I know I’m late to the party, but I love BooMama’s idea of a Christmas Tour of Homes. There are over 160 bloggers joining in, and I’ve enjoyed peeking into their homes and seeing their beautiful Christmas decorations. I hope BooMama won’t mind that I’m straggling behind the pack. I’m sure the casseroles have cooled, but I don’t mind leftovers.

Friday the 15th was total craziness around here. No time to blog, with four class parties! And guess who waited until the last minute to wrap all the gifts … grrr. Why does it take the rush of party-day adrenaline to get me slapping on scotch tape and tying bows? (And where IS that scotch tape?) At least this year, my mother-in-law helped out with the preschool party so I could attend my elementary kids’ parties — and since they were in a small school, I party-hopped to all three, baby in tow.

But I did want to share some of our favorite Christmas decorations, especially since I don’t know how many of these will make it through the years. A few days ago, I caught my three-year-old smashing glass balls with the can of cinnamon air freshener. When I told him to stop, he just said, “I’m sorry, Mama. I didn’t mean to.” (irresistible).

So, come on in and see what decorations survived the first week.

Here’s our front door. This is the table where I sit every day to read our mail and watch the kids play in the driveway.

Here’s our little Christmas cat who will greet you from her favorite perch on the stairway. She doesn’t know what the fuss is all about. As long as she can snooze, everything is fine.

This is our dining room. I put a spray of greenery over the mirror that will probably fall once it’s hit by a stray football. The little plate to the right is one of my favorite decorations. I got it from Southern Living, and you can change out the ribbons and write on the plate with Dry Erase markers. We use it for birthdays too.

Here’s one of my favorite decorations that is so breakable I don’t know how much longer we’ll have it. This Snow White globe belongs to my daughter who’s six. We bought it for her when she was so enamored with Snow White her second Christmas. My sister-in-law went crazy hearing her sing, “Some day my pwince will tum” at my mom’s house that year. This little snow globe plays, “We wish you a Merry Christmas.” I thought I’d set it up in a safe place, but my three-year-old got up on a step stool and was carrying it around a couple of days ago. So we may need an e-bay replacement in a few years.

This is the Advent Calendar we’ve put up every year since my oldest was born. I love it, and I never have to answer the question, “How many days ’til Christmas?” because I just tell them to go check the Advent Calendar. And they love taking a piece of the Nativity out of the pocket every day. Baby Jesus went missing one year, and I found him nestled in a pile of stuffed animals a few months later.

I display our cards differently every year. I bought this wreath several years ago and have it hanging on the back of our coat closet. I like to use something that makes it easy to transport my cards when I go to my parents’ house. My mom and dad get such a kick out of seeing my childhood and college friends grown up with their own families. And I love plowing through their cards too, reading the newsletters. Some years I’ve used a crystal bowl and let the cards pile up, but I love looking at our friends’ pictures all through December. Some will end up on our refrigerator.

Here’s our tree, humble and eclectic in all its glory. We only have one tree, though a friend of mine decorates her home in 14 full-sized trees, each with a fabulous different theme. Ours is full of glittery handmade ornaments the kids make, and I try to pick up ornaments when we travel. One of my favorites is a little Kiwi bird we bought when we were in New Zealand in 1994. We always use white lights — I’m just a white lights girl. They remind me of stars.

And this is the newest addition to our Christmas collection. I bought this quilt a couple of weeks ago at Cracker Barrel. They were having a Christmas sale, and I thought it would be something fun for us to have out for years. I wish I could say I made it, but it was made in China.

That’s it! Thanks for stopping in. If you’re looking for more Christmas inspiration, check out some more homes — decorated by REAL people — at BooMama’s Christmas Tour of Homes.

[Edit: I wasn’t the last one after all! The tour is still going strong as more bloggers join in — there are now nearly 200 Christmas-decked homes welcoming you to visit.]