Make It Merry!

This is long, but I hope you'll read it anyway.
When I found out what my topic was for the Make it Merry celebration, I have to admit that it gave me something to think about. 

Christmas Magic. 

Christmas hasn't been magic for me in a long time. Not since I was a child, if I'm going to be completely honest. What was so magic about it then? Why isn't it now?

What I loved the most about Christmas when I was a child was going to my grandparents house for dinner, and all the family parties before Christmas. 

Of course there was that one special present I wanted with all my heart, but there wasn't a huge list of things that I wanted. My parents may remember that differently. But when I was small, presents were only part of the magic.

I loved the Christmas decorations, but none of them were elaborate or expensive. The ones I loved the most had special meaning for me. My favorite ornament for the tree was one my mother had made. In fact, I wish I had it now.

I loved taking plates of cookies to the neighbors. And they were just sugar cookies that we'd all decorated. None of them were perfect; far from it. But it was a joy to give them to people. 

            Christmas was more simple when I was a child. 

I think at age 6, I had my priorities more in line than I do now.
Maybe that's why it's not so magic now.

I was still thinking about this one day while I was standing in line at the grocery store with my son. I made the comment that I wished we could go back to a simpler Christmas. A more old fashioned celebration. One where the emphasis was on on the meaning of Christmas, getting together and enjoying a meal, and maybe opening one present. My son shocked me when he said "I'd be so OK with that, Mom. I have to wrack my brain for things to put on my Christmas list anyway."

Hello? This, from a teenager?

So my husband and I changed our priorities. We're cutting back. Not because we're feeling Scrooge-ish. Although even people who are fully employed are feeling a financial pinch these days. I know we are. I truly feel for those who are unemployed. 

So cutting back will benefit our bank account. But mainly, it's a way for us to try to get some of that magic back.

We just want to enjoy Christmas.
It might be hard. I tend to over-think things. To worry and what if. Even for this post. So simplifying Christmas could be a challenge. But I'm going to give it my best shot.
Today I'm going to show you a few things I did that cost next to nothing, and really didn't take much time at all.

My dad dug this brass bell out of his garden. It had been there awhile. It originally was fastened to a harness used on work horses. The interesting thing is, my dad's grandfather did a lot of excavation work in the part of town where my parents live, and he used workhorses. It was a long time ago, and it's a stretch, but this bell might have come off one of my great grandfather's harnesses.

I wired it to a old bit that I found on our farm. It was used for work horses, too. Horses that pulled the farm machinery for my husband's grandfather. 

 Then I just added greenery. I hung it on our front door and the bell rings whenever the door opens and closes. I love the sound and I love that there's a history behind it, too. To me, that's magic. 

I got this idea from a picture I saw a long time ago. I can't remember where. 
When I was young, little things like this fascinated me. 

I already had the lantern, so I just cut a circle out of card stock to hold everything inside. 

I hot glued the vintage bottlebrush trees and the small deer to the card stock, and placed it all inside.

Then I just added epsom salts for the snow. 
I smile every time I see it.


I know a lot of you might not have old brass bells and lanterns laying around.
But what do you have? 
What can you do with it?


How can you make it a little bit magic?


Please check out more Make it Merry posts!