Thank you for your comments on yesterday’s raffle post. It is now closed and Randompicker has picked two lucky winners who can enhance their Christmassy decor with the two photo frames of RA:
Andrea Numellote and Eugeal
Hurrah, hurrah – congratulations! Please let me know you address via e-mail guylty(at)photographer(dot)net or DM me on Twitter. And now let’s move on to Day 3.
Several years ago at this point, I was an active member of the tumblr community of RA fans, and we organised a number of gift swaps there. On the occasion of one of those swaps I received a fan item that I still have on display – and which I decided to reproduce for this raffle. I say, let it snow…
To clarify: This is a snowball, containing lots of glitter – and a couple of nice photos of RA. I had to take two pictures of it to show you both sides, but this raffle only contains ONE snowball. But it is great fun and somewhat meditative watching the tiny bits of glitter swirl and slowly settle in the ball. (You can, btw, replace the pictures of RA with photos of your own choosing…)
~*🎄*~
To enter the raffle for the snowball, leave a comment on this post. The raffle is open for the next 23 hours and finishes at 7am GMT tomorrow, December 16, 2017. The raffle is open to all, and the snowball will be sent anywhere in the world, at no P&P costs for you thanks to a generous contribution to the postage fund by our fellow fan CraMERRY. Winner to be announced in Day 4 post of the 12 Days of Christmas 2017, tomorrow.
~*🎄*~
Best of luck!
~*🎄*~
Now that we have the important business out of the way, I want to quickly stay on the topic of Christmas decoration. I really enjoyed reading SueBC’s post on Holiday Decorating. I always love seeing and hearing how Christmas is marked in other families, other houses, other countries. How are *you* decorating for Christmas? Have you got family heirlooms that come out every year? And are there any other traditions typical for your family or your country that you follow when it comes for prettying up your house for the festive season?
I have a few absolute “musts” that have to be brought out every year. There is, for instance, my “angel orchestra”, a collection of tiny, colourfully painted angels. After I moved out from home at the age of 19, my mother started giving me those angels every year for Christmas. She has stopped gifting them now because the orchestra is big enough to sit on a cloud that Mr Guylty created for them.
Look who’s sneaked in…
There’s also that little candle holder above the angels, sitting on the ledge of the side-table. It’s a mini “Schwibbogen” – a traditional piece of Christmas craft from the Erzgebirge mountain region in Eastern Germany. The scene is of traditional carol singers in front of the unique octagonal Lutheran church in the town of Seiffen – which is in the region where Christmas figurines and decorations were traditionally crafted.
Another “must” is the traditional “advent wreath” – unlike the anglophone world, in Germany the traditional pine wreath is not hung on the door but laid flat on the table and decorated with four candles to represent the four Sundays of Advent.
Each Sunday, another candle can be lit, until all four candles are burning by Christmas Day. In Germany, you can buy plain pine wreaths on every market for very little money, but not in Ireland. So I have to create my own wreath. Since I couldn’t get my hands on any pine, I had to come up with a different idea. I used some moss which I had collected myself on a walk, and then added some eucalyptus branches and willow catkins. I didn’t have enough material to cover the whole base wreath, so out came a few white feathers to fill the holes…
A slightly more modern version of the advent wreath sits on my mantlepiece – four candles, simply decorated with big numbers; one to be lit each Sunday. I love those candles.
To the left of the candles you can see my collection of mini creches. They are made from olive wood. The one on the left is particularly special: It comes from Palestine itself, and it features the peace wall in it, to mark the still unsolved territorial issues in Israel/Palestine. The peace wall in this nativity scene effectively blocks the way for the three wise men to reach the manger…
So my current view from my computer at the moment is this:
I’m curious to hear and see what your decorations are like!
Guylty Pleasure 
Your house looks beautiful with those decorations. I love them all. I decorated over here with a small tree topped by an angel, plus my collection of Nativity sets an my large ceramic three wise men. Oh, and my Christmas cookie jars! Merry Christmas, everyone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, you collect nativity sets, too? How many have you got?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not too many; about 10. You?
LikeLike
Only 5 at this point. And the ones that I have bought are all mini nativities, so that’s my excuse… (I am kicking myself that I didn’t buy one in London when I was there in November – there was a stall on the Christmas market on Leicester Square that sold these ingenious, tiny nativities…)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aha, the “Bastelblog” is resurrected!
LikeLike
LOL – in a manner of speaking, yes 😁.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[oops, that wasn’t an entry]
LikeLike
Noted 😉
LikeLike
I love your decorations! Especially the wonderful mossy advent wreath. Love the glitter globe too! We don’t decorate until Christmas Eve… then it’s a tree and lots of greenery and candles ☺️
LikeLike
Oh, really? No decorations until Christmas? What about your shop, though? You must have lots of Christmassy stuff up there? (Time to surf over to Facebook and catch up on what has been happening in the Seahorse Studios in the last while…)
LikeLike
Your decorations are lovely. I don’t decorate any longer, as I am on my own, so the only decorations I have are Christmas cards that I receive. For the past few years my daughter and I have spent our Christmases with my best friend and her family, We go over Christmas eve so that Christmas morning can be spent with breakfast and the fun of watching her kids enjoy a proper Christmas morning. 🎄
LikeLike
Christmas cards are a great decoration in themselves. I always display ours, too.
LikeLike
I display a Nativity which I made many years ago, I also made an advent calendar with numbered pockets these printed fabric designs were popular some time ago.
LikeLike
It’s great to hear that so many of you are displaying a nativity. I somehow had the impression that that had gone out of fashion.
I love advent calendars, too.
LikeLike
Wow! I won! Thank you!
And I love your decorations!
I’m really really untidy, so I rarely decorate the interior of our house because usually the day before Xmas are a mad rush to clean and make some order before my parents come to visit us. So I decorate the balconies and the garden. Right now we have a giant inflatable snowman on my mother-in-law balcony (she lives at ground floor of the house, we live on the first floor), I have a giant inflatable Santa complete with sled and reindeers, two laser projectors making red and green dots on the sides of the house and one projecting Xmas shapes on it (snowflakes, trees, snowman, etc), led lights on our balcony, tree led trees (not Xmas trees, they look like small regular trees, with flowers of light) on the corners of the balconies, a colored led reindeer, and a few other lights. My husband says that our house is ridiculous, but I love Xmas lights 🙂 On the stairs we have a nativity scene (with lights of course), lights on the railing of the stairs etc. Inside I just have a small Xmas tree on a shelf (for my RH action figures, they like decorations too). I’ll post some pics of the decorations on tumblr later, if you want I’ll send you the link to the post 🙂
LikeLike
Sounds as if Christmas is a proper event in your household 🙂! People over here put up lights, too, but by and large not on the scale than in the US, I think. The few houses that have lots of lights and deco on the outside, are veritable sights in their own right, and people actually drive by to have a look 😂. The light show/projections sound really cool! I definitely want to see that, so yes, please send me the link! (Oh, and send me your address, too 😁)
LikeLike
I just sent you both the link and the address 😀
The funny thing was that we began decorating early this year, so we were the only house in the street with all these lights and decorations. Now some of the other neighbors put up some strings of lights too. We are very far from the US houses, they have so many lights! 😀
LikeLike
Fab – I have just noticed the mail. Thank you. (Will reply there, too!)
And oh – I just saw on your link that you have snow!! That makes the decorations even nicer!
LikeLike
Snow only lasted for a day, it melted very soon. We don’t get it often in Verona, and when it happens, it rarely stays.
LikeLike
More than what we get here, though – I am envious!
LikeLike
First off Congrats Andrea and Eugeal!
2nd – OMGtheangelorchestrasoooooooocute!!!!!
I’m decorating this weekend. No. I’m decorating Sunday. I’ll take pictures.
(that was a comment!)
LikeLike
Yay – good! I think it will make you feel better already when you have surrounded yourself with your Christmas decor!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love my house decorated! I love mom’s house decorated. I really love mom’s house decorated. Mom goes all out – she thinks it’s a shopping mall or something. It takes DAYS!!!!
I’ve always been the type, I want it done in 2 hours, including the tree. This year, I know it will take more. I have two trees to put up, I have to repair my table center piece. My kitchen stuff needs trashed and I just need to start all over. I’ll take pictures!
When we finish Sunday, I’m going to sit down with a Christmas movie and hot chocolate and the lovely brown velvet throw I have and just enjoy. And cough and wheeze and blow my runny nose! LOL!
LikeLike
I would love to go all out, too, but sadly Mr Guylty is ever so slightly anti-Christmas. He tolerates what I am doing, but I am not sure he really appreciates it as such… However, I insist on decorating. It’s my way of culturally instructing my kids about their German heritage… (I hope they will continue the traditions when they are all grown and have a place of their own…)
You will have earned a hot choc and a movie when you have done all your decorating. Sounds heavenly, btw…
LikeLiked by 1 person
My dad pretty much lets mom do whatever she wants – he calls it ‘picking your battles’.
So long as there are no pink flowers on the sheets.
LikeLike
Yeah, men better stay out of decor issues…
LikeLiked by 1 person
My dad unpacks them and then that’s it. She knows where she wants them and she’s the only one who can pack stuff up.
LikeLike
Ha, in my house, I won’t even let my husband unpack the stuff… Although I would allow him to hand me baubles while I am decorating the tree…
LikeLiked by 1 person
My husband is the Grinch, he’ll never say that he likes decorations (even when he does :P)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suspect mine is too…
LikeLike
Oh, wow! One is mine! ❤ Thank you, Randompicker XD
I am not a religious person, nor is my family, except Mom. But we do decorate tree because out of a habit. And the room looks better with lights and colours XD. I had plans for making decorations involving Middle-earth, but somehow it slipped my mind to do it during the summer – but now it's too late. Well, another to do thing on my list for next year.
I love your decorations ❤
LikeLike
p.s.not an entry for this round!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hehe, it is.
Middle-earth deco! That is such a great idea. And I am not surprised that you didn’t get them done in the summer – I totally never have any impetus to do Christmassy stuff in the summer…
LikeLike
Let it snow! Let snow! Let it snow! Your home is lovely. I have many miniature creches too. Most of them are for the tree.
LikeLike
Fantastic – little creches to hang on the tree, that is a nice idea. I must look out for such myself…
LikeLike
I love your decorations! Tonight is the designated night for our Christmas tree to go up- kids are excited. Will hang the stockings on the mantel, but probably not doing much more this year. Some family medical issues have sort of dampened my spirits, yet at the same time, reminded us all that life is fragile, and we must enjoy it and hold fast to the ones we love.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think about you often and the challenges you are facing. Hope your and your family have a lovely Christmas.
LikeLike
Thank you, Kathy! I am well, and counting my blessings. Enjoy that baby-proofed Christmas! (((Hugs)))
LikeLike
How exciting – your kids are young enough to be all pumped for that occasion. And that makes it special for the grown-ups, too.
Sorry to hear about more medical issues in the family. You are right – the greatest gift of all is health. Hugs!
LikeLike
So very true. Hugs right back at you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful snowball 🙂 And your house looks beautiful too. In my flat my cardboard Thorin stole all my Christmas decorations
LikeLike
With a life-size Thorin around, you definitely do not need any other deco… (although I am just imagining you using Thorin as a ersatz-Christmas tree, with baubles dangling all over him 😂 That might be a sight to behold…)
LikeLike
Indeed 😀 And he likes shiny things so he looks a bit like Christmas tree
LikeLiked by 1 person
My oldest decorations are not on our tree this year. Only unbreakable ones allowed. With an almost one-year-old grandson around, I was afraid he would pull the tree down. He is a superfast crawler, and could beat most of us to the tree if we had a race. And anything on a low table is doomed. Our mantle is decorated with small weird stuffed animals collected over the years. A frog, llama, penguin, mouse,moose, racoon and a few more, many wearing Christmas sweaters (jumpers), sitting on plastic evergreen garland with lights. I noticed Thorin was hanging out in your Christmas photo shoot. He looks like he approves of your holiday decor.
LikeLike
Of course, little grandson’s birthday is soon coming up! Oh, it will be so special, having the little one around for Christmas… He’s probably still a bit too young, but somehow having a small child there, enhances the whole thing for the grown-ups (possibly not for the mother, but certainly for the grandparents 😉)
And yes, Thorin is delighted! Because for once he is towering over everything…
LikeLike
I love snow globes! Especially when the picture inside looks like that! Your decorations are so nice… I really like the advent wreath you made. Also, thanks for linking to my post.
LikeLike
Snowglobes are real fun. I have a couple of other snowglobes – with the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin bear inside.
And thanks for the inspiration to write about the Christmas decor. It’s just such a lovely time of year, inside more than outside
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hate to say it, but we haven’t done any decorating save for putting a wreath on the front door and a few miniature ornaments on the Rosemary topiary tree my sister recently gave me. Hubs has to work Christmas day and I work Christmas Eve. Half his family doesn’t observe Christmas & mine are all a 6 hour ride. It will be a quiet holiday for us this year.
LikeLike
I have to admit that I am also toning it down with age… There have been years when I decorated much more.
Sorry to hear that you are both working over Christmas 😟
LikeLike
Congrats to Andrea and Eugeal! Your home looks so inviting and festive, Guylty! And I’ve never seen such a beautiful snow globe! Maybe because it contains RA? 😉 Love the angel orchestra, too! It makes it so much more precious to you in that it is from your Mother. I have decorated with some treasured items from mine, too. She’s gone now but when I look at them I think of all the wonderful past Christmases I was lucky enough to share with her.
LikeLike
And that is exactly it, Debra – the memories that are contained in the individual bits and pieces, given by loved ones, or simply reminding us of our childhood Christmasses. Hence I am all for going completely overboard with decorating – it just fills me with joy.
LikeLike
Such a wonderful orchestra. I have got a Räuchermännchen (incense smoker?) and a Weihnachtspyramide from my godmother which I set up each year. For the rest of the year I am not a great decorator, but at christmas time I have a lot of stuff. That starts with the advent wreath, advent calendar in form of a house made by my hubby, the nativity on the sideboard, window decoration (lights) and ends with two lovely porcelaine santas which are salt and pepper shaker.
LikeLike
Same here, B. – not that much seasonal decorating, but on Christmas it all has to come out. And particularly the typically German things that would not be seen in an Irish household, like the incense smoker and the Weihnachtspyramide. I have those on show, too, and I love it when they attract comments from visitors and I can explain to them what Christmas in Germany is like 😉
LikeLike
I didn’t know what a Weihnachtspyramide was, so I searched for some pics on google and I realized that I’ve seen them in Munich and in some Xmas market here in Italy, but I never imagined that it was a Xmas thing 🙂
LikeLike
Sorry for using the German word. I actually don’t even know what they are called in English. I guess I would have to describe them as a “revolving wooden Christmas decoration, usually of angels, propelled by the hot air that rises from four candles underneath a propeller”. Jeez, that really takes the magic out of it, though, doesn’t it 😂 Mine looks a little bit like this: http://www.albinpreissler.de/images/product_images/popup_images/085_402.jpg
LikeLike
It’s so nice 🙂 When I was little we had a thing that worked like that, with candles and a propeller, but it was made of brass, and it had little angels that hit some little bells. I described it in an awful way, I know.
It looked like this, I don’t know how it’s called: http://fromashes.altervista.org/51Ww89GOY7L._SL1000_.jpg
LikeLike
I know exactly what you mean because I have one of those angel chimes, myself. It’s apparently a Scandinavian thing. My mother-in-law had it, and all her five daughters-in-law admired it. So one Christmas, one of my sisters-in-law tracked them down and got one for each of us. I really like them, they are so sweet. Check it out: THey are available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Swedish-Angel-Chimes-Christmas/dp/B00N96J5UI/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1513460906&sr=1-1&keywords=angel+chimes
LikeLike
My Weihnachtspyramide looks like this one https://www.erzhuette.de/weihnachtspyramide/seiffener-handwerksschau-weihnachtspyramide-schlittenfahrer.html and is now about 45 years old. There are no angels on it but the sandman with 2 children pulling a sleigh. On the sleigh are sitting Pittiplatsch, Schnatterinchen und Moppi, all puppet figures of an east german TV show in the 70th. I still love this gift of my godmother
LikeLike
Oh das klingt aber auch süß! Ich habe Pittiplatsch und Co erst lange nach der Wende so richtig kennengelernt, als meine Kinder klein waren. Wie süß, dass es die auch auf einer Weihnachtspyramide gab. Und wie schön, dass das sozusagen ein Familienerbstück wird. Ein tolles Geschenk, dass du als Kind wahrscheinlich nicht wirklich geschätzt hast, sondern das jetzt erst so richtig an Wert gewinnt…
LikeLike
Da hast du recht. Wir haben sie oft in der DDR besucht und ich fand das “Ostsandmännchen” toll. Ich hoffe die Pramide hält noch lange
LikeLike
Mit sie meine ich meine Patentante
LikeLiked by 1 person
Das Ostsandmännchen war viel niedlicher als das westdeutsche…
LikeLike
Pingback: Day 4 of 12 Days of Christmas | Guylty Pleasure