Nutcracker Mantel

Greetings! And, thank you all SO much for your thoughtful comments about my whimsical Christmas kitchen decor! I really appreciate it ... your sweet notes are the reason why I blog. Again, thank you!

Since we're all in (or getting in or need to be in) the holiday spirit, and the blog Christmas par-tays are beginning, I thought I'd share my great room mantel today. Like last year, I chose to embellish it with nutcrackers. However, this year, I added a few more ornaments, snowflakes and beads:

These pretty green, red and gold shatterproof ornaments are from Wal-Mart ($5 for a box of 18)! Love.

Last year, I had one simple row of gold beads (from Old Time Pottery). This year, I added more ... fun:

I added the gold, glittery snowflakes this year, as well (from a local Christmas shop):

I also decided it might be fun to add a couple of canisters of the traditional Christmas nuts. Of course, I just *had* to perch a mini nutcracker right on top.