January

Some years, as we start to pack away the decorations that we put up in December, the house starts to look rather plain. This year, as I sometimes do when I'm not ready to pack it all in at once, I'm keeping a few "winter decorations" up for January--- because they are pretty, and I love them, and they make it feel cozy in this cold dreary month.

 These two little arrangements will stay in the dining room as long as they are nice.  They are small enough that I can easily change the water every couple of days to keep them fresh.

 

 This little arrangement is on a shelf in the bathroom.  Wintry, but not too Christmas-ey to stay up.

 And this is one of my favourites.  It's above the china cabinet in the dining room, so we can enjoy it without it taking up any floor space.  It has a mix of handmade decorations and store bought items including crocheted snowflakes and stained glass icicles I purchased from fellow crafters/makers/artists.  It has paper-quilled snowflakes I made as a pre-teenager (more years ago than I wish to count). And it has icicles and snowflakes that I have bought piece be piece through the years.

 Oh, and a pair of hummingbirds.  Sparkly brown hummingbirds.

The dogwood branch, trimmed from my garden, is anchored in a glass jar filled with rocks, that sits in a larger glass vessel (also filled with rocks) to make the whole thing nice and sturdy.  Being above the china cabinet, I don't need it tipping over when we're not paying attention.  And in front of it rests a very large snowflake.  

How about you?  Do you leave anything up for January to stretch out the holiday season, or by now are you ready to pack it all up and say goodbye for the year?