I am so happy that you decided to stop by my Christmas Blog....
Today, we are moving into the Living Room.....
I will be sharing my Victorian Tree and Village in this post.....
But first, I would like to Thank Roseann, over at This Autoimmune Life, for choosing my post, Christmas in the Kitchen, Tree and Hutch, from last week's Snickerdoodle Create Bake and Make Link Party!!!!
Thanks so much, Roseann!!
Please stop by and link up to this lovely party!!!
I was invited to link this post up to Terri's Christmas Trees on Parade Blog Hop which she is hosting over on her Christmas Blog, Christmas Tree Lane!!
I chose this Tree to feature as part of the Parade of Christmas Trees because this Tree is what I consider our "main" Tree even though I have many more Trees throughout the house.....
It is the largest and most prominent when you first enter our home.....
It is a 7 foot slim Tree that I will be using year round and decorating for the different Seasons and Holidays............
Here it is when it was decorated for Autumn......
After Halloween, I stripped it down to the white lights......
When I was in Target, I saw these LED red ,green and white lights.......
I forgot to take a picture of the Tree with just the lights on.......
I also decided to do something a little different with the beaded garland this year......
I had green beaded garland from when I used to do a St. Patrick's Day Tree which I no longer do anymore so I decided to wrap it around the gold and white beaded garland that I have used on this Tree for years.....
I also use a red and green beaded garland.....
I then added red and green ornaments that I tucked inside the Tree.....
My HINT for decorating a Tree is putting the garland on first and then adding plain colored ornaments to the inside of the tree as a filler....And I decorate the Tree without the lights because it makes it easier to see where to place things........And I usually tuck in some sort of floral picks to add to the fullness of the Tree
I started to hang my collection of Victorian styled ornaments......
Some I made...
Some were gifted to me and many I bought on Clearance after Christmas......
It has taken me many years to collect these vintage and Victorian styled ornaments.....
Next, I tucked gold floral picks into the Tree.......
And red and white striped candle and gold candle ornaments.......
In Victorian times before electricity, they lit their Trees with candles that they burned only for a short time on Christmas Eve.....
The candle ornaments are meant to harken back to those Victorian times....
The above picture was taken in the day time.....
The top of the Tree is topped off with a bow I made from ribbon that has red and white candles on it just like the ornaments on the Tree......
Along with a gold finial topper......
Gold florals picks are tucked into each side of the Tree.......
And an Angel ornament is hung close to the top of the Tree......
I am going to let the pictures do the talking.....
I am really happy that I added the red and green colored lights to the Tree this year......
I set up my Lemax Village underneath this Tree on the platform that my dad built for me 41 years ago when Joe and I first got married.......
My Dad always set up the Tree on a platform and would create a little village with some Plasticville pieces.....
This is a photo of the Tree in our Living Room when I was a child.....
My Dad made that platform too.......
I have them displayed in the upstairs sitting room.....
The chalk figures were my Mother's as a child......She would have turned 100 years old this year.....
I started to buy my Village in 1981 when my son was born and Lemax first came out with a Village.....
I set up the Village a bit differently this year.....
Instead of putting the church here on what I call the mountain, I moved the Lighthouse over here.....
Each piece has a special meaning to our family......
I bought the lighthouse because at the time, we went on vacation every year to Wildwood, NJ. and would take a day trip to Cape May and we once climbed to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse!!
A Post Office.....
Ironically, I bought this Post Office before Joe became a letter Carrier for the United States Post Office.......
Maybe it was a premonition of things to come!!
Yes, that is a Wegman's store!!!!
Before I tell you about Wegman's, let's look at the park....
I placed a Plasticville fence all around the platform just like the fence that my Dad had built for his platform all those years ago.....
I have a string of battery operated fairy lights strung along the fence and through the village.....
One year, Wegman's had Lemax make a special edition piece of their store.....I bought it a few years ago because Joe was always there shopping......
Little did I know then that he would be working there part time when he retired!!!
Another premonition maybe?????
The blue building is Joseph's Seafood.......
I bought this because Joe is known for making quite a tasty lobster tail and makes it for special occasions and on New Year's Eve every year.....
Carrington Department Store....
And the Train station was bought because in the 80's there was a refurbished train station turned into a restaurant and night club that we used to go to.....
Over on the mountain on this side of the platform.......
I bought the church because church has always been important to us.....
And this Queen Anne Victorian with a wrap around porch is the house of my dreams.....
Maybe in my next lifetime.....
So you see........... this village holds special meanings to me......
And I have said this for many years now but as I lay on this platform assembling this Village, I envision my Dad doing the same thing when I was a child........
And I can hear him say "That a girl!!"
So I will continue to set up this village every Christmas until I can no longer physically do so......
I hope you enjoyed seeing my "Main" Tree and the village underneath it and hearing why I chose each piece......
It takes one day to do the Tree and about 4 hours ( a half a day) to do the Village..
I was invited to link this post up to Terri's Christmas Trees on Parade Blog Hop which she is hosting over on her Christmas Blog, Christmas Tree Lane!!
I hope you will visit the others who are sharing their Christmas Trees as part of Terri's Christmas Trees on Parade Blog Hop!!
And I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!
Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!
If you do not have a blog, PLEASE give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment. If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......
I am linking up to these parties:
Happy Holidays Link Party
MONDAY
Inspire Me Monday
Love Your Creativity Link Party
Busy Monday
Over the Moon Linky Party
Handmade Monday
Creative Mondays
You Are The Star Blog Hop
Metamorphosis Monday
Little Cottage Link Party
Make It Pretty Monday
TUESDAY
Tuesdays At Our Home
Inspire Me Tuesdays
Lou Lou Girl's Linky Party
All About Home Party
Tuesdays with a Twist
Reader Tip Tuesday Party
Farm Fresh Tuesdays Blog Hop
Celebrate Your Story Link Party!!Handmade Monday
Creative Mondays
You Are The Star Blog Hop
Metamorphosis Monday
Little Cottage Link Party
Make It Pretty Monday
TUESDAY
Tuesdays At Our Home
Inspire Me Tuesdays
Lou Lou Girl's Linky Party
All About Home Party
Tuesdays with a Twist
Reader Tip Tuesday Party
Farm Fresh Tuesdays Blog Hop
Sizzle into Summer Party
Talk of the Town Party
Party in Your PJ's
Waste Not Wednesday
A Gathering of Friends Link Party, every 2nd and 4th Tuesday
THURSDAY
Vintage Charm
Home and Garden Party Thursday
Share Your Style Thursday Link Up Party
Inspired Creations Linky Party
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Grace at Home Party
FRIDAY
Friday Features Linky Party
Friday Favorites
Home Matters Linky Party
Flaunt It Fridays
Funtastic Friday
Farmhouse Friday
SATURDAY
Saturday Sparks
Pink Saturday-Anything Goes!!
Best of the Weekend Party
SUNDAY
Snickerdoodle Sunday
Silver Pennies Sunday
Happiness is Homemade Linky Party
Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
OOO! I bet this tree is amazing in person. I wish the camera acted more like my eye! I love that you showed us samples of the tree in other seasons. This is a wonderful Christmas Trees on Parade post!
ReplyDeleteYour tree is gorgeous. I love all the stories and meanings as well as your decorating style. My husband finally put our tree up this morning. I have a house full of grandchildren who wanted to decorate it. I got out all the unbreakables for them to go to work on the bottom third and they lost interest about two minutes in. Meanwhile, they have been "rearranging" my village, which I have on top of a shelf. I have two items set aside for gluing tonight. I picked up my village one piece at a time at the local Big Lots. I do not mind gluing the pieces; they enjoy being able to touch it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your handmade victorian Christmas tree Debbie. You did a great job making the ornaments. I love them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week and are enjoying the holiday season. Julie xo
At my house, every village piece would either be played with by the cat or eaten by the Baby Grand!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love how you set up your village, I never know how to display mine! Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us at the Creative Muster Link Party. Looking forward to seeing what you share next week! Pinned
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas 🎄
Robin | Fluster Buster
Your Victorian tree and village are charming! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm
ReplyDeleteI love your village and the memories associated with it. Adorable pieces.
ReplyDeleteI love your village and I love hearing all the stories behind the pieces.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, the love and care you take with your decorations always inspires me. You're truly amazing! I love the village under your tree--what a lovely welcome to your home!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I'm featuring you this week!