I’ve been Christmas surfing the web these past couple of weeks. So many beautiful house tours in the blog world! I was moved to share some of our traditional decorations . . .
“Dobro pashalovat! Zakhaditye”
“Welcome! Come in!”
Here is our little tree!
This year I think it is the prettiest it’s ever been - in part because of our friends, Misha and Yulia, and their generous gift of really great lights! (the strand was really long so we decided not to waste their beauty and put them around the window - the effect is a little disco, but festive!)
Under the tree we have:
- the tree skirt that Anton’s grandmother, Babushka Valya, made for us,
- our stockings that I bought at GYM on Red Square in Moscow several years ago,
- Sophi has her new nativity set that Gran Gran and Pops gave her this year,
- the HUGE pine cones I got at Lake Baikal (Siberia) many years ago,
- some of my favorite “Gzhel” (Russian pottery) pieces of “Ded Maros and Snegurichka” (Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden),
- and our IKEA candle stick (for which we are frantically trying to find a replacement bulb so we can actually USE it!).
Here is a close up of Sophi’s Nativity set - she plays with it every day - making up all kinds of stories with the characters. (I just wonder why they didn’t include the shepherds in the set?!)
A big thank you to Mom and Dad for such a thoughtful and FUN gift!
Here is the top of our TV:
- Mom and Dad’s Christmas card with Sophia, Houston and Caroline (their grandkids),
- and a nativity set that I bought several years ago at the Russian Orthodox gift shop in Moscow near the Christ the Savior Cathedral - at that time it was hard to find any Christmas decorations in Moscow, much less anything religious. It was a real treasure then, and still is today!
Sophia’s room:
- she has her own tree that her Babushka and Dedushka gave her last year,
- we decorated her bunk bed,
- and she as a stocking on her door . . . hmm, Mrs Santa better remember to put something on the list for that stocking . . .
The kitchen:
- red lights on the window that flash (SO New Orleans!),
- tinsel on the appliance shelf,
- and all my Christmas tins on top of the shelves - I collect them (hint, hint to Mr Santa! - sure would love a new one to add to the collection ...
Speaking of collections - here is our Christmas mug display! The blue ones I got in Smolensk in 1997 - they have a kind of medieval nativity design - another unbelievable find of the times.
Bathroom - and even the water pipes are “decked!”
The front door is wearing the bells Mama gave Sophia.
Sophi put them up just as her Gran Gran instructed and remembers her with LOVE every time they ring!
One of the ornaments I made this November during the “Nor’easter” on Virgina Beach.
Howling winds at 50 mph rocking our beach house brought out the Christmas creativity in us all!
Anton gave it to me last year - in celebration of starting the building of our new house! LOVE IT!
This is my stocking - so cute - see the little mice? they are celebrating New Year’s (which is the bigger Russian holiday) the bottom shows the clock at midnight and the table ready to eat and presents ready to open . . . the whole spirit of that holiday on my stocking!
And, we’ll close the tour with a beautiful hand-painted Russian ornaments - “Dyed Maroz and Sneguroshka/Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden.”
We’d love to have you visit us in person!
Merry Christmas from The Yastrebov’s!
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