Last Year's Christmas Mantle Linky Party

I'm joining in on the Last Year's Christmas Mantel Linky Party hosted by Beth at The Stories of A to Z. Our living room does not have a fireplace, but I like decorating a faux mantel shelf for the different seasons. Last year our living room had our natural cowboy themed tree and I simply used a star, pinecones, faux berries, a pair of lanterns and greenery to decorate the mantel shelf.

I love these lanterns with the wavy glass.

Our family room does have a fireplace, and since we bought our home 11 years ago I have wanted to build a mantel for it. Weirdly enough, not only was the fireplace installed off centre in our home, and many of our neighbour's homes, but the builder refused to add a mantel, even if we paid for the upgrade. But this year I have a plan. We'll see if the mantel gets built before Christmas. Since there isn't a mantel, I crackled a pine board and added some hooks to hang our stockings that I cross-stitched. Inexpensive, fast and functional.

Last year the family room was only half painted but that didn't stop me from hanging the new little flannel quilted Santa panel. I'm looking forward to getting it out again this year (hopefully with the mantel construction underway.)

Nothing fancy, and our home is usually a work in progress, but we sure have fun decorating for Christmas. Thanks to Beth for hosting the impromptu party and I hope you stop by to see some really pretty mantels.