Living Decorations

I watched a HGTV special about the yearly Christmas decorations at the White House. It was an hour of past decorations, then another hour dedicated to Michelle Obama's choices for this year. I admit that 2 hours of decorations on TV sounds boring, but I just had surgery. My to-do list is not that long for now...I get bored. Our first Lady has excellent taste, and lots of the decor was stunning but one thing caught our eye (ok, so Stephen and Hannia participated in the HGTV-fest too. I said bored, NOT lonely.). One of the many trees was decorated with these mini terrariums, and it was just the coolest thing. The White House ornaments were handblown especially for the Presidential tree and had nice openings for easy watering...like the picture below. But I found tons of ideas online for creating your own, including using regular clear ornaments ( might be a pain to open and water but not impossible. ). And then I saw the tiny jars and thought those were so adorable. It makes me think of the tiny jam jars we were served several places in England.

You know, the hard to open clear ones could be used to create scenes that don't necessarily need watering...tiny pinecones or berries or whatever. The options would only be limited by your imagination. None of this is happening here at my house this year. The tree is already decorated and I am a bit out of commission...but I am keeping this idea on hold for future reference. Oh and also? I really really loved the wreaths made out of sheet music in the Biden's house as well. Another craft to file in my "get around to it someday" box.

My own house is not without some charming handmade touches. Hannia made me really pretty snowflakes, and Stephen spray painted them with sparkly stuff. They hung them over the fireplace, from the dining room chandelier, and doorways. Unfortunately, a few of the glittery, hanging things have already fallen victim to Vixen (evil kitty), and I don't know if my gorgeous snowflakes will survive the season....but at least they brought me joy for a while. :)