Hello sweet friend! I’d like to invite you in for a holiday tour of my home. Come in out of the cold and we’ll warm by the fire, sip on something hot and nibble on a few Christmas cookies. Bring a little grace with you, please. I’m not a home decor blogger for a reason. I frequently change my hair style, but I rarely change up my furniture. I know how to put together an outfit, but I’m no expert at staging a vignette. And my Christmas decorations are an eclectic combination of family treasures, travel mementos and a very few fresh finds. All that to say, this is a genuine invitation to step into my world for a little Christmas cheer. Welcome to my holiday home!
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When you walk into my front door I want you to feel the JOY. You’re greeted by a Fontanini nativity set that my parents gave us when James and I married almost 38 years ago.
You may smell the faint, citrusy scent of my capri reed diffuser as you remove your coat. But surely I have cookies fresh from the oven, too.
Let’s start our little holiday home tour in what we call the evening room. Our house features two living areas, so we have created a cozy space in this one for watching television, playing games and reading in the evenings.
I removed the pillows we normally have in here and replaced them with a couple of older holiday pillows and some newer ones. I’ve linked the available ones that are on our church pew in the shopping widget at the bottom of this post. Or you can see all of my available items in my ShopMy shop.
On our end table I have a few treasures. We received that picture of Mary and Jesus on a Christmas card so many years ago. I loved it, so I framed it and have continued to set it out year after year. Conversely, this is the first year we have set out the lovely nativity scene cut from a piece of wood. My son and daughter-in-law brought it to us from their tour of Christmas markets in Germany and Austria last year. Yes, you can get a similar one here, but I love that our kids brought us this one from their trip.
Do you see a little critter peeking at you? I enjoy clipping that little guy to a curtain every year. He certainly brings me a little joy. The red tartan plaid blanket was a gift with purchase from Talbots several years ago and my Chappywrap blanket on the right is sold out. But you can use code KAYHARMS for 20% off similar styles.
We also have our Christmas tree in the evening room. It’s filled with ornaments made by the children, many we purchased on our travels and quite a few gifted by friends or each other. I’ll share a few of my favorites with you.
At the top of our tree we have a beautiful angel my parents gave us our first Christmas. That Barbie doll ornament is special to me because I had that exact Barbie and that dress, coat and clutch when I was a child. Oh, how I loved playing Barbie!
The ornament above is Anne of Green Gables. It’s a memento from my trip to Prince Edward Island with my lifelong friend Michelle. I love reminiscing as I hang ornaments like this on my tree each year. And yes, I decorate the tree all by myself. What about you?
Of course the sweet ornament above is one my daughter Abigail made in preschool. Precious. And below I have just one example of the many we have collected on vacations.
Above is a photo my mom and I had taken when we visited the Biltmore Estate while it was decorated for the holidays many, many moons ago. What a precious memory. And below I’m showing a block of the tree with some Willow Tree ornaments gifted to me by James each year and some Madame Alexander doll ornaments gifted to me by a friend for a number of years. I have dozens of both of those.
We’ll move on into the adjoining dining room for a brief visit. I didn’t take photos of the dining room table. It was covered with gift wrap and presents. But to the left of the dining table I have a sofa table made from another old church pew. It holds a Christmas tree filled with sand dollars my mom and brother collected years ago, a Blue Ridge Pottery Christmas plate (similar) and a Willow Tree 6-piece nativity set.
And on the other side of the dining table, atop my china cabinet, I have a collection of mercury glass Christmas trees I’ve gathered over the past ten years or so. Oh, and we can’t forget the kissing angels! Those were a wedding present. Sweet.
We’ll scurry on into the breakfast nook, where undoubtedly I have some cookies and coffee waiting for you.
I purchased my Christmas china years ago at a Marshal’s. I enjoy setting a variety of tablescapes with them each year. I purchased my fun felt garland this year, and you’ll see more of it in a bit. I thought it looked so JOYful!
That little red cape you see in the photo above (hanging on the back of a chair) was one I made for my son when he was about 5. It was his Super Mario cape and he loved it. I’m going to let my granddaughter play with it when she’s here.
I’m hosting my kids for Christmas this year, so I’m very excited to make things special for them all. I’ll probably gift the advent calendar to my daughter and her family before they leave to go home.
I found the little mailbox tin among my Christmas decorations when I unpacked them this year. Someone probably gave us a gift in it. But I’ve set it out as a special treat for my granddaughter. Each day (or several times a day!) she’ll find little goodies in it. We’ve got a pretty good little stash of sweet items that fit nicely into the mailbox, but I especially like the Toddler Scavenger Hunt cards my husband found for her.
Let’s step into the morning room now to enjoy our coffee and cookies. I have a fire laid for you. Ahem. Make that James has a fire laid for us. He makes me one most every morning from mid October to early May.
I sit in here each morning to read my Bible. This month I’ve also been reading through Ruth Chou Simons’ Emmanuel again, too. And occasionally James and I read a chapter of Charles Stanley’s The Gift of Jesus.
My daughter-in-law gave me those advent candles while we were visiting for Thanksgiving. I’ve enjoyed burning them a little each day during my quiet time. What a joyful addition to my Christmas celebration. Unfortunately the brand didn’t have any of these this year; she purchased them last year. I included a few similar options in the shopping widget below.
I know you have things to do, and I’ve kept you long enough. But before you dash off let me take you upstairs for a quick peek at the guest room. Since we’re hosting this year, I decided it was a good time to purchase some new holiday linens.
Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for spending a little time with me today. I’ve loved giving you a tour of my holiday home. I’ll be back tomorrow with our usual fashion content. Let me know in the comments how you decorate your home for the holidays. I’d love to hear from you.
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Blessed for My Day
“Do not be afraid,” he said. And then the angel leveled at Mary one of the most mind-blowing assignments ever given by God. Isn’t that just like Him? I’m sure you, too, have received assignments from the Lord that seemed daunting and beyond your abilities. Maybe, like Mary, you had more questions than you did answers. And maybe your holy assignment also affected other people and even caused them skepticism.
But indeed we do not have to be afraid when God gives us something larger than life to do for Him. Whether He has asked you to care for a family member, go out on a limb for a friend, speak up on a hot topic, give more than you think you have to offer or extend grace to someone who has hurt you, God will provide everything you need for the task. Take a note from Mary. Ponder these things. But don’t let them scare you. Instead, be amazed as you take one step after another in faith.
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ~ Luke 1:30-33
Everything looks fantastic and ready to receive all your guests!
Anne with an “e”. Anne of Green Gables
Ahh yes! I’ll fix that.
What beautiful decor and home! Hope you have wonderful Christmas with your family! 🌲
Kay, your home is beautiful and welcoming! Thank you for sharing. I love your tartan blouse! It’s perfect for Christmas!
Thank you for sharing your lovely home. It looks festive and welcoming for Christmas and I love that you have a story behind so many of the decorations.
Your home looks so warm and welcoming.
Loved “the tour”…I just know we would enjoy those cookies and coffee so much 😊. My Christmas ornaments are also a trip down memory lane. It’s one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Enjoy your family time!!
Your house looks peaceful, warm and welcoming.
Over the years I’ve collected a large number ( read ten full totes) of Victorian inspired ornaments and decorations which perfectly suited my last home. We now live in a more modern home and still when we are home for Christmas (or do Christmas on Canada’s Thanksgiving) I line the circular stairs with the 13 old world Santas, cluster all the nutcrackers before the fireplace and set up the full Norman Rockwell village, etc, etc, etc. When we are at a winter home in California, we adjust!
It’s all beautiful! A wonderful mix of family memories and lovely accent pieces. Enjoy your family!
Thank you for sharing your home. It makes me feel like I know you better. I love that you have a Christmas tree decorated exactly how mine is. It doesn’t have a special theme. It just has lots and lots of memories through the years. This year our Japanese exchange student decorated archery.
Thanks for having me over today to celebrate Christmas with you! Your home is lovely and the cookies were delicious I’m sure. Maybe you can come to my home next year. I would love that! I do feel like I know you and count you as a treasured friend.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home. You’ve filled it with Christmas treasures that have meaning and wonderful memories. I especially like your tree. It’s much like mine, a history of the life I’ve lived is in each ornament. Merry Christmas to you, James, and your family. Enjoy this special season.
Beautiful home and decor
Thank you for sharing with us
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for taking us on a tour of your home and sharing your Christmas decor. It’s lovely and I loved seeing all the things you’ve collected over the years. I also have a Fontanini nativity set that I’ve had for close to 20 years. I love it. I have a 5 foot primitive style twig tree that I decorate with primitive ornaments. It’s a smaller tree and easy for my husband to carry up from the basement. Enjoy hosting your family over the holidays!
What wonderful decorations – not too much and not too little! And almost everything has a story. I love it. I hope you and your family have a great Christmas!
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your home.
At your suggestion I am almost finished with the daily principle bible. I’ve never been a Bible reader and look forward to reading each morning. Do you have any suggestions for 2026?
Love that! I just start all over. 🙂 I suppose I’ve read through about 10 or 12 times with this Bible now, but it feels fresh every year. That said, you could consider a different reading plan. I’ll try to look into a few to recommend.
I am also finishing my year of reading the Bible and have considered just starting over again but a new suggestion would be very welcomed.
Kay, everything is beautiful and inviting! I love your decor. I too have the Willow Tree Nativity set and I love putting it out in my dining room each year. I also have the Jan Karon collection of books like you have … I loved every one of them. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family! Thanks for inviting us into your home.
You have a lovely home, Kay! Thanks for sharing! I feel like we are friends!
Thank you Kay-what a warm inviting home for family to gather! Merry Christmas!
Your home exudes warmth, love, honoring of memories, and appreciation of family and friends. I especially loved all the vivid red flowers, decor items and the precious religious items. So many lovely things to enjoy. Happy holidays!
Hi Kay!
Your house is just stunning, both the non-holiday and the Christmas decorations! So very pretty, and your kids and your granddaughter are going to love it. Your granddaughter sounds like she’s at that special age where everything Christmas is such a wonder, and you sound like a loving and fun grandma.
Also, you look amazing in those jeans and that pretty plaid top! It’s a perfect holiday outfit for relaxing at home or doing a little shopping.
And thank you for putting my name throughout your blog post and your house! Hahaha!
Joy
Oh, and I forgot to tell you that a friend and I drove from Colorado to Prince Edward Island a number of years ago for our 50th birthdays. I absolutely fell in love with the island, and I consider it my favorite place on earth (so far). So glad you went there!
Joy
Thank you so much , Kay with sharing your charming and joyful home! I loved it:)
Merry Christmas to you!
Love, Janet
Thank you for inviting us into your lovely home. Your home, as we all can see, is filled with love and joy. And yes it is such a special time to enjoy the treasures other have given us! Thank you once again for your daily posts and also for your ending thoughts and scriptures. You always set my journey through the day with blessings.
Your home looks lovely! We buy Christmas ornaments on our travels as well and it’s fun to pull them out every year. I also have ornaments my children now in their late 40’s made. But my most cherished Christmas decoration is the Nativity my in-laws made over 40 years ago. The figures were all made in a ceramics class my mother in law took and the manger was crafted by my father in law with twigs and scrap wood. So unique and I remember that Christmas they gifted my husband and I the set so clearly. Over the years I have been given other Nativities that I place around the house but none are as cherished as that one made with love by my in-laws.
I enjoyed seeing your home decorated for Christmas. It is so nice to see all the things you have collected over the years or been given to you as gifts. I really enjoyed that you have Madame Alexander doll ornaments on your tree. I too have four of them I have collected over the years and are on my tree every year. I have the one in the red coat with furry hat and skates, my favorite, Raggedy Ann, Princess in pink dress little red riding hood, and Queen in red dress. Which ones do you have other than the doll with skates? I too decorate the tree by myself and maybe I prefer that. My husband puts the tree up, puts on the lights and angel on top that has been there for over 30 years. It is mechanical and spreads its wings and lights up. When the kids and grandkids were little, they helped me decorate. Such fun!
I love how your tree’s ornaments chronicle your family life.
Loved this post. Your home is beautiful.
Your home is beautiful, warm and inviting – I especially like that the nativity set is front and center at the entrance! Thank you for sharing your Christmas decor – I enjoyed the tour very much!
I like that your decorations have meaning for you. I like to think about the memories associated with some of the decorations we put up. And I too decorate the tree myself except for the ones that go on the top. But I direct my husband on where and how! He doesn’t mind and it all turns out so beautifully. Thanks for sharing!
My husband suggested this year to put “only” the ornaments we have purchased on our travels, which left quite a few others not hung! But I actually like how the tree looks! It doesn’t look too bare, and each ornament can be enjoyed since it’s not part of a huge jumble! We may end up giving our son the “leftovers” which include some lovely Radko and others, to have to start his collection. Your home looks lovely, and I thank you for sharing!
Beautiful and inviting! Thank you for the peek into your decorations. I love them all. Merry Christmas!
Your home is beautiful and inviting, Kay! Blessings to you and your family this Christmas season❤️
Your home is just beautiful. Not over done. I read all the Jan Karon books, they are such wonderful stories!
Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us. I too like to decorate with pieces that have special meaning. I have ornaments that my son, who is now 34 years old, made when he was a child. I even have a chewed up ornament from my honeymoon in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 1989! About 2 years later our first dog together, a Golden Retriever named Lizzie, found it and chewed on it!!! But I couldn’t throw it away, so every year I put it on my tree, teeth marks all over it. It makes me smile and miss that mischievous rascal :). Most of my decor has meaning to me. Bowls my Mother used for special occasions, knick knacks bought on vacations, gifts from special people in our lives. It may not be a decorator’s dream, and will probably go to Goodwill when my husband and I are gone, but that’s okay. As they say, one man’s (or woman’s) trash is another man’s treasure! I pray your Christmas with your family will be a sweet time. God bless you and Merry Christmas!
Love the tour of your home decorated for Christmas! Love that you decorate with things that are meaningful to you and your family and to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus with your nativity scenes. That’s how I decorate also. BTW, love Jan Karon books too. Saw them on a table.
Your home looks lovely, warm and inviting!
Oh Kay thank you for doing this. I really loved seeing your home decorated and think you have done a great job and your home is very pretty. I love when homes reflex the person and not something pulled out of the latest decor book. I love how cheery your colors are that you decorate with. I’m sure your family is going to have a great time there this year. I see the snow in the Windows. I so wish for snow here but it’s just too warm. Enjoy and thanks. I’m one who asked if you’d share your Christmas Decor. So fun.
Kay, your home is absolutely beautiful – a wonderful combination of elegance and yes, coziness (I know a lot of people, including myself, are describing things that way :)), that is ever so inviting. In particular, I love the doll ornaments that you feature and the fact that every aspect of the decor is meaningful, which again, adds to the coziness factor. Lovely, simply, lovely and a heartfelt expression of your taste, as well as James. The fire in the morning room tops everything off! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you for sharing! Your home and decor are a beautiful reflection of family, faith, and love for both! And, that is so wonderfully special! Merry Christmas!
Thank you! Your Christmas home is lovely!
Joy has been my “word” for many years now. I love your thoughts on adding joy to Christmas. I am considering adding the Joy signage to my collection. All my Joy’s are red. A black sign will allow me to keep it out year round.
Merry Christmas!
Sweet. Yes, I have some red and some white signs, too. Sometimes I’ve kept the black one out all year. This year I kept the gold one out. I wish I could locate another one of those. Thanks for stopping in.
Thanks so much for sharing your lovely and charming home that looks definitely ready for Christmas. I also enjoy putting out all my Christmas treasures that I have acquired throughout the years. My husband and my favorite is an ornament that says “Soul Mates” and our Christmas tree is adorned with many ornaments that represent so many memories. Your guest room looks so inviting. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas together. All the best for the best in 2026!
Beautiful video, thank you so much for sharing your home with us Kay! Your gentle Grace shines through to every corner of your home. I too, have started to collect murano glass, lighted trees, and absolutely love them! Many blessings to you and your family for a wonderful holiday🌟
I should have known you would be a Jan Karon fan! & I would change your misconceived idea that you don’t have a gift for decorating!
Your short sleeved shirt with the snow on your hedge made me shiver! I live in central Texas, so any time it’s under 70 we wear a sweater. The forecast has it as 76 for Christmas day, I guess I’ll be running around in shorts and a t-shirt again this year. I’m so glad Amazon makes short sleeved Christmas shirts!
My husband usually decorates for Christmas (I decorate for Fall, and Valentines, and anything else I can think of).
Thank you for sharing your home with us. It looks very cozy and welcoming. Enjoy having it filled with joyful noise this Christmas!
Thank you for the sweet little tour of your Christmas “house.” I love all of the personal touches from the past and present. I’m also in the middle of Ruth’s Emmanuel book – I’ve read it every year since the book came out. Merry Christmas to you and your family. God’s richest blessings on you!
Thank you for this lovely home tour! The tartan blouse is like a little bow on all your decorations. Bless you and your family this Christmas season!
I only had one Barbie doll and made most of her clothes but I did have that same little red coat, hat, and clutch and still have it. I Began sewing at an early age. When I was in junior high, I made Barbie clothes and sold them to earn my Christmas money Fortunately, my principal had four little girls who had Barbies so he was my best customer Thank you I for the tour of your lovely home. God bless you! Merry Christmas
Beautiful, and perfect for the home that is lived in. Special things but not too many of them. Just right!
What a treat to see your lovely home and get some great decorating ideas for Christmas.
But most exciting of all was seeing your large collection of books by Jan Karon, and realizing that you are indeed a kindred spirit!
Thank you for sharing! Merry Christmas to you and your family!