It's never too early for Christmas decor

Yes, I know it's the week before Thanksgiving. I just couldn't wait one more day to unpack my Santas and get busy decorating for Christmas. I started collecting Santas back in 1992, and I've collected hundreds of different versions of him in the past 29 years. 

 

 

Our old cairn boy Ollie was following me around while I was busy decorating and got in the pic above. That set of nesting Santas on the little side table was purchased in Budapest when were were on a Rhine River cruise back in the summer of 2012.

 

 

I've got at least 30 different sets of Santa and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers that serve as the centerpiece on my big dining table. I love how they all have unique personalities, with their different colors, clothes, poses and expressions.

This year I got ambitious and emptied everything off the shelves in the family room to see if I could fill them up with all things Santa from my many bins of decor. Thanks to a few more things I found at a precious little Christmas shop in Ruidoso over the summer, plus a couple used Santas I bought for a song on eBay, the shelves are looking incredibly festive now.

I've started telling the girls about some of my favorite sentimental Santas. Like the two their dad bought me that hold a special place in my heart. Or the handcarved Santa purchased in St Petersburg when we were there on a family vacation in the summer of 2017. These are the ones I want them to keep instead of hauling off to Goodwill when I die. I like to hope that they'd put them out every Christmas and think of me. It's a sweet thought that makes me happy!