And happiest of holidays from Lea Wait! I’ll admit — I wrote this post a year ago. But several people told me they remembered it and suggested I re-post … and I’m in writer’s jail … so here it is, with at least as many good wishes as last year!
Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I shop for gifts all year round, I look forward to the delicious food that is part of the season. I love Christmas carols and sentimental movies. And I collect Santas and other Christmas decorations.
When I lived in New York City I loved to take long walks, looking at decorated store windows and Rockefeller Plaza, and, later, when I lived in New Jersey, I took my daughters and mother to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center.
My home was the place where my single adoptive parent friends and their children gathered, 100-200 strong, to celebrate Christmas early in December. And my extended family gathered at my home Christmas Eve every year.
It was all exhausting, but I loved every minute of it. 
But years have passed since I celebrated joyously with my daughters and sisters and mother … time moves on, and my family has dispersed. I’ve married, and my husband, is, if not an absolute Grinch … well, I’ll just 
say Christmas is not HIS favorite time of year.
So my Christmases have been pared down over the years. Some years we haven’t had a big tree; most years diets dictate Christmas cookies be held to a minimum.
My husband and I don’t exchange gifts, so the only gifts under the tree are 
delivered by the post office or UPS and come from loved ones far away.
Still, I decorate the house, and send Christmas cards and plan special food for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I play Christmas carols, and watch sentimental movies. And Christmas, if not spectacular, is still a wonderful time of year.
So
, today, I’m inviting you to peek at a few of the decorations that fill my home in December. Welcome — and Happiest of Holidays! 
Kait Carson
Charlene D’Avanzo 
I loved your photos and so mirror your “story”…Thank you for yet another glimpse into the “magic of Lea”! I trust thee are magical moments for both of you! Snickerdoodles, yes!!
And a Merry Christmas to you, Calla!
and it is just as magical to read it this year!!
Thanks for the invite into your home. Love your santas.
I love the decorations. I’m sure they each have a story to tell.
So glad you enjoyed my pictures … I have many more Santas than are pictured … but these are some of my favorites! Hope everyone reading this has a wonderful Christmas – or whatever holiday(s) they celebrate! Lea
What wonderful family traditions. Thanks for sharing all those Santas!
Beautiful, Lea! How wonderful to be invited over for a peek at your home all gussied up for the (quieter) holiday. Wishing you a wonderful, peaceful celebration.
Just out of curiosity, Lea, how do you keep that Christmas tree on top of your mantel? It looks like an engineering marvel! (As an aside, my husband loves the baking and eating part of Christmas and HATES the gift opening part. We all learn to adjust, don’t we?)
Thank you for helping imbue me with the proper Christmas spirit! Your decorations are marvelous! I miss the chaos of a Christmas surrounded by children but am grateful for the blessings of serenity. (However, I am hoping to relive the “surrounded by children” part with my granddaughter sometime in the future!)
Merry Christmas, Lea and Bob
Sherie
Thank you, everyone! Maddy — that’s the top of an artificial Christmas tree I used in a Christmas safety movie I directed in about 1969. I fold all the branches forward, and then hang it with a wire on a picture hanger/hook. Started collecting tiny ornaments for this tree when I lived in Greenwich Village (back in the day) and now probably have enough small ornaments for ten trees! Always hung it somewhere in my home. This year it will be our only tree.
Love your collection of Christmas decor. I have a box of things that I generally dig out. The boys don’t come home for Christmas, so it can be a lonely-ish day, but Ken and I have learned to embrace the quiet and solitude, and I make up for that quiet by having a huge party a few weeks in advance, so I have to get out the “stuff” and decorate for that. I have the world’s ugliest centerpiece for the table, draped with bits of hanging plastic fruit, that I got at Home Depot, and this year I added a wicker sleigh stuffed with fake poinsettias. Very cheerful, though each time I pass it, I think that the poor things need water. And I love that moment before the party, when all the candles are lit and the silly electric candelabra are glowing and things truly are merry and bright.
If I happen to win the lottery (hard to do if one refuses to buy tickets???) I’ll send you a hundred packages so you can have an opening orgy despite your very dear grouch of a husband.
Kate
Love your comments, Kate! Christmas is different every year, isn’t it? But the season is the same at heart.
Merry Christmas, Lea and Bob. Your home looks lovely. A quiet Christmas here, too, as both our kids will be with their in-laws, so we have decided to hit the road. We’ll be thinking of you over the holidays.
Barb & Bill
And we, you!~ Sorry we’re not closer!
Your decorations are beautiful. I also collect Santas and enjoyed seeing yours. Just think how many people you invited to your home through this blog. I was glad to be one of them.
Thank you, Beth! Santas are such fun .. I’ve “re-homed” dozens of mine over the years, and still have many more than are pictured .. but they are fun! (And I assume you’d agree!)