CorpGoth Xmas 2011

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to our holiday decorations. I like to put out essentially the same things year after year, with just small additions or changes to reflect my current mood or anything that's different in the house. But, to me & to my husband, part of the charm of the holidays is enjoying the traditions that connect us to family, childhood, & the past in general.

Most of our decorations have an old-fashioned, Victorian-esque feel with a gothic tinge. They're a mix of things from my mom & stuff I've made & collected since my husband & I moved in together a million, billion years ago.

Here's a look around the 2011 edition... Click on any image for a larger version, if you like.

Starting on the front porch, I pile up leftover tree branches around this metal lantern & add a few ribbons for a festive welcome. The wreath on the door is dried grapevine that I spray-painted gold & wrapped with burgundy wired ribbons scavenged from our wedding decorations (they were aisle bows).


Inside the front door, there's an archway between the dining room & living room where I've hung a long faux-greenery garland that I decorated with more of that formerly wedding-decor burgundy ribbon, plus I wired it with white fairy lights. A similar garland is over the dining room window (not shown).

I make up a different holiday centerpiece each year. This time, I used pinecones that I long-ago spray-painted gold, crystal candlesticks, & yes, more of those burgundy ribbons (nothing goes to waste around here ;-), all on a silver platter with some round red candles added. The tablecloth is black with poinsettias from April Cornell.

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." Yep, we have stockings hanging on the fireplace mantle. Big burgundy velvet stockings with our names in silver.  Another garland decorates the mantle, along with velvet poinsettias & some glass ornaments.

Finally, the tree. We always get a Douglas fir, a real tree, because it smells divine, & it's the eco-friendly choice (they're farmed just like the lettuce or artichokes about 20 miles away from us -- one year, we went & chopped our own, but that was more trouble than it's worth!). See a photo of the gothic tree angel & find out how I made her on my Gothic Martha Stewart site.

I also have a silver menorah & a clay dreidel (the later I made), in honor of our Jewish family & friends. I'm an atheist, but I've always been a student of world religions (nearly switched my major to religious studies as an undergrad!). I like to show equal respect to both major the holidays of this time.

As I mentioned, the decorations are a real mix -- some childhood faves & some new additions, like this glass black cat bought in Salem, Massachusetts.

Old & new live next to each other. A blown egg hand-painted with Winnie-the-Pooh by my mom when I was a toddler & a delicate glass skull found far more recently.

Flashy embellished fabric shoe from Cost-Plus World Market as a sign of a fashionista holiday.

Psychedelic partridge in a pear tree, painted by my mom when I was a wee thing in the early '70s. This one kind of freaked me out when I was a kid (maybe because it doesn't have eyes?), but I've grown to love its weirdness.

And lastly, the tree lit in glowing red lights. I have strings of white lights & strings of purple lights, but this year, red seemed right. Such a warm, inviting glow...

Happy holidays, whatever you celebrate, if you do! No matter what, I hope you're surrounded by lots of pretty, shiny things this month.

(Note: I'm going out after work tonight to see the new Muppets movie with my husband & sister-in-law, so I'll probably be home too late to post today's outfit. Since I had this post prepped for tomorrow, I figured I'd just switch them up instead :-)