We survived this week! I’m sorry I’ve been so absent from my blog, but this is pretty much my busiest week of the year.
For eight months we prayed for our house to sell. And then we just laughed at God’s timing and His sense of humor. Because we close on our house the week of my 30th birthday, the week before we took a Thanksgiving trip to Colorado, and two weeks before Holiday Market week, aka my busiest week of the year.
I’m so glad that Todd’s mom helped me with the boys in the afternoons so I could spend the day decorating. It’s so much fun for me to be able to use some of the creativity I’ve kind of tucked away, and it makes me feel so much better knowing the boys are in good hands.
some of the many bows we made this week
But now that it’s all behind us, I feel like we could conquer the world. It was a great week.
Through the Junior League of Columbia, my placement (committee assignment) is Holiday Market Decorations. This is my second year to chair this committee, and I love it. I have 10 other fantastic, creative, hard-working gals on the committee with me and it’s just so much fun to decorate such a massive space and watch it become a Christmas wonderland.
Almost all of the decorations were found this summer at America’s Mart in Atlanta when I went with my mom and Nina.
I thought I’d share a bunch of photos of the space. We had 20 Christmas trees, 9 small wreaths, 1 huge wreath, 27 centerpieces, 50 bows… and a partridge in a pear tree! And then there’s the larger than life Christmas tree.
the big tree- covered in wrapped packages (attached using lots of floral wire) and large flat ornaments
We started decorating last Sunday night and spent all day Monday and Tuesday decorating. We put the finishing touches on everything on Wednesday morning. And tomorrow night we’ll take it all down– and sell it if you’re in the Columbia area and are interested in coming by to shop!
sweet little mistletoe trees on the entry tables, and the beautiful table cloth my awesome committee member sewed
the outside tent and the gorgeous drum chandeliers and huge red ornaments
we had 18 round tables in the dining area in the tent that had lanterns, ornaments, and cute chevron table toppers
We had two trees in the tent this year
At the entrance to the building, there were 5 white trees showcasing various Junior League projects and philanthropies. These were decorated and created by this year’s provisional class
There was a very large wreath hanging over the stage area
This picture was taken during the decorating process, but I had to show the gorgeous ribbon on the trees around the dance floor
The entry area had six trees and four benches for shoppers to sit
Three large lattices hung from the ceiling and we swagged fabric and hung large red and green finials to lower the ceiling
We had 3 additional trees near the staircase, and of course garland and bows along the staircases and the balcony
One of the 9 centerpieces like this for cocktail tables
A peek down the aisle at the big tree
The theme this year was “Merry and Bright” and the two chairs of the committee and the whole Holiday Market committee did an amazing job pulling together a massive event and fundraiser.
Last night, Todd and I took the boys to the PJs with Santa event at Holiday Market. Santa Claus comes every year and there is also an opportunity for kids to do a fun Christmas craft, watch a Christmas movie, read Christmas stories, get their faces painted, tumble with The Little Gym, and even meet Cocky!
Hudson and Hayes absolutely loved it and they looked so cute in their pajamas that Hillary made!
It was a great week! But now I’m looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the season, and possibly getting a tree up at Todd’s grandmother’s house for us to enjoy!
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