Christmas Bells!!!

Sleigh bells...they bring to mind Victorian paintings of families in horse-drawn sleighs out for a ride in the beautiful snowy countryside in a time before automobiles.  They conjure memories of seeing Santa ride through town in the Christmas parade before the world went crazy and banned the term "Christmas".  They're nostalgic, and while they are heard only infrequently at most nowadays, I love them.

"Sleigh Ride 1838" by Thomas Birch

"Sleigh Ride" by Thomas Kincade

I mentioned last year that I had purchased a set of antique sleigh bells from our local antique store.  Knowing that the place I wanted to send them for restoration, Classic Bells, would be quite busy around the holidays, I waited until January to send them off for cleaning and re-setting on a leather strap.  Earlier this week, I received a notification that my bells were finished and on their way back home, and I was so excited to see the finished product!  I highly recommend them to anyone who has antique bells to be restored.  Their finished product is well worth the wait!

Before:

After:

I absolutely love them.  It's hard to believe that they are the same bells!  They are just as I imagined they would be...the perfect size for the door, and just in time for Christmas decorating!

We just got our Christmas lights up this year, and our decorating is almost done.  I love decorating for Christmas, but since it's a short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, we're just going to put our fake tree. 

Also because of the short Christmas season this year, I'm going to take a break from blog posts until after the first of the year.  I wish everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas season!