The Family McShane: Christmas Decor at the McShanes

Hi friends. So I have a million things to do before Christmas, so this is going to be a blog with more pics than words. I just want to share with you our home at Christmas time. Here we go.

Above the couch

Ornament in honor of Aunt Bobbie

Our tree. Those are colored lights, I know it's hard to tell.

More tree

The star is made out of tin foil and cardboard, just like my grandpa used to make for family Christmas that we had in October before they went to Florida. The d.i.y. How-to is at the end of this blog.

Wooden ornament from target last year. I added paint and glitter.

Here's what the back says.

I've covered up the plug for the air conditioner with a bow. Mostly because it makes me laugh.

Up on top of the desk. The M is a cardboard M you can get at Joann's or Hobby Lobby, and I sprayed it gold.

I'm using a lot of the lanterns from my wedding. No suprise. This is next to the TV.

On top of the microwave. My little tree from childhood.

The shelves are full of family and Christmas pictures.

A view from the other side.

The deer head

This is an old decoration that my mom or maybe my grandma made, but at some point in my childhood, my mom wasn't going to decorate with it anymore, so I inherited it. I find it oddly charming.

These are the little birds that sit on our internet box. They tweet. Get it? Because twitter? There's always a bird of some kind sitting on that box because I think it's so funny.

Deer bookends. I love antlers.

Our couch. White faux fur throw we got for our wedding, fleece tie blanket I made with a classic Christmas scene, and of course, the pillows. Potpourri in a bowl that's shaped like a bird, probably a dove. Festive, but weird. I like birds.

Now here's how to make the star. One thing to note is that you could make it with tin foil, but then spray or paint a design on it, hot glue jingle bells or buttons to it, or whatever you like. I left mine plain because that's how it was when I was a kid. All you need is cardboard, five strips of paper cut into equal lengths, a pen, a scissors, duct tape and some tin foil. Alright, let's party.

Step one: Arrange