Mrs. Claus & Santa Christmas 2014

Hi All,

WOW! – 2014 was a great season!
Here are some photos of Mrs. Claus & Santa.

Mrs Claus and Santa at EBELL 3

Photographer – Teresa Rish
Mrs. Claus & Santa at The Ebell Club

Mrs Claus and Santa

Photographer – Teresa Rish
Mrs. Claus & Santa at The Ebell Club

Mrs Claus and Santa at EBELL 5

Photographer – Unknown
Mrs. Claus & Santa at the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market

Mrs Claus and Santa at EBELL

Photographer – Teresa Rish
Mrs. Claus & Santa at The Ebell Club

Mrs Claus and Santa in Hot tub

Photographer – Unknown
Mrs. Claus & Santa at Eric Stonestreet’s Holiday Party

Mrs Claus and Santa Manhattan Beach

Photographer – Unknown
Mrs. Claus & Santa at the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market

Mrs Claus and Santa

Photographer – Teresa Rish
Mrs. Claus & Santa at The Ebell Club

Mrs Claus and Santa Pasadena

Photographer – Unknown
Mrs. Claus & Santa at downtown Pasadena

Mrs Claus and Santa

Photographer – Unknown
Mrs. Claus & Santa at The Ebell Club

The Wedding Photos Are Here!

It Was All Worth It! The Hard Work Paid Off 

It was a perfect day, the venue was gorgeous, the decorations were whimsical, the food was delicious, the flowers were fantastic, the bride (little Claus) was beautiful & happy, the groom was handsome & happy…and now the photo are here and they are great. What more could you ask for??? 

From the Street…

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The Gate to the Event!

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The Welcome Table

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The Table Settings

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Old Photos

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The Labyrinth Ceremony

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For the Candle Ceremony

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The Bouquet

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The Ring Bearer’s Horseshoe

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rings

WOW! Those boots!

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It’s Time to Eat!

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The Special Plate for the Bride & Groom

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The “Oh So Beautiful” Cake

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Happily Ever After

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A Special Thanks to all of the friends & family who helped make this wedding/reception so special.

Richard & Kimberly Urlich for the use of their beautiful property and help during the event.

Cheri Browne for all of her fabulous floral arrangements (including the bridal bouquet),catering skills and help with the clean-up.

Erik Pollard for the beautiful flowers he hand sculpted and arranged on the cake.

Mitch Rossi for all of the beautiful photographs.

Gordon & Colleen Clarry for help at the venue and for their help at our house preparing for all the guest.

Bob Hudspeth for the use of all his audio equipment (setting up, manning the booth throughout the day and breaking it down).

Our Caterer Smoke N Man BBQ – for the best bbq oysters, tri-tip and salmon. YUMMY

All of the family and friends that helped set up, clean up and break down. 

 

Mrs. Claus – The Focus Was Wedding Decor

Surprise!!! Burlap and Lace Wedding Decorations – 

That is what Mrs. Claus has been doing for the last 7 months. Yes, our little Claus got married and there was a lot of crafting that had to be done!!!  Invitations, website, table runners, table signs, garlands, guest books, card holders, party favors, you name it and we made it!

When my daughter told me I was going to really like her wedding theme, she was right.  She (and her fiancé)  chose the Burlap and Lace look with the addition of different shades of pink. Decorated mason jar vases with flowers for the centerpieces, photos hanging from clothesline, tree round slices, etc… you get the picture. It was a great choice especially for the backyard BBQ type wedding they had.

Needless to say all of my time that is usually spent on crafts for myself and presents for family and friends was totally consumed with the wedding décor.

Of course my daughter and I went overboard!  Santa says this is just how we do things!

It started with the invitations…

We were always going to make the invitations. We brainstormed for 6 hours on a Saturday and the invites just got more and more elaborate…hee…hee…hee. No longer were we going to use cardstock. Oh no, that would be way to easy and simple. Stiffened burlap, yes, that is what we would use. Just the wedding info would not be enough we needed more, more, more!!! OK here is the finished product

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The Venue

The wedding ceremony and BBQ reception took place at the beautiful property of our friends. It was perfect for the down home wedding that the bride and groom wanted. Here are some photos of the property before we set up.

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The actual ceremony took place inside the Labyrinth.

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The Website

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The Decor

Lace,burlap and pink ribbons, everywhere….I was dreaming burlap and lace!

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eating-utensils-napkins

decor-1 decor-2 beverage tags guestbook pens

Homemade peanut brittle for wedding favors.

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It feels a little strange that I no longer have any burlap and lace projects in the works! The wedding turned out great. We created the look and feel that my daughter and her hubby wanted and that is what really matters. 
 

Our little Claus

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The Happy Couple

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I will post up photos of the actual event all decorated up and the ceremony when I get them.

Now what!?!  Dare you ask!

It’s time to get into the Christmas mode. I have a couple of repairs to make on my Mrs. Claus skirt (dancing with the kids in the sand at the Mattel party last year was a little rough on it). Santa Ed is already in SoCal doing Santa auditions so officially our Christmas season is starting! 

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What does Mrs. Claus Do in the Off Season?

Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter…
Hi Ho Hi Ho, it’s off to decorate we go!

I love Christmas Decorations and when I’ve had my fill (usually after 1 1/2 – 2 months) I am ready for Valentine’s Day decor. I watch as the predominantly red and green décor leaves and the house takes on a pink and red cast. Now, I don’t put up as many Valentine’s decorations as Christmas but it is amazing how a few items placed here and there can really change the look of a room.

Mrs Claus - Valentine's Decorations

Mrs Claus - Valentine's Decorations

After Valentine’s day there is St. Patrick’s day where the predominately pink and red décor turns to green, white with a little yellow.

Mrs Claus - St Patrick's Day Decorations

Mrs Claus - St Patrick's Day DecorationsThen, after St. Patrick’s there is Easter where the predominately green, white with a little yellow décor turns to pastels…yellow, lavender, light blue, light pink, etc.

Mrs Claus - Easter Decorations

I understand how someone, especially without children or grandchildren, wouldn’t want to spend the time to decorate for all occasions (YIKES! Some don’t even decorate for Christmas)… BUT for some of us out there (you know who you are) WE LIKE THE VARIATION and consider it fun!!!  It is a hobby rather than a task. It is an outlet for our creativity.

What is the point, you ask?

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Both Santa and I really enjoy following all of the holidays. The only disadvantage I can see is that as I have gotten older the holidays come around faster and faster.  I value each and every one of my decorations and most of them have a story behind them which makes them even more special.

Mrs Claus - Easter DecorationsI like decorating for everything and because I do, we always look like we are ready for a party. When we have people over, it is a party and when it’s a party your guest are more likely to participate in playing games and generally just have a good old time. It’s great being known as the  “Fun House!”

The next decorating I will do is for the 4th of July. For a few months my house will be just “regular.” You might think this would be boring and plain but “au contraire.” I totally enjoy seeing my non-holiday décor, too!

You don’t have to go all out like I do, but you too can add a little holiday/event décor in a few places and add a little party-like atmosphere to your home. When I walk around my home I am constantly smiling at the little Cupid here or the little Leprechaun or shamrock plant there or the goofy Easter Bunny over there. 

Mrs Claus - St Patrick's Day Decorations

Don’t forget the glass ball ornaments!

Don’t forget the glass ball ornaments!

The other night, January 7, 2013 I was watching a Christmas movie. Yes, I’m still watching Christmas movies and I still have the tree and other decorations lit up! Back to the point…I was watching a Christmas movie when I glanced over at the Christmas tree. I was trying to figure out what makes a Christmas tree so calmingly beautiful. Is it the ornaments? Is it the lights? Is it the shape of the tree? Is it the little village under the tree? It can’t be the presents because all of the presents are long gone. What I came up with is, maybe it is all of it!

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Because I was looking so intently at the tree I noticed that each of the glass ball ornaments had many flecks of sparkle on them from reflecting the lights. On one ornament alone I counted 21 little flecks. 21 times the 24 glass ball ornaments I have on the tree equals 504 flecks of sparkle. I thought, “Boy, that’s a lot of added tree sparkle just by making sure your tree decorations include glass ball ornaments (not ones with the matte finish).”

When I decorated Santa’s and my first Christmas tree (1974) I bought a few boxes of glass ball ornaments put them on the tree along with some lights and voilà my tree was decorated! I started collecting more unique ornaments but for years the mainstay was the glass ball ornaments.

tree-glass-ball-ornaments-2-72Now after almost 40 years my tree decorations mainly consist of ornaments collected throughout the years. Quite a few of them are Hallmark or other non-shiny ornaments. I’ve always included glass ball ornaments to accentuate a particular color theme for my tree. For many years a used pink glass ball ornaments on the tree and now for the last 15 years I have used red. Like I said this was just to accentuate a color theme. It was only this year that I discovered the sparkle that they add to a tree. So, even if you decorate your tree with unique ornaments or if you decorate your tree with a country look….Don’t forget the glass ball ornaments! They add sparkle and sparkle is magical!

When does Mrs. Claus take down her Christmas Decorations?

When does Mrs. Claus take down her Christmas Decorations?

I get asked this question a lot! Santa and I are busy with out of town appearances starting before Thanksgiving up to Christmas Day. We have even been gone for 6 weeks straight! So, the day after Christmas is when we really get to relax and start to enjoy all of our holiday decorations. If it were up to Santa we would leave them up all year. I just can’t bring myself to have Christmas Decorations up all year round (plus I really enjoy decorating for other holidays).

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I know a lot of people take down their decorations the day after Christmas…that’s not what we do! I understand that sometimes a dried up Christmas Tree dictates the take down schedule and that cannot be helped. Once you take down the tree you might as well take down everything else, too.

Two years ago we went to a faux tree (OK, FAKE!) We really did not want to stop getting a real tree but because of being out of town so much and having to put up our decorations so early it became a necessity. A real tree just doesn’t work for us anymore.

Now, back to the original question… I don’t even think about taking down the Christmas Decorations until the Epiphany (January 6th.) After that day I start to think that maybe it’s time to take them down. It usually takes 7-10 days to take everything down mainly because I don’t work on it every minute of the day. I figure if I get them down in time for Valentine’s Day decorations to go up I’m doing fine!!!