Santa (and Charles Schulz) Threw Up In Here

There's a terrific moment in the second season of Grey's Anatomy when Meredith and George walk into their house to find that Izzy has gone all out decking the halls. Meredith and George are both feeling a bit "bah humbug" about the holiday season, but are determined to support Izzy, who has recently found Alex cheating on her.

But it doesn't stop Meredith from muttering, "It looks like Santa threw up in here."

I've always laughed at that, and since then, have used this line to describe what happens around my place in the month of December.

First, some favorite ornaments: My English collection (Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, a Beefeater, a Queen's Guard and a bobby, a London Cab, Big Ben, and a knight on horseback), three cute felt ornaments my mom made, and two new Snoopy ornaments I found at Home Goods after Christmas last year.

I have the most awesome tree skirt EVER: Mom and I found the fabric at WalMart and she made it for me because she's a lovely mom. : )

This is almost all of my Snoopy ornaments. There are a few not in the picture, believe it or not. Some go way back to my childhood (there's a round one from 1989) and some are even older antiques that I have found in antique shops. I have a ton of Hallmark ornaments from throughout the years and three gorgeous ornaments by Lennox.

Some favorites:

The finished tree. I love using a Santa hat as a topper!

The top:

The middle:

The bottom:

 Next to the tree, on my little round table, is a tiny tree with miniatur ornaments--all but five are Peanuts. The five non-Peanuts ornaments are a set of Harry Potter ornaments (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Scabbers, Hedwig).

A few years ago, I got the bright idea to turn to eBay in search of cute Christmas outfits for some of my old Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. Needless to say, I had great results, and every year now, I put out four (of ten, yes I was a spoiled child) on my chair. They make me smile. Delinda (the blonde one) is an original.

The corner of the living room (the London Shrine normally resides on the baker's rack).

I found the Charlie Brown Tree last year and nearly melted in delight in the middle of Target. Tonight, going through my stuff, I found the Gift Wrapping display (Charlie Brown and Lucy) and was delighted--Mom bought this for me at the Snoopy Gallery and Gift Shop in Sonoma after Christmas last year and I'd forgotten about it in the meantime! What a lovely surprise. The teapot is a Lennox eBay find from a few years ago.

The plate and mug are old antique store finds. The books are mostly from my childhood--that Rudolph book has both Aaron (in his childish scrawl) and Megan (in mine) written inside it, so it's kind of a family treasure.

My favorite piano student ever, Cailin, made this for me in 2001 or 2002. She was a special kid and I remember her fondly. She's in high school by now, and I hope she's doing well. She was whip-smart (I was doing high-level music theory with her when she was seven and she was begging for more) and very driven. Also very sweet. Her parents were awesome, too. They used to always give me a $20 gift certificate to the local movie theater each year at Christmas, but damned if this little snowman isn't the gift I treasure most. I display him every year.

A wonderful "Charlie Brown Christmas" display. So cute!

Snoopy and Woodstock plush dolls galore.

I bought the D and M stockings yesterday. I searched and searched in vain for an H stocking and couldn't find one. I finally settled on D for Doodlebug (that would be Harley) and M for, of course, Millie. Harley has a new blue striped collar (PetSmart no longer carries Harley Davidson cat collars!) and Millie has a red collar with duckies on it.

The top of my hutch. Pardon the candles being all wonky. I'll fix them later!

The overall effect: I LOVE IT.

I bought this at Mom's craft faire last year. I'll fill it with peppermints as soon as I buy some.

Ornament cocktails!

Finally, on the corner of the counter, a red doily that was made by my beloved Grandma Bean (a green one is under my miniature tree), a Lennox plate that I bought with the Lennox teapot, and a great Hallmark ornament that plays music (and is too heavy for my tree).

I have a little more I want to do (yes, more!) and I still have to take pics of the front window from outside (I have a Peanuts light-up display thing), but that's for tomorrow.

Happy Holidays!