Christmas in Shafferland 2015

Wanna peek into our toned-down Christmas this year?

The first year we were married, I didn't have much time to decorate, and it nearly gave me a panic attack to not put up EVERY SINGLE TREE I owned. The last two years I've gone all out and used every decoration in the tubs.

This year? I needed a simple Christmas. We have only 2 trees up {and one is so tiny it barely counts}...but I am so in love with the warm touches to our home! I love the way the things we have tell the story of us and our Christmases. I love that this is our fourth Christmas together and therefore we have actual traditions established. These things make me smile.

We actually do not have a tree in our living room this year. {GASP.} We rearranged the entire room, and this left us without room for a tree. Crazy! But it's okay because we put the tree {you remember Firby!} in the dining room, right in the archway that leads into the living room, and you can see it fully from both rooms. It's lovely.

So really, in the living room, our decorations are simple. Our stockings, of course...

{Braeya has a stocking too - but it's toward the other end and you can't see it in this picture.}

We have these little wooden signs I made a few years ago and just love {for reasons I do not know}.

And possibly my favorite thing: our annual Christmas pictures. For the last two years, my friend Amy gave me Hallmark's annual frame, which says Christmas and has the year on it...and I put our official Christmas photo in it. It bugged me that I didn't have our first one {and I couldn't find one online, though I searched hard!} so I made an improvised version. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

And of course, we can't leave the room without a little of this!

Our Firby tree lives in the dining room, and we just loved the way he turned out! All the ornaments on this tree are from the story of our life together {supplemented with plain gold balls}.

{...you get the idea...}

We also have these stocking pins attached to the tree skirt. They're too heavy for our actual stockings, which are a very fine knit. But I love these!

 We can't forget our Pinterest-inspired tree topper!

And some other fun scenes from the dining room:

{My grandparents' Bible - which is also featured on the front of my Advent book!}

Our new dining room table with its little Christmas-y runner.

 Of course there has to be a chalkboard!

A couple of touches in the bathroom...

Another of my faves...this darling little Nativity I found several years ago while visiting my sister in Kansas, alongside a framed copy of each Christmas card we've sent.

The "tree" in our bedroom - just a little shout-out to the Colts, in honor of Ryan and how well he puts up with all the ribbon and such throughout the rest of the house!

And since we really don't have room in our house for a tree in the kitchen, I took my ornaments and hung them on the cabinets instead!

So there you have it! Thanks for touring our little home!! :) Hope you enjoyed it!