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

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Christmas Front Porch and Yard, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Welcome to my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!

 I am so happy you decided to stop by my Christmas Blog!!

 I want to mention that since Blogger changed to a new format for posting, if you can click on each picture if you care to enlarge it...... 
 
 Every room in our townhouse has a different Christmas Theme and Color Scheme!!
 
 I prove that you do not have to live in a large home to have several Trees, over 20, in all shapes and sizes!!

The majority of my Christmas decorations are placed in the same room every year and I know that this is not what most Decorator's care for but to me, it like seeing old friends again when I decorate each year for Christmas as many of my decorations were gifts from family and friends........... 

I do try to add a few new things and change up things a bit but for the most part, these decorations are part of my Christmas Traditions and bring back a lot of treasured memories.....


Today, I will finally be sharing how I decorated the front of our house for Christmas this year....

I say finally because I decorated it the first weekend of November since we had unseasonably warm temps. and I took advantage of that....

I have been waiting to see if we would have a little snow before I posted and that we did have...just a little bit of snow.....

But first, I want to Thank to Bev, over at Eclectic Red Barn, for choosing my post, Sweet Treat Tree and Hutch in the Kitchen, as one of her features from last week's Over the Moon Linky Party!!!
 

Thanks again, Bev!!
 
Please stop by and link up to this great party!!!
 
On a personal note.......
 
Since my son Joey lost his job a few weeks ago and because of a very generous severance package, he is taking the rest of the year off to relax before actively job hunting...

And since I am retired now and have a lot of time, I decided that I was going to give his apartment a good deep cleaning.....

He has lived in this apartment for over 10 years and has done a fairly decent job keeping it clean but it is in need of a deep cleaning.....

He lives on the second floor so I worked on cleaning his stairway......

I ran the sweeper, cleaned the base boards, the tile by the front door and even swept out his entrance and the entrance to the 3 other apartments whose doors are right next to his in a square formation....
 
I then shampooed the carpeting on the steps and it came out looking pretty good if I do say so myself....
 
The next day, I cleaned his bathroom, scrubbing down the tile and the tub really good......
 
So much so that he said he was afraid to use it.....
 
And I cleaned his stove because I was afraid that it would burst into flames when he turned on a burner......
 
Just kidding!!
 
On Friday, Joey treated us to dinner with Take Out from Mission BBQ!!
 
 Their macaroni and chesse is to die for!!

 
 Joey got a chicken sandwich.......

 

 Joe got a pulled pork sandwich......

 

And I got a turkey sandwich.....


 We thoroughly enjoyed everything.....

Mission BBQ is one of our favorites and is located right down the road from us..
 
I really took my time decorating the front of the house this year as it was warm, in the high 60's to low 70's when I did it......
 
That is such a rarity here in the beginning of November in NEPA....
 
 
These pictures were taken of our townhouse, which is in a row of 10, from our parking lot ......

 

Joe has Pittsburgh Penguins parking signs on the retaining wall in front of our 2 parking spaces.....

Last year, I redid all the wreaths for the windows.....

This sled was given to me by a co worker......



I painted it and glued a big wooden letter B on it for our last name.....


There is a vintage pair of boy's training skates attached to it.....


We store all outdoor decorations in our storage shed that we rent.....

These tubs hold the garland for the front porch.....


I decided to give a few of my outside decorations a coat of polyurethane to preserve them a bit and then I got a little carried away......

BUT, I like the way it make everything look!!!!
 
I thought I would have to paint my neighbor Elly's milk can but look how it freshened it up!!


A sled that my son Jim made for me in Cub Scouts.....


A reindeer planter that my son Joey made for me in Cub Scouts.....


My childhood sled that has graced our front porch for 3 decades of Winters.....



I even did the skates!!!!


A new  sign I bought at Big Lot's this year.....


Even the snow man got a cot of polyurethane!!


And this sign that I had in the Den last  year.....


And this sign and metal stocking!



I spray painted this bell a bright red......


And this lantern.......


Last year, I decided to pass on the Tree Topiaries that I made out of tomato cages to my niece Renae.....

You can see them in the black urns last year.....



Renae now has them on each side of her front door and even decorated them!!!


 
Don't they look cute?????

Okay, so what did I do with the black urns.......

I decided to do an arrangement of greenery that Joe cut from the side of our road and the woods by us along with some faux greenery and berries.....

I bought the birch branches last year on clearance in Target!!

I even did an arrangement in this pot on top of the milk can.....

And in these 2 square planters in the front flower bed.....

And in this vintage watering can......

Now that I have explained all of the prep that I put into it this year, let's take a look at the front of our house after you have walked up the 13 steps from our parking lot to the sidewalk that runs in front of my row of townhouses...........

There are  a few more changes this year......


I am very happy with the way the urns and pots look......

 

 

Let's start at the front door......

 

 

 

I leave the Lighthouse that I made out of clay pots out because it is too heavy to pack away.....

 

 

A Christmas gnome and Elly's milk can......


 I took some pictures after a bit of snow with the lights on so you will see some with and some without lights....

 

 The garland is wrapped around screws that Joe drilled into the brick and let stick out about an inch so  I can hangs things off of them and attached the garland to....

 

This year, I decided to attached a Dollar Tree snowflake above the door......


 I redid this wreath last year for the front door......

 

 

 

 

 

The large wreath in the center of the house has lights on it......

 

The wreaths on the windows, door and middle of the house were bought at our church flea market several years ago as they were the church's and they were getting rid of them for different decorations.....


 I have "Weeping Mortar" on the front of our house......

 

It was popular in the 70's, when our house was built, not to wipe away the mortar when laying bricks, thus the term  "Weeping Mortar"

 

My Dad just called it "lazy brick laying".....

It allows me to hang things off of the"bumps" of mortar!!!

 

 A lot of things as you can see!!!

My son's Cub Scout creations are always by the front door.....



Along with my childhood sled.....


 

 


The Snow sign was bought a few years ago at Gabes.......

 

These  will stay out for the remainder of the Winter......

 
Bells on the Tree in the corner that stays here year round......
 

 On a post in the corner of the porch......


Snowflakes on the garland on the railing.....


The bows are made from red and white striped burlap ribbon.....




You can see the other black urn.......






And we got a brief dusting of snow the other day......

I hurried outside to take pictures before it melted.....

Everything looks so much better with a little bit of snow, don't you think????

This is the small flower bed under our Living Room window.....

The wreaths on the windows along with candles..........

For the Winter, I move my chippy Angel that I bought many years ago at Target to the center of the flower bed and elevated her on a pot ......

I also moved the square pots that are in front of our porch railing in the Spring to Fall into this flower bed because it makes it easier to shovel snow off the sidewalks.....

I was smart this year and put the net lights on the shrubs for Halloween and did not have to do it when decorating for Christmas, saving time....

And I added the greenery to the urns on the side of the flower bed when my annuals died in the late Fall.....

This also saved me time......

They will stay this way all Winter......


The front yard on top of the slope.......


Normally, I have a red LED light in the lantern but for security reasons because of my next door neighbor, I have a LED bright light bulb in it as it shines on my car at night and the lights are on a timer set from dusk to dawn.....

My faux mailbox......

Love this mailbox cover that Joe bought......



And my vintage watering can.....


My park bench......

The red bell hangs to the left of the bench......

A pot filled with greenery and a snow man sign and a lantern......

And the red lantern on the right side of the bench.....



The deer even got all decked out for Christmas.....


And here are a few more pictures that I took the morning it snowed before the lights shut off around 7 am......











I hope you enjoyed seeing the front of our house all decked out for Christmas....

I usually wait to light it on Thanksgiving Day night but with everything going on this year, I thought everyone needed a bit more light and brightness in their lives so it has been lit since that first weekend of November.....

There is only one more room to share on my  Christmas Home Tour for this year and that is the Living Room....








So I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

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:
 
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17 comments:

  1. Miss MerryDecember 8, 2020 at 10:47 AM

    Your porch is even prettier with the snow! I love all your new ideas. I am missing the tub of snowman and snow signs that remain up in January . . . Your post has reminded me to keep looking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim December 8, 2020 at 3:31 PM

    Ok, so when I first started reading, I was like, Oh, that mailbox cover is my favorite. Then I got to the sleds. And the sign and the snowman and the trees and I thought, How could anyone pick a favorite?? It's all so perfect. Your house must be the envy of the neighborhood!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lowcarb team memberDecember 8, 2020 at 4:14 PM

    Wow!
    I would love to see your home in person, but of course that will not happen!
    However, your photographs really do show your wonderful decorations so well.

    Enjoy your December days.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanieDecember 8, 2020 at 4:31 PM

    Your home and yard is the joyful spirit of Christmas. People must love driving by!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Denise/My Home of All SeasonsDecember 9, 2020 at 12:16 AM

    I so love this Deb!!! I bet you have so many cars driving by right now. I can't even pick a favorite thing either. It is all so perfect! I love what you did with the lamp post and the skates are just so cute! I recognize a couple of your flags too...I think they are in a bin downstairs! I think your decorations bring joy to everyone who sees them and that is so important right now. I know they bring me joy every time I visit your blog. Have a wonderful week and thank you for making us all smile today!

    ReplyDelete
  6. GranthamLynnDecember 10, 2020 at 12:51 PM

    Always so pretty. I love visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Joanne December 10, 2020 at 6:06 PM

    You are always so hard at work! Cleaning for your son and his neighbors, polyurethaning everything for outside, just decorating alone must keep you so busy! I love your childhood sled and the project your son made in cub scouts. You have so many wonderful pieces. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cindy@CountyRoad407December 11, 2020 at 12:28 PM

    Wow, 20 trees! That is amazing and I bet your neighbors love driving by your porch. It was no surprise reading that your fave holiday is Christmas. Mine is Easter, I wonder what I should start collecting for that? It was very nice of you to deep clean so much, including Joey's oven. I hate doing that but if I could get BBQ each time, I'd do it more often. I am a carnivore and that looked so delicious! Thank you for linking up at Farmhouse Friday LP. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karren HallerDecember 11, 2020 at 3:20 PM

    I love how you decorate your porch each year, so festive.
    Thank you for visiting to share on #omhgww each week.
    Have a lovely week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Louca por porcelanaDecember 12, 2020 at 3:37 PM

    How inspiring and stunning!Great job!Lots of treasures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kim | Shiplap and ShellsDecember 12, 2020 at 9:59 PM

    This was so much fun! Thank you for sharing your porch with us Debbie.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sweet Tea N ' Salty AirDecember 12, 2020 at 10:58 PM

    Beautiful! So festive, I'm sure your neighbors enjoy a bit of cheer! My fav is your childhood sled, I absolutely love that you saved that, wish my mom saved mine. And that little bit of snow sets the whole scene. And what a nice mom to do a cleaning for your boy. Enjoy all your decor and your wonderful family

    ReplyDelete
  13. My thrift store addictionDecember 13, 2020 at 8:56 AM

    Debbie, your porch looks so festive! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    ReplyDelete
  14. annies homeDecember 13, 2020 at 11:29 AM

    love your display you can tell you truly went to a lot of work for it... very nice
    come see usat http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sum of their StoriesDecember 15, 2020 at 5:55 AM

    I absolutely love the wreaths on the windows. I think that would look good on our house too. I will keep my eyes open for wreaths on sale in the new year and try to pick some up for next year.

    ReplyDelete
  16. BetsyDecember 23, 2020 at 9:45 AM

    My heavens, you are like a friend of mine who also went way out on decor this year. I love it. Beautiful decorations and enjoyed seeing each and every one.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lisa LynnDecember 28, 2020 at 4:10 PM

    Your home looks so lovely, Deb! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and please have a safe, healthy, and happy New Year! Thanks for sharing your lovely posts with us on Farm Fresh Tuesdays this year!

    ReplyDelete

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