I love Christmas!!

I know I say that every year, but I really DO love Christmas. There is more love in the air, more kindness, more service to others, and more good music! I love Christmas music - not the Santa Claus songs, of course, but the classic Christmas carols. And I love decking the halls!
Here is my Christmas tree: blue and silver.

I really love all the memes and artwork that comes out at Christmas. I have a friend who does a Christmas boutique every year and I keep adding to my collection of Christ-centered things:

I love displaying all the nativity sets from all over the world my kids have brought me and that I've collected.The shelves on the right are all from different African nations and the ones on the left shelves are from Poland, Tanzania, Armenia, Portugal, New Mexico and Arizona.

 The stained glass came from Haiti, and the one in the middle from an antique store in Riverside, CA. the bottom one in the red satin box is from Hong Kong - each piece carved from a nut!

 This is from Viet Nam, made from driftwood. I put it on our entertainment center this year so it could actually be lit so I could appreciate the delicate pieces that were carved from different woods. I love how every nation depicts the Nativity in a different way.

One year we had the grand kids choose some of their favorite but not worn toys to share with the children of Tiajuana, Mexico. All of our children and their children stayed overnight in San Diego and by prearrangement with a bishop across the border, we met the missionaries at the border and delivered boxes of toys, food, clothing and other things the bishop had said they needed. My family bought me this paper mache nativity made by a master craftsman who said the art was dying out as the young people were not learning how to do it anymore. It is one of my favorites!

I've already posted my Armenian village in years past, so I won't do that one again. Needless to say, I love sharing my treasures with everyone. I love Christmas because Christ gave us a gift we needed so desperately in order to return home. My gifts this year to my family and others are given with much love and thanksgiving for that first gift our Father gave to us of His Son, and then His Son's gift of the possibility of eternal life to us. Merry Christmas to all!