Merry Christmas and welcome to my home tour!
The tree is trimmed and Christmas has come to our home!! We tend towards the simple and minimalist approach in our home, mostly due to moving around so much with Uncle Sam. This is one of the reasons I love the Nester’s motto “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”. I discovered years ago that I just can’t perfectly decorate each rental home we end up in. It’s not in the budget or my abilities. Some of our homes have had beautiful fireplace mantels and some have had lovely porches….our German home has neither 😉 Our German home has a voltage that does not work with our Christmas lights, so the majority of our decor is going to be ‘unplugged’ this year.
Another adaptation for Germany was our Christmas tree. I had been warned that the trees here would not be as full as our stateside options. I was still shocked when our tree arrived at the house.
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We had our usual decorating party after the tree had a day to relax and prepare itself for the onslaught 😉 I was delighted to find that the large spaces in our tree were the perfect place for our large ornaments! Back in Kansas, our tree was so full and thick that most of our ornaments just rested outside the tree itself and we could hardly see our lights! This year my oldest son wanted to learn how to wrap the lights around the tree, so hubby obliged. Sadly, we lost a few ornaments in this last move. I guess that means we need to buy more here, eh?
We only have one place in this house for my New England Village. Sadly, I also lost a few pieces of this set. Most noticeable is my little sign stating “New England Village”. Hubby is hoping to fix it with super glue, but we shall see.
We had a hard time getting decorations up on the walls here because German houses are made of cinder block. Many of the walls we attempted to poke nails into simply bent. But we had to get Gran’s quilts put up because we love them!!
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Calvin and Luther always enjoy getting into the Christmas spirit! 
We were able to get a couple of our Christmas swags up above doors, and I am thankful for that. Our snowman found a nice spot on our small German woodturning stove, however within 24hrs, my youngest helped him lose his right arm. Our wreath is indoors this year. The German doors are not flat along the top, so none of our door hangers fit correctly. Besides, this way we get to see it every day! The kids revived a special treat this year because their Advent Calendars came from Rittersport. This is our favorite brand of German chocolate!! I also took a close up picture of the funny needles that grow out of the tree trunk of our tree.
Our newest acquisition is this German Christmas Pyramid! Hubby loves these things and we found an adorable one that everyone loves…on sale!! Woohoo! I don’t know if you can see the detail, but it has snow effects on the roof and ‘fencing’.
Thank you for stopping by and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:2, 6–7.
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Part of the 2014 Tour of Homes, hosted by Nester.
Kay's Little Korner 
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!
Thank you, Gran!!
Love all of this!! We have never had a fireplace mantel (or even a fireplace period!) on which to hang stockings, so we’ve always had to command hook them to the wall. I had a good spot for them last year, but the furniture arrangement this year doesn’t allow for the same placement, and there is truly no where else to put them. But I’m okay about it since we’ll be in IN this year with my husband’s family – where they DO have a fireplace mantel! I hate not having things look perfect. But I guess it’s true… that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful. 🙂 Beauty seems to get a new definition every year.
That phrase really came to life for me this year with that tree. I was initially very disappointed with it and quite sad. But it’s our tree and this is my home. It’s not bright and sparkly with all the lights I love, and I have found contentment with it.
Thanks for stopping by the blog and leaving a comment from the Nester’s tour. 🙂 Your home looks beautiful. Although we were not in the military, my husband and I spent a few Christmas’s outside of the U.S. while working with humanitarian organizations, and Christmas away from home is always a little different, but special too. One thing that we did was pick up Christmas ornaments or, in one case, a Nativity made from coconut, so that when we are in the U.S., wishing we were somewhere else, we can look at our tree and be reminded of other places and experiences. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
That is a great idea, Carrie! I am hoping to pick up some fun things to add to our tree decor from Germany. Thanks for stopping by 🙂