A Warm Holiday Welcome

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the chance to have friends over for a relaxing evening in the midst of the craziness. And let's face it, as much as we love the holidays, it's a whirlwind! Tonight, the book club girls are on their way!

At my house, luminaries are a must for any gathering after dark.

And here's a tip on luminaries. Put the sand in a sturdy container before you put it in the bag. That will provide stability and prevent the candle from blowing out if it's windy. And if it rains or snows and the bag gets soggy, you won't have a big mess. I use old plastic freezer containers. Plastic milk jugs work well too. And you can stack them with the sand and the candle already inside in a corner of your garage and use them over and over again.

I love these ice candles. And so easy to make. Details to come.

Welcome!

Come on in. This is my foyer. I love having a little tree right inside the door.

And a bench to sit down and take off your snowy boots!

As you can see, I already have lots of red, so Christmas works really well.

This is our gathering room.

A few years ago, I made the change from one large single tree to a cluster of three tress in three sizes. I just thought it would be fun! And the view outside the windows has lots of large trees, so I felt like this was an extension of the outside.




You can see details of the dining room here. I mixed vintage pink ornaments, chatreuse green and mercury glass together for a pretty color twist.

Cranberries are not just for eating.





I shared the recipe for this Sparkling Cranberry Punch here. It's a book club favorite.
Delicious and super simple!

It's fun to have treats at the door for guests to pick up on their way out!

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peak. The full tour is coming up!

And I have more than just my house to show you!

I'm linking to...