One Final Shot (for now)

A more full shot of our Christmas mantle in our family room.  See the old photo of the man to the left of the candy cane candle?  That's old Josiah Conger, a forbear of my husband.  The Santa on the right was given to my oldest daughter by my grandmother.  My stocking on the far left has been mine since young childhood.  The four center stockings were given to our children by my mother.

From this picture and the other posts of our Christmas decorations, you can see why we have about 17 large boxes of decorations (not counting the outside ones!).

These decorations have been collected over 35 years of marriage, and some are from my childhood.  I know some people like to have a new Christmas theme each year, but we like to use all of our ornaments and decorations.  I love a simple natural look, but I love all of the memories and the sheer abundance of Christmas -- the Victorian "too much is not enough".