Christmas in Vermont

Welcome to Church Street. You will see that antlers are playing a starring role this year.

Other than antlers, the usual greenery has been deployed.

I collected this assemblage of carved wood Santa Claus figures over the course of about 10 years. I stopped adding to it a while ago when it reached a critical mass on the mantle. Also, at a certain point the collection just seemed complete.

The tree is up in the living room. In our second year here I had an electrical outlet installed in the baseboard behind the tree to plug in the lights and make the cord almost invisible - more effort has been made to accommodate this brief seasonal feature than a television (which we still don't have - and are not getting for Christmas.)

Our collection of ornaments has a general theme that developed naturally over time: snow sports, woodland creatures and woodland creatures engaged in snow sports.

I add a few new ornaments every year and this year I received two fabulous additions as gifts. From my friend Cindy Hattersley, a designer in California and author of the beautiful blog Rough Luxe Lifestyle, a new star for the tree top.

And from dear Monika who pens Splendid Willow, is the proprietress of the divine Splendid Avenue, and knows that I love all thing Scandinavian, a set of linen ice skates from Danish company Maileg.

In a heroic feat of crafting not seen before, or ever since, Mr. H and I made three 6-foot strands of this pinecone garland during our first winter in Vermont. (That was before we had kids or gainful employment.) This is the 18th Christmas that they have graced our tree. Other than losing a few cones that were poorly drilled, they have held up nicely.

We eat very well in Church Street as Mr. H spent his 'gap year' in London at Le Cordon Blue culinary school. He is a renaissance man; he also plays guitar, writes poetry, and has a master's degree in creative writing.

Making s'mores is a nightly activity from the beginning of Christmas break until New Year's. There is some debate but I think the secret to the ideal s'more is getting the chocolate into the middle of the molten marshmallow so it melts.

I made these luminaries with empty wine bottles and half-gallon milk cartons. After the initial freeze I removed the wine bottles and added more water to raise the bottom level to conveniently hold a votive candle. It is my annual homage to Martha; I have been a fan since the early days.

On Christmas Eve stockings are hung on a bookshelf as the fireplace cannot be spared even for a single night. In addition to candles, we go through a lot of firewood here.

Before signing off for a bit, I'd like to wish my lovely readers all the best in 2013. I feel enormously grateful to have met so many warm, generous and funny people in the last year through the wonderful world of blogging. Thank you all for the inspiration, education, friendship and laughs. With lots of love,