The Giraffe in My Living Room
Dec 3rd 2007
Suzanne EnochMy Life As A Plebe
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I was late decorating indoors this year – those pesky revision deadlines. But my sisters and mom and dad and nephews and niece pitched in on Saturday, and here are some of the results. The outdoor decorations – which do not include Stormtroopers, Julia London – will have to wait until next weekend, but at least now I can look up from the computer and see Christmas.
I love decorating for the holidays, though I detest un-decorating after the holidays. That will probably be another blog.
So here’s Gerald the Giraffe (she – yes, she – was named by my older nephew two years ago) in all her holiday glory with my Victorian-style decorated tree, and my living room coffee table with my little carriages. My entire house, you see, isn’t Hollywood/Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Pirates of the Caribbean. The living room is more of an English Colonial-Africa in look. Hence the African mask, also decorated for Christmas.
Do you decorate the inside of your house for the holidays? Do you go all out, or are you more conservative? Or like me, do you have a house that explodes with holiday cheer some years, and is…spare in others?
35 Comments »
35 Responses to “The Giraffe in My Living Room”
Marie on 03 Dec 2007 at 4:26 am #
We decorated on Sat. as well. Lights, garland, but no Giraffes sadly.
The inside will have to wait until next weekend, but we will have a white tree, snowmen galore and a very cute tree skirt.
Why is the cutest piece covered by the tree? Umm…maybe they need to rethink that one.
But I LOVE Christmas. Our town is having a parade of lights for the total of 200 houses in the entire area. Very cozy. Perfect place for the holidays.
Lisa H on 03 Dec 2007 at 7:31 am #
Suzanne,
I love your giraffe! Thanks for posting the picture. My house is completely decorated inside, the whole down stairs, and my daughter whose room is on the third floor ( a refinished walk-up attic) Decorates her suite as well.
I love Christmas decorations, and enjoy all the different themes and ways people put theirs together. Having a lovely giraffe in the foyer certainly tops most of the decor I have seen lately!
Karen Hawkins on 03 Dec 2007 at 7:52 am #
Lol! Suzanne, no storm troopers? Where’s your holiday spirit/force?
Of course, only YOU would have a giraffe in your living room! How cool is THAT?!
I love your decos! Sounds like your family had a great holiday experience. I just do a tree, put up some candles, and string one strand of lights on the railing of my front porch. That’s enough for me. i love Christmas decorations, but I’m always conscious that what goes up, must come down so I’m a bit conservative. I have a huge tree though and TONS of ornaments. I looooove ornaments and am still sad that I lost my oldest box when I moved. I don’t know how, but they’re gone. Sigh!
I can’t wait for my kids to get in from school in a few weeks. My daughter’s decorating her first tree in her college apartment and she’s had a great time with that. I can’t wait to see the pictures!
Ah, the lovely, lovely holidays!
DebMarlowe on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:31 am #
Suzanne,
Your giraffe looks lovely in her holiday finery! I’m dying to see pics of the iron tree, though!
We put up our tree and most of our decorations yesterday. For my youngest it’s like getting a whole new batch of toys once a year. All of my nutcrackers–Love my Nutcrackers!–must be tested and welcomed back. This morning I found an armless Luke Skywalker action figure hanging out in the tree too.
My favorite part is decorating the tree and listening to the kids reminisce over their ornaments, and sighing over mine too!
KariE on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:45 am #
The inside is the only place that gets decorated for the holidays anymore. I go more conservative with the decorations. I fell that less is more, with the exception of the tree. A tree can never be too bright or have too many decorations. The only problem I have is that I have 2 relatively large dogs so I have to keep the bottom third of the tree ornament free. If they are by the tree and they get excited and get those tails going you better watch out! Glass bulbs turn into glass bulb bombs.
KariE on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:46 am #
OH forgot to say that I love your tree and giraffe!!
evlqn on 03 Dec 2007 at 9:32 am #
I love the giraffe, I wish I had one! Of course I do have dragons all over my house.
We decorate inside and out. My sister even paints the windows. Every year we make different decorations, this year my sister is painting light bulb ornaments. We put up stuffed animals,singing toys, we decorate George, our gargoyle.
Much to my sons dismay, I still have ornaments they made in preschool. Those sons are now in their thirties and parents.Holidays, what better time to embarrass your offspring??
Every year we add more artificial trees to our front yard, so we now have our own forest. This year we are adding a grapevine deer also, a special request from the 10 year old grandson.
We also have to kid and pet proof our lower branches. Our dog , Tanner would find ornaments he liked and would trade you for them. We discovered this one Christmas when we found a shredded ornament on the floor and one of his toys in the tree where it had been.
doglady on 03 Dec 2007 at 9:35 am #
Suzanne, Gerald is divine! Tomorrow is my day to decorate as it is my day off. Like Karen and several others here I have tons of ornaments. My livingroom, kitchen and front door will get the Christmas treatment. As I have said before I live in the middle of nowhere so outside decorations won’t be seen. I try to keep a few rooms ornament free as two rowdy dogs and three rowdy cats need a place to play. Of course IF Santa would bring me Raffiello I would FIND a place to display him decorated in nothing but a few strategically placed strands of garland. That would definitely make it a Merry DAYUM Christmas!
Patty L. on 03 Dec 2007 at 9:52 am #
I go all out. My living room is more old fashioned, victoria and my family room is more of a Santa’s toy shop. My kids and neices and nephews love to come to the gingerbread house (the outdoor lights) on Christmas Eve because they get a present from under the tree that is decorated with nothing but nutcrackers and toys. LOL Can you tell I love Christmas?
Julia London on 03 Dec 2007 at 9:55 am #
Suz, would it surprise you to know that I have not even located the decorations as of yet? Stupid books due at stupid holidays!!!
I love your giraffe. But I wonder, if a girl wanted to decorate with a giraffe….where exactly would she go to get one?
And if the storm troopers aren’t outside, where the hell are they??
claudia dain on 03 Dec 2007 at 10:26 am #
I not only want a giraffe (or maybe a dragon) for my house, I want a foyer big enough to house it! That stairway must come in handy when placing those way-up-high ornaments.
I do as much each year as I feel like doing, which is sort of new for me and feels a little weird. I’ve started to look at my closet of Christmas stuff as a store; I pull out what appeals to me that year and leave the rest until the urge strikes. If a box of ornaments sits idly for 5 years, where’s the harm? I used to feel that if I had it, I had to use it. Now, I am the master of my Christmas decoration domain. Even if I do feel a bit guilty about the wreath at the bottom of the pile.
SuzyQ on 03 Dec 2007 at 10:39 am #
Suzanne, Gerald looks so beautiful and I love the bow around her neck. Thanks for posting it.
Every room in my house has some sort of decoration. All the bedrooms have mini trees and I let the kids decorate their rooms however they like. That generally means that all of the Christmas stuffed animals come down from the attic. I have the tree in my living room up already, but we also put a real tree in our downstairs family room. That won’t go up until about 2 weeks before Christmas. Like KarenH, I have so many ornaments I still don’t have enough room to hang them all on the two trees. I usually rotate them from year to year. Then there’s the village, the train, the animated dolls, and garland galore. Yeah, I love Christmas!
cail on 03 Dec 2007 at 11:41 am #
great giraffe!
i’ve been meaning to pick up a tree. i bet by the time i get to it, xmas will be over. maybe i’ll put out a santa hat or something in the living room.
RachelG on 03 Dec 2007 at 11:52 am #
Love the santa hat on the giraffe.
rachelg
Suzanne Enoch on 03 Dec 2007 at 11:56 am #
I love all the decoration stories! I have a non-Victorian set, too — African animals, rocket ships, penguins, etc. Maybe I’ll use those again next year.
I want one of those Christmas villages, but I have nowhere to put it.
And JuliaL, if you want a giraffe like Gerald, I recommend Toscano. They also have a 3-foot zebra & a 6-foot crocodile. I’ve been forbidden by family members to get the croc. Sigh.
zambonigirl on 03 Dec 2007 at 12:02 pm #
well, i was totally planning om decorating last weekend. then i broke my wrist. i love decorating and looking at the decorations. now i’ll be lucky to even get my house clean…
i love the giraffe. he’s adorable.
Ho (Ho) Ellen on 03 Dec 2007 at 12:51 pm #
I go ALL OUT. I like to pick a different theme every year and just fly with it. Since my very large family comes to my home on Christmas Eve to open gifts, there can never be too much for the little ones.
My all time favorite was the last Christmas my Mom spent with us. I picked the theme of “Gifts” to decorate. And decorate I did. The rule was, if it was hanging on my wall already, it had to be gift wrapped. Every picture, every clock and even the huge mirror in the living room. I then did a three dimensional montage of gifts across the mantle… (Tiffany Boxes were a special touch!)
When those kids walked through the door they vibrated with glee.
Ho (Ho) Ellen on 03 Dec 2007 at 12:52 pm #
I’m having trouble with a theme this year. Any suggestions? (Be nice!)
Ho (Ho) Ellen on 03 Dec 2007 at 12:56 pm #
I’ve done ICE, TREES, GIFTS, Silver and Gold, Santas, Bohemian and Natural. I did Cream and Gold too. Maybe Giraffes? Hmmmm, maybe Christmas on Noah’s Ark? That way when the toddlers have a diaper accident, we can blame it on the aardvarks.
SuzyQ on 03 Dec 2007 at 1:54 pm #
Ellen, how about Santa’s workshop?
Sabrina Jeffries on 03 Dec 2007 at 2:23 pm #
Ooh, I like the theme idea, Ellen. What about fashion? I only say that because I have a box full of purse, shoe, fashion girl ornaments that I’m dying to put on a tree together. I just don’t have a big enough tree yet.
Suzie, I LOVE your giraffe! And the mask is so adorable!!! But what I really covet is the carriages. Where on earth did you get them?
One day I’m going to have a village, but I want a really unique one, so I’d have to go searching. One with carriages.
Oh, I’m only halfway through decorating (still writing my danged Christmas novella, you know), but already my house looks like Christmas exploded all over it. Ah, how I love the holidays!
Kay on 03 Dec 2007 at 2:32 pm #
Claudia, I have come to that point, too, where I only put out decorations that appeal to me that year, except for the yard art, which the kids INSIST go up!
Ellen, this year I’m doing “snow” in my theme. The snow we had this weekend has inspired me. The Santas and elves will stay packed up this year in favor of the snowmen. I have fluffy white fabric for a tree skirt–a remnant on sale
& I have a new box of frosted white glass ornaments for our miniature tree. I bought new tree lights for the big tree (ours were a scary 18 years old) and went with the tiny white ones. Last year, I bought glass icicles after Christmas & they will debut in my snow theme.
Georgie Lee on 03 Dec 2007 at 2:39 pm #
Your tree looks great. I do more decorating inside than outside but only because I live on a busy street and I’m afraid my outdoor decoration would be stolen. Kudos to all of you who do themes. I haven’t had a chance to decorate yet but I’m hoping to get to it later this week. It’s hard to get in the Christmas spirit when the house isn’t in the Christmas spirit.
Freshechelle on 03 Dec 2007 at 2:53 pm #
Suzanne, some may think it’s impossible to have a giraffe as part of tasteful holiday decorations. Those naysayers just haven’t seen your own Christmas Miracle.
Suzanne Enoch on 03 Dec 2007 at 2:53 pm #
Oh, I love the idea of a theme. Usually the theme in my house is “Christmas barfed”.
claudia dain on 03 Dec 2007 at 3:31 pm #
Ellen, one year my mom did a blue Christmas with silver and white thrown in. I think it was the year she kept listening to Elvis (or Dino?) sing “I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas without you.” Anyway, the tree was white, the ornaments all blue or sliver. If it was a decoration, the only rule was the color rule. She really had a lot of fun with it.
Aspen on 03 Dec 2007 at 4:22 pm #
Wow. What a lovely tree!
I remember in my childhood home that my dad always bought the tallest biggest tree he could. We had a two story house that opened up in the living room. I can’t remember what they’re called. Anyway the tree would aways hit the ceiling! There would be new scratches every year. I have no idea how we got the angel up there every year.
Good times
Aspen
Suzanne Enoch on 03 Dec 2007 at 4:38 pm #
Thanks for all the decor compliments. I have to confess that this tree is pre-lit. And that, my fellow goddesses, is one of the best inventions ever.
Aspen, before they scaled back, my aunt and uncle used to get huge tree for their 2-story living room. They had to string support wires from the top of the tree to the top of the walls.
Nicole Jordan on 03 Dec 2007 at 5:02 pm #
Love your giraffe and gorgeous tree, Suzanne! I’ve been so busy we haven’t even started thinking about Xmas decorations, and since we’ll be out of town for the holidays, it’s not to crucial. We’re already planning a New Year’s eve party, though!
Ho (Ho) Ellen on 03 Dec 2007 at 5:31 pm #
I am getting lots of ideas. Thanks sooooo much.
claudia dain on 03 Dec 2007 at 7:40 pm #
Pre-lit trees are the best! The only thing I miss about the old style of Christmas decorating is the real tinsel. I sure knew how to hang tinsel, such a specialty skill now, sort of like forging your own sword or making your own soap. *G*
The best “invention” our family came up with was to decorate everything on Thanksgiving weekend. Until that pre-set date, I’d always try to find the time to decorate. Funny how there was never any free time laying around!
Kay on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:04 pm #
Our decorations are in different boxes 1) Advent wreath, candles and calendar 2) Non-Christmas tree decorations 3) Tree decorations. Outside stuff gets stored in the garage.
I put up the Advent stuff first, then the non-tree stuff during the week, as I get rooms cleaned. The tree goes up last and the kids have a blast decorating it.
I MUST LISTEN TO THE CHIPMUNKS AND RANDY TRAVIS as I decorate the tree! That, and drink hot chocolate that is stirred w/ a candy cane
Meg on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:50 pm #
My house was picked to be the gathering place this year so I’ll be doing more decorating than I ever have. But the thought is always in the back of my mind that if I put it up, I’ll have to take it down. This year the first to go up was the bell wreath in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head the day after Thanksgiving. I just got my tree up this past Saturday, and I have to say that it turned out great. Over the years I have received decorations as gifts and have never used them (not enough room in the other house) so guess what! They’re going to be used this year!
One is a color changing glass snowman that I am anxious to set up.
Suzanne, I love your decorations! I agree with you about the pre-lit thing. As I am the only one to decorate, not having to do the lights is a blessing. And all you ladies that do themes, I bow to you. I would be so overwhelmed! But they sound wonderful.
darkshire007 on 06 Dec 2007 at 11:10 pm #
No decorations this year. I have to leave the week after Christmas and I don’t want to have to rush to repack everything. But we are together, so that’s Christmas enough for me.
TheNightPoet on 07 Dec 2007 at 3:12 am #
My dad decorates like crazy for Christmas. Our house is always the most decorated one on the entire street! We jokingly call my dad, Mr. Clause. I love when Christmas comes, not just beause it’s my favorite holiday, but also for getting the chance to decorate the house with all our lights. Our tree is also very decorated as we have a lot of ornaments. We didn’t even put them all on the tree this year, because it’s so full. It gets a little fuller every year. lol We also couldn’t use the bottom branches to hang any ornaments on, because Biscuit, our dog, started going after the ones we hung on them. But it’s still full and I love it. It even has a few presents under there already too.
Andrea