Pumpkins and Snowmen

We've had discussions and searched Pinterest for protocol and the conclusion is... To do whatever makes you happy.  Do you leave pumpkins up from your Halloween decor for Thanksgiving?  How about your snowmen, and I say "men" because mine are wearing vests and bow ties resembling menswear not dresses or skirts relative to women.  You may refer to them as “snow people” if you wish.  

What about the winter green pines?  They are beautiful and smell wonderful throughout the home.  Must they be thrown out with the Christmas tree?  Okay, some of mine are not real, but must they be packed up and put away when the tree comes down?  

This year I did keep my pumpkins through  Thanksgiving.  In fact, I kept them displayed until I unpacked my Christmas decorations.  Not the ones with the black cats or scary faces, but the wonderfully colored ones with berries and leaves depicting the beautiful fall season we have here in the Midwest.  My Thanksgiving guests seemed comfortable and with my pumpkin potpourri I must say, it was very inviting.  As the calendar turns, it brings us to Christmas.

 The house was decorated, the tree put up and lit, the food prepared, gifts wrapped and table set.  Then, in a seemingly very short time, the food was gone, the gifts unwrapped and the table cleared.  It was just the tree and the decorations.  I’m not one to keep the tree up for very long.  It does take up space and since we cut a real one down, sorry environmentalists, the needles do begin to fall more rapidly and become annoying to my vacuum cleaner.  Now thinking back to my pumpkins, I began looking around to see if I could keep some “winter” décor in my home.  My search on Pinterest instantly revealed beautiful "winter mantles".   It was the inspiration I needed to  create...

As I packed up the Nativity, angels, stars, Santas and reindeers I noticed some “let it snow” décor that clearly could be considered “winter”.  Pines are definitely cold weather plants so why replace them with sunflowers in January?  Here’s what I came up with.  Baskets and crocks filled with greens and pinecones instead of ferns or flowers and even my welcome sign adorned with a snow person, not sure of gender, holding a “blizzard” sign is certainly indicative of winters in the Midwest. 

I’m having a dinner party this January and I’m hoping my guests will find my winter décor as comfortable as the pumpkins.  The snow shoveled sidewalk leads them into a winter wonderland of delightful snowmen smiling at them as they enter and unbundle their coats.  

It will be cinnamon potpourri inviting them in to relax by the fire and the stunning winter mantle.  Pines will surround us as we dine in the warmth of the house looking at the winter beauty of snow-covered lawns.  

Yes, in our home it is Midwest winter inside and out!