not get sick this year...I kept praying I would be well this year....

The day after Christmas was a bust as far as where we went for sales. If you read my previous post, you will see why.

Then several days later , Target started to put out all the Christmas items that they had over
stocked and had still had in the back.

I knew this because I have several inside sources that told me there was 40 pallets of Christmas things not brought out yet.
Target usually does this every year.

I picked up 3 sets of these at half price so they were $3.50 each.

Battery operated Warm white LED that you could put anywhere and use year round...

And here is where I used them.

2 sets fit perfectly on the 3 shelves of Joe's Grandmother's Hutch that is part of my Dining Room set. I have never been able to light this hutch up.

By the way, I bought another new camera. A better model of the the one I had , which I will be sending back to Kodak for repair. I thought it would not hurt to have 2.

You know how much I LOVE the candlelight feature on these cameras!!

I just love how my Moss Rose china and depression glass pieces look lit up in the hutch!!

All I did was wind the wire around the dishes on the shelf and place the battery packs so that you could flip the switch when you slide open the glass doors a bit.

Michael's is a disappointment because they actually had better sales BEFORE Christmas.

I bought this tin container that I stuck this little tree in for 70% off and I had a 20% off total purchase coupon. It was originally $9.99 so that took this down to a little over $1.00. I bought 2 and I put all the Christmas cards we received in the other one since I truly have no where to display them.

Next in Target were these little tinsel trees. They are 12 inches tall and were $2.50 at half price!
I bought 2 silver and 2 white because I figured these could be used for other holidays too and you could place these little cuties anywhere as accent pieces!

Now on to some crafting materials.....

These were in Target for $1.00 a pack at half price.

These were down to 50 cents a roll at Dollar General....

And I finally did get my Deco Mesh at Sam's Club. It was originally $6.92.

It never did get marked down to half price but at $4.91 a piece, I knew that was a final markdown.
A little Birdie has told me that if a price at Sam's Club has a 1 on the end, it is a final markdown and will not be marked down any further....

Bought 2 packs of this vintage looking garland at Target for $3.00 each....

This was $2.00 at Target. I saw the stars and I am thinking of using it on my Patriotic tree in the summer....
I also bought a set of red lights for that tree. Last year I had only blue and white lights on my Patriotic tree because I had packed all the red ones away with the Valentine's day decorations.

I bought 3 packs of this garland before Christmas for 70% off at Boscov's.
I saw this used on a blog and since I will have a white tree somewhere next year, I am thinking of maybe using it on that tree next year.....

And a set of purple light at Wegman's Food Store for $1.72.

I am thinking Easter.....

You may remember that I used these lights on the inside of my two 7 foot trees.
They were originally $20.00 at Sam's Club and I was lucky to find 2 sets marked down to $12.31!!
A great price for 150 count.

Okay, I always say the reason why I have so many trees in the house at Christmas is because I am addicted to ornaments...

Here are some new ones that I bought...

These were bought at Boscov's for $2.09 each with discount..


$1.50 each at Target and will go on my Summer Rose and Tea Cup tree...

I can't believe that I actually found snow flakes the color of my Craft Room walls.

50 cents a pack at Target!

And these will also be used in my Craft Room.
70% off at A.C. Moore's.
I am thinking of hanging them from my Chandy in there..

More white snowflakes and a natural bird ornament. Planning on using these on a Winter tree or two.....

And Shatterproof Balls!!

The large packs of red, gold, silver and burgundy ones were bought at Wegman's for $2.12 a pack and the tubes were bought at the Dollar Store for 50 cents a tube.

These will be for wreaths that I will make for the Craft Fairs I will be participating in next year.
I also use the Christmas flower bushes from the Dollar Store as fillers in my wreaths so I bought about 20 of them at 50% off and they are stored in our storage shed for next year's Christmas crafting...

I had also bought green balls at Wegman's too and they are on my Craft Room tree...


Love the pink, white and green on this tree...


Now these were $2.09 at Boscov's. Loved the Birdhouses with a heart opening.
Great Winter and Valentine's Day decorations.

You can see that my mind is turning anf turning, don't you?

And I bought several of these birdhouse ornaments at Dollar General that were 75% off before Christmas!!
25 cents each!!

This cute birdie was $2.09.


I guess you can see that there is a theme deveolping, don't you??? Stay tuned ......

And I loved these silver and gold framed ornaments also for 25 cents each at Dollar General!!
Can be used any time of the year...

Bought about 4 of each....

Even though this year's Christmas season is over, I am already planning for next year's season.

I will also be showing you a Christmas Organizing Project that I am working on and I plan on posting Christmas things through out the year here on this blog.

Money cards for great nieces and nephews and mailman and hairdresser for next year.
Clearance at $1.29 a pack....


4 packs of invitations for my Christmas Open Houses for next year.

Are you ready for this one...
34 cents a pack at one of the Party Marts!!!!!!


I send out close to 70 Christmas Cards.

Sandra Kuck Cards for $2.50 a pack....


These were $2.50 each......

And I forgot to take a picture of another kind that I bought for 75 cents a box!!

You are probably tired of seeing this nativity set but I bought the gold trees at Wegman's for $2.52 each to add to this vignette!

Also at Wegman's were these mercury glass candle sticks for $4.72 each!!

These can be used year round....

And Mercury glass votives for $1.12 at Wegman's.....

Christmas computer stationary for $1.50 a pack at Michael's....

That was a glimpse of my Christmas Organizing Project!!

And now a few beautiful gifts that I recieved from my dear friend, Anne Marie....

Love the little pink birdie that I placed on this little tree.....

And these sweet little ornaments.....


I wanted everyone to see these ornaments so I hung them on my Dining Room Chandy!!


So that is all of my haul so far!!

As you can see, many things I will be using year round and for other holidays!

You have to think outside the box!!

Many of you have asked when I started decorating for Christmas and when will I take everything down.

I actually had the upstairs decorated before Oct. 31. I like to have the entire house done for the weekend after Thanksgiving but I got really behind this year and did not finish until the first weekend of December.

That really set me back in regards to other things that I wanted to do this Christmas Season.
I will be doing a post about this in a few days so please come back for that one.....

I used to take my decorations down right after New Year's but I have gone back to the old tradition that is still quite popular in my area of leaving the Christmas decorations up until Jan. 6th which is the Feast of the Three Kings in the Catholic Church.

I will be honest...
I also don't start to take everything down until then because I am working full time and just can't seem to get to it until then...

Now I DO leave a lot of the decorations up as Winter Decorations and I leave up 5 trees and convert them over to Valentine's Day trees. This is actually easier for me with the volume of decorations that I have.

As I mentioned before, I will continue posting Christmas related things on this blog through out the year.
But for the most part, I will return to my regular blog, Debbie Dabble, and be doing the majority of my posts there.
I would like to invite those of you who signed up as new followers of this blog this year to please also follow me on Debbie-Dabble.

I will be celebrating my 3 year Blogging Anniversary in Jan. on Debbie-Dabble and I will be hosting a Giveaway!

I am linking up to these parties:

Home Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Masterpiece Monday

Mod Mix Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Blue Monday

Tabletop Tuesday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Open House Party Thursday

Please stop in to visit these Hosts and those who are playing along!!

Wishing all of you a HEALTHY and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
( I will be at work!)

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit today and everyday that you took the time to visit me during this Holiday Season!!

Many Hugs,
Debbie

16 comments:

  1. What a fun blog Debbie...you have so many great little items. I love the Sandra Kuck cards...they are tres sweet!

    Happy new year to you and yours!

    Your 200th follower!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You certainly found lots of new goodies. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and your
    themed- trees this year. Happy 2012!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbie, you found some great after Christmas sale things! And I love how your china cabinet looks with the new lights!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Debbie, you scored some great items! My husband works at Sam's Club and I asked him about the "1". He said that means it's the first markdown. So keep your eye on the price of that mesh, it may go down more. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad you found your mesh. I found some at Hobby Lobby , 60% off so got it for less than $3.00. And they had lime green. Seems how I am going to use the teal, lime green and purple on my white tree here at home next Christmas I figured I may use some of it to do a matching wreath using lime green and white with teal and purple balls.

    And I also added a lot of red and gold ornaments and picks . Got a head start on a theme for the Senior Center tree if I do it again next year. But am definetly going to use their green tree instead of my white. Want to enjoy that here at home. I started taking down the computer room tree today. Want to get the room in order so I can spend this winter filing all moms genealogy. I think I am going to be up to it this year. Just could not get into it last year.

    I love the lights in your china cabinet. It is just beautiful with your chine.

    Also love the blue and white ornaments. Such a pretty shade of blue.

    I hope you and your family have a very Happy and Blessed New Years.

    Hugs, Karan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellent post-Christmas haul from the sales! I especially love what the lights do fork the China cabinet!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You did well with your after Cmas shopping Most of the stores here were picked clean before Cmas as they had already marked things down 0% or more. I did very little, just while I was in CVS waiting for my meds for the bug Santa left me.
    I loved seeing all your bargains!
    Here from Seasonal Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So many bargains. Your china cabinet looks beautiful all lit up.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your china cabinet is so beautiful! You really got some great deals! After all the Christmas shopping, I'm just too darn tired to go out again and fight the crowds. That being said, hmmm, maybe.... Happy New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You got some great after Christmas deals! I just love your china cabinet.I have had to be away from blog land for a while and have missed you Christmas treats. I have a lot of catching up to do.
    Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love those new blue ornaments! AND, I love the song playing (Mary, did ya know)

    Happy New Year & Happy Blue Monday, Debbie.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What an awesome cabinet all lit up! A great idea for next year and even any time of the year! I love what you forund after C'mas, how great. Your house looks lovely for the holidays, I can't even think of taking all down, it just passes so fast! Happy New Year my sweet lady, the best for you all!
    FABBY

    ReplyDelete
  13. I take down mine on January 10 since January 9 is the end of Christmas season. And I also still love to enjoy the decorations more so all the decorations are so cheap now I have a good time picking beautiful ornaments just like what you have here. Happy New Year!

    Museum Arts

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great finds, my friend!

    Thank you for for sharing at Potpourri Friday. I wish you a healthy, prosperous and sparkling New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fabulous finds and such wonderful decor. Thanks so much for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  16. Debbie,
    You get some of the best buys. Your china cabinet looks lovely! I love those little votives for a $1. Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete

I always love to hear your thoughts!
However if you are a vendor and insist upon leaving a comment with a link back to a website, You have forced me to now moderate ALL comments so do NOT even try it!

Related Posts with Thumbnails