I don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, so I decorated our Christmas tree on the first few days of December. It is full of sentimental ornaments that bring back many memories as I place them on our tree.
We were happy to have decorated the outside of our home the day after Thanksgiving, as the cold and snow finally arrived! Colorado experienced significant snowfall over several days following a prolonged drought.
We usually leave some leaves on our lawns in late fall, as we have seen the deer dig under the snow to eat them all winter. They are good foragers, and they survive on what they can find in the wild.
Santa Claus visits our community in early December, and although our oldest granddaughter is a few months away from becoming a teenager, she agreed to take photos with him again.
My husband and I joined in, as this might be the last year we see him!
We even get to take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage after seeing Santa Claus!
Our community is about 25 miles west of Denver, located in a valley of the foothills, and on our way back home after seeing Santa Claus, we had this view of dramatic, stormy snow clouds over the city!
This past week, we enjoyed listening to our oldest grandson and oldest granddaughter play the viola in a holiday orchestra production at their schools. They both enjoy music very much!
Our youngest granddaughter enjoys ballet, and her ballet school put on a fabulous production of "The Nutcracker" this week.
Our granddaughter had some solo parts in the dance of the "Russian Candy Canes" segment of the ballet, as seen in the short video above.
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She was so excited!
As these assorted decorations proclaim ..."It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...and more busy times are ahead!
I'll be writing my Christmas cards, baking some traditional cookies, and making savory zeppole that we serve as appetizers.
I'm sure you are all busy too! Enjoy all the fun!
Blogs I link with:
Nature Notes, Home Matters Linky Party, Ducks in a Row, Monday Morning Blog Club, Good Random Fun, Talk About It Tuesday, The Happy Now Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday 2, Wednesday My Corner of the World, Wonderful Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Skywatch Friday, Fantastic Friday, Farmhouse Friday, Crazy Little Lovebirds Friday Link Up, Dare to Share, Saturday Sparks, Saturday Critters,
A truly beautiful tree! Loved seeing your grands in performances! So much talent. Hope you enjoy the holidays!
ReplyDeleteHello, Pat
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas tree and decorations look beautiful.
Love the snowy images and critters too.
Your granddaughter is lovely, she must be very proud and happy to be in the Nutcracker ballet. The carriage ride looks fun. Love the dramatic sky shot too. Take care, have a wonderful week ahead.
Sounds like you've had a lovely beginning to your December! Love all the holiday fun with family! We don't decorate until after Thanksgiving either and we actually put up our tree (a fresh one) this past weekend! You're right - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Happy baking! Visiting via #MMBC
ReplyDeleteThe concerts, the Nutcracker, the visit to Santa and a carriage ride? Could anything be more perfect Christmas? Add to it a glorious memory-filled tree (mine is like that too) and deer -- I'd say life is pretty wonderful for you right now, Pat. And I wish you a wonderful holiday season full of love and joy.
ReplyDeleteGreat Christmas celebrations. I love the deer close-up, The Nutcracker Suite, and all the other festivities. #MMBC
ReplyDeleteYour tree is beautiful and the snowy scenes are stunning, they look like something off a Christmas card! How wonderful to have Santa Claus visit your community!
ReplyDeleteWell done the kids, The Nutcracker looks like a fantastic performance.
Hooray for your snow! What fun Christmas events are when our loved ones are part of the cast! Your tree is beautiful! Ours is up but undecorated at present. Happy new week to you.
ReplyDeleteLove the Nutcracker pics- always a fave- beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love all of your photos! Your grandchildren are adorable and they all look very talented! And the carriage ride sounds so fun! Glad you are already enjoying holiday fun and I hope the rest of the month is just as great!
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas tree is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYour tree is lovely! It sounds like you have been enjoying lots of fun Christmas events. That Nutcracker production looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThose early-December moments sound wonderfully bittersweet, wrapping tradition, snowfall, and growing-up milestones into one warm holiday memory
ReplyDeleteMarvelous photos! Looks like you've had a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2025/12/nativities-from-around-world.html
ReplyDeleteOh, what a magnificent Christmas tree! Zooming in, I marvel at the many ornaments.
ReplyDeleteIt turns out that customs vary greatly. While you decorate your tree festively at the beginning of December, it is customary for us to do so shortly before 24 December.
Such a lovely post, which I really enjoyed. Just like your wonderful quote on Instagram, by the way...
Loved to see you ans your family. Thank you for sharing at MosaicMonday ❤️
Love your tree. We have one tree that is all memories from vacations to gift exchanges. It brings up so many happy times.
ReplyDeleteYour tree is beautiful and I love the sentimental ornaments and do the same with our tree. How fun to see the orchestra and the Nutcracker production with your daughter in it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tree. When ornaments are brought out every year there are always stories to tell. We do the same. Your grandchildren are involved in wonderful things.
ReplyDeleteHappy December days! Lots of baking going on around here, too.
Your tree is beautiful! Visiting from #MMBC
ReplyDelete...Pat, you Christmas Wonderland is fabulous. Enjoy your family time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely dance. Your granddaughter did great! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo festive! You have a beautiful tree. It's great that your grands are so involved!
ReplyDeleteI'm always envious of other's trees. I cannot seem to decorate mine propertly.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
Love seeing the activities of your grands. Your decor is beautiful! Thank you for linking up and have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such beautiful Holiday pictures. My daughters got to dance at a local production of the Nutcracker, and they loved it too. Happy belated Little Things Thursday!
ReplyDeleteHello Pat,
ReplyDeleteI love all your photos, the snow collage with the bunny and the deer stand out to me. Your granddaughter has a lovely smile. Great photos and Happy Times with the family. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
Lovely photographs, the tree looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat "The Nutcracker" at Christmas ... wonderful.
Enjoy the season.
All the best Jan
What a lovely start to the holidays! It sounds like you are making wonderful memories. Enjoy the baking!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to be able to use something that you purchased for your first Christmas together. I light my Great Aunt's Chanukiah. She lived in Israel, it was brought to the UK after she died, and then I brought it back home again.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas.
Oh nothing says the season as much as the Nutcracker. We usually go to see it every year. How adorable your granddaughter is. And of course, all of the holiday type programs that the kids can sing or play their instruments in.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tree, and such fun festivities. I'm glad your oldest granddaughter still joined in, they grow up so fast.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing with #MMBC. Hope to see you again! :)
Such a wonderful post! Much fun had by all!
ReplyDeleteThat sky view is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful tree and you must be proud of your talented grand children
ReplyDelete