A Christmas mantel

Joy to the world! The Christmas season is upon us!

Each year, we get a live Christmas tree on the weekend after Thanksgiving. As soon as the tree is up, I begin decking the halls in earnest, and I usually start with the living room mantel. Here it is this year:

The most important elements of the mantelscape, of course, are the stockings. The one in the middle was the first of our collection--purchased 19 years ago, when our oldest son was a baby. We added stockings in 1993 and 1997 when our second and third sons were born, and finally bought one for Dad and one for Mom. Now they hang in order on the mantel, where they'll stay until they're filled on Christmas Eve.

On top of the mantel, I work around the Flemish floral painting that's there year-round. The colors in the painting lend themselves to traditional Christmas decor, which is just what I like. On one side are the moss topiaries I made last year:

And on the other side are inexpensive candlesticks that I painted with Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint and topped with red pillars. I like the subtle glow of the candles when they're lit:

The greenery on the mantel came from my yard. One of the wonderful things about using greenery is that you can hide any unsightly elements of your mantelscape. My candlesticks and topiaries are elevated on a motley collection of boxes, but those all disappear beneath the beautiful greenery. And the wonderful Christmasy smell of pine and cedar is a welcome bonus!

Across the living room is my wall of crosses, and you can see the reflection of the mantelscape in the mirror:

As usual, one of our doggies has curled up in front of the fire for a cozy nap. She'll have to move for Christmas morning, though, because this chair is the favorite spot for boys to open their stockings.

I'm joining the beautiful Layla at The Lettered Cottage for her mantel party. Visit Layla to see dozens of beautiful mantelscapes!