Happy Holidays!

A little late for many of the December holidays but still in time for New Year! We added to our outdoor decorations this year at the request of the pre-schooler, and Mother Nature contributed to making this a cozy wintery scene. Intentional or not, we ended up with a very candy cane-themed yard, thanks to some hand-me-downs (the hanging candy canes and the large ones nearest the house) and some new purchases (the walk way lights - these were by far the cutest inexpensive choice). Our icicles don't twinkle but they do have a white or a color lights setting. The whites, being cool LEDs, just do not seem festive enough (yes, I know they are "ice" but they still need a warm holiday glow). Plus they were so bright that they shone too brightly in our windows after we put the kids to sleep. So we went with rainbow lights - the first choice of said-pre-schooler anyway.

Because only the front two large candy canes actually still worked, we thought that looked weird also so we unplugged them and added them to the candy cane chain lining our flower beds against the house.

We probably should turn the lamppost bulb so that it doesn't stay lit, as I think it was so bright it distracted from the holiday decor. All the new lights definitely lowered the effect of the red and green laser lights - it's so bright around our house that they are barely visible (can you see them in the picture below shining on the house front?).

And an indoor picture - this year we didn't have a chance to get a shot until Christmas Eve, so here is the decor after Santa already paid us a visit. Good thing we remembered to unlock the child-safe fireplace lock so he could get in and leave us presents: