Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Holiday #Décor with Optional Red and Green

As we near Christmas and other traditional holidays, no doubt you have managed to decorate your home or yard.

Yard decor for Winter Wonders
Neighbor’s Christmas Scene

I adjusted my holiday travel plans a bit which means I combined this week’s theme, Holiday Decor, with what would have been next week’s theme, Something Red or Green. See end of the post for more details.

Since being with my husband for the last 10 Christmases, I don’t decorate much since we travel to Southern California to spend time with our family, including our combined five children; four who now live there. We also travel for another two weeks since we both can easily take time off from our jobs in January. Taking down Christmas decorations in mid-January is just wrong, although I know many folks who keep their holiday décor up through epiphany 12 days after Christmas and beyond.

Even my university campus decks its halls with holiday décor. Ginkgo trees adorn many areas of campus, and I’m told their small, fan-shaped leaves fall in big batches. The campus groundskeepers and interested alumni team up to rake the leaves into interesting patterns. A red Jump bike and festive flag add to the festive scene.

Campus Decor For Fall

This year, with Thanksgiving arriving later in November, many holiday decorations were already up and gracing the homes of friends and family. My sister-in-law hosted Thanksgiving and had a house full of people, so she put hers up early.

I took some photos of her wonderful décor to share. She has room to display her whimsical miniature villages. The key to capturing these creatively is to get very close with your lens to get the sense of being inside the village. I applied the Painnt filter to the first and third images.

Christmas Village
Inside a Christmas Village
Christmas Village
Nostalgic, snowy scene

These miniature toys decorated a friend’s house last Christmas. Doesn’t it remind you of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV Christmas special and the island of misfit toys?

Miniature Christmas Toys
The island of misfit toys?

Then, of course, there are the lights!

Lights2

Please welcome a new blogger to Sunday Stills, Life is Great!

I don’t often get to link with Weekly Lens-Artist Challenge; “display” seems to fit the theme this week!

This week, show us your creative holiday decor with optional red and green!

Christmas red berries

Due to our Winter Road Trip Do-Over, today is the last Sunday Stills post of 2019. I will be taking a blogging break beginning this week through January 17, resuming Sunday Stills on my blog on January 19. Thank you to all who have contributed to the Sunday Stills Photo Challenge in 2019!

Fellow blogger Hugh Roberts is graciously hosting Sunday Stills on January 5 and 12, so be sure to visit. January themes are posted here.

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a glorious start to 2020!

Terri_holly

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78 comments

  3. Oh, Terri, something about this post brought smiles to my face and a chuckle or two. Thank you, doll. The island of misfit toys!! Ha! Your photos are gorgeous. I like the edited/posterized?? edits. The angles in the village photos.

    And those ginkgo leaves! Beautiful on their own but how cool for the landscape and yard care team to rake them into art!!! I appreciate that effort! Thank you for sharing with us.

    Enjoy your holidays and travel. See you in January!! XO Safe travels.

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    • I’m glad you saw that humor, Leslie! I see so many mundane photos and I try to get the different perspective especially for close ups. Try it next time you have your lens at the ready. Thank you and have a fab Christmas!

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  4. Nothing Christmasy going on around here in Kentucky. Usually, we have been on house sits and I take festive photos of the neighborhood, but this year, Christmas will be uneventful.

    Enjoy your blogging break and I hope your road trip will be amazing. It can only exceed last year’s (non-)experiences, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed, regardless. Happy travels and happy holidays, Terri and Hans. And Brody and Aero.

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    • Thanks so much, Liesbet! That’s right, this will be your first Christmas in Zesty, right? Kentucky should have some beautiful snow scenes to capture I would hope. I’m looking forward to a week in San Diego and a week in Phoenix…I’m sure we will connect with Ingrid for a day or two since we are in the same RV park. We are hoping for a day trip to the Grand Canyon the Monday or Tuesday before the New Year, an easy day trip. Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2020 to you and Mark!

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    • Hi Graham, I had a feeling you would be organized and have one ready. I’m looking forward to a little relaxation but Christmas down south can be overwhelming with the family schedules. We are staying in our trailer in my daughter’s driveway and will have a place of our own. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year!

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      • I’m not sure how organized I am, but I do like that you post themes in advance. It gives me time to see if I have a suitable photo or need to go out and shoot something. Enjoy the holidays with your family. Sometimes it’s nice to have your own space in the middle of that hurly-burly.

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  12. I love the patterns created with the gingko leaves – such a meditative thing to do! Enjoy your road trip Terri and thank you so much for hosting these lovely challenges throughout the year. Happy Christmas to you and your family from the Scottish Highlands xxx

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  19. “Raking the leaves into interesting patterns” is just lovely. I love it.
    The Christmas village is such fabulous collection, beautifully displayed. I started collecting the Christmas English village a couple of decades ago. 🙂
    Thank you for sharing with us, Terry! Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🙂

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  23. It must take your sister-in-law days to put up all her decorations, Terri. It took me four hours to put up and decorate our tree. Honestly, by the time I finished, I felt like I had done an afternoon at the gym. I needed a long, hot soak afterwards.
    I love what the groundskeeper does with all those Ginko leaves. That’s an art in itself.
    Christmas is always my favourite time of the year and, when visiting the States at this time of year, I always enjoy a trip to the famous store on this favourite decoration.

    Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thank you for allowing me to host the first two Sunday Stills of 2020. I’ll be sure to look after it.

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  25. I love those adorable Christmas villages! This year, since we just moved and live in a temporary home, until we are moving right around New Year, there will not be a lot of Christmas decorations. I have exactly 2 🙂 A stocking and an elf both with my daughters name on them. Next year I will make up for it. This year we are doing lots of other Christmas traditions. Some that are Swedish and completely new for my daughter. That is exciting!

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  28. I used to love to decorate for Christmas. It was magical. I’m so disappointed that here in Buenos Aires that there are so few decorations. An Uber driver said that people decorate inside their homes.

    Merry Christmas, Terri!

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  35. I love all holiday decorations. I usually go all out and I love it when my home is very festive. I had a knee replacement on Nov. 22 so it has been a bit of a struggle to decorate this year. I managed to get a tree up and some mantel lights and that will be enough for this year. I lvoe the lights! I have been awake in the middle of the night often ( pain meds wear off!) and I love to awaken to holiday lights in the otherwise dark night.
    I wish you a wonderful Christmas with your family! Enjoy your trip!

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