Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Santa Express

I visited the Duchess yesterday 
and took pictures of this year's outdoor decorations.

(That's my mother for those who have asked. 
What? You didn't know I was royalty?)

As I've said, 
her themes are always whimsical
 and designed for children.

This year's theme is 
Santa's Express



The focal point of her decorating is always on her front porch.
 That's were most of the action is.



With a little schedule to make sure 
Santa stops for the family members across the globe.


The porch is the focal point, 
but if you pay close attention, 
the elves on the shelves 
will tell a little story, too.

Apparently, something has happened up above...


Can you tell what it is? 


psst... look at the paint can


And then the hapless elf on the left


More elves on the shelves


The side entrance to the kitchen is the door to Santa's workshop 
where an elf keeps tabs on her grandchildren.

Looks like they've all been pretty good so far.


At night, she adds just enough light.


And yes, I did deliberately capture the blue hour.
 You might recall that I have a blue hour obsession.


So there you have it.  


Merry Whimsical Christmas
from the Duchess



39 comments:

Knitty said...

I love it all! I appreciate the whimsy and that the decor is aimed at making the children in all of us smile.

You mentioned Home Interiors in your previous post. Whew! I thought I was the only one who still uses items bought from those parties years ago!

Katherines Corner said...

How wonderful, she did a beautiful job capturing the elves and the workshop. Love it all. I also appreciate your obsession with the blue hours. Hugs!

Barbara F. said...

Fantastic! Your mother is special. xo

no spring chicken said...

Truly, I have never seen anything like it... Your mother is obviously one of a kind. I wish she lived in our neighborhood!

Blessings, Debbie

Ann said...

OM Goodness, Debbie! Your mom is amazing. HOW did she get those shelves and elves up there? Did someone do it for her? Sooooooo cute!

I still hope to copy her garland around the door and her wreath for next year. Already started "hoarding" small boxes. : D

Cheers!

Debbie said...

Ann, the brackets are there under the window for window boxes the rest of the year so she just opens the window and replaces it with a shelf. She also keeps little hooks up for the garlands and does it the same way.

But now, she does employ whatever family members are available for hauling all that plywood.

Sue said...

I cannot believe the amount of work your mother does ~ she is the best grandma!!

Renée said...

Oh my word, the Duchess has "been elfed!" How adorable! I ABSOLUTELY love her Christmas spirit. Everything about the whole family is so merry and bright!!!! Thanks for sharing more Georgia fun....and I'm so glad she posted Santa's schedule so he will know where and when to stop. Any chance she could squeeze Boise, ID in?

Terra said...

I think your Duchess is true Christmas royalty. How wonderful the house is and all those elves; this is a wonderland for children. The house at night is stunning and sparkly.

Denise at Forest Manor said...

Hi Debbie,

Thanks so much for sharing this with us! This is great; I love that your mom (I mean The Duchess) does these wonderful whimcical scenes. They really are full of imagination and something her grandchildren will never forget!! The elves are amazing, and I just love all that beautiful garland.

A Happy and Blessed Christmas season to you, the Duchess and all of your loved ones.

Denise

Denise said...

The photos are just fabulous. I love her house with the blue hour. Stunning. I laughed when I thought about her sign with the grand"children's" names on it. Ages 1 to 13? Nope. 16 to 28. But they do ever LOVE the Duchess, don't they?

Amy Kinser said...

All of her decorations are beautiful and so fun! I bet children who come through her neighborhood love her house.

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

She is amazing! What a heart gift, to get that sense of joy every Christmas, no matter what age. I'm truly inspired!

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

I love it all, but especially the sign with arrival times. Tell the Duchess that was a great idea! KUWAIT just sort of jumped out at me -- probably because I'd been praying this morning for your favorite fatigue wearer. I hope he's doing well, and that the Newlywed Niece is, too. Merry Christmas to all!

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

That's just too cute!

Kathleen said...

The Duchess is truly amazing! This Christmas display is fantastic. I wish I could bring our little boys to see it.

Nikki (Sarah) said...

I see where you get your amazing creativity from. You're mom's decorations are the best. I love those little elves and the train...

Anonymous said...

Debbie,
Once again, the Duchess has outdone herself! I am so going to have to share this with my mom.

Lynn said...

So cute! Love the elves and train and the front door is beautiful:@)

Shug said...

This is so cute...Love the elf on the shelf theme.
A lot of hard work went into this and so many people will enjoy it...I know I did!

Chatty Crone said...

Oh my goodness - I am so impressed with your m other! She is totally awesome. How does she do all that work????? sandie

FrouFrouBritches said...

That display is seriously impressive! I would be so embarassed for her to come to my sad little front porch display. My 5 year old was sitting beside me oohing and aahing over her display. She loved it!!!!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Ooops! Don't know how that happened. What fun it is to see all of these Christmas delights. She must have originated the elf on the shelf book, movie, etc. How cute those are. The night pictures are so pretty. I want to come see it all in person. laurie

Anonymous said...

Your Duchess sounds like great fun! How jolly - I bet every kid in town wants to drive by to take in all the fun. What else would I expect from YOUR mom?
Joy!
Kathy

Debbie said...

Oh my goodness...this is just adorable! I loved it. What fun your mother must be! HUGS

Sharon said...

OK, this has pretty much decided it for me - I want to live by you guys. What an adorable house the Duchess has - such fun. I can imagine she must be well-loved by all the neighborhood kids.

Count me in, I'm buying a ticket on the Santa Express to Elf Town - (even if they are a bit clumsy with the paint).

Choo-choo!!

Tanna said...

Your mom has outdone herself!! Love it!! She is both creative and industrious! Debbie, I LOVE the blue hour... can't believe I haven't had a chance to attempt any lately, but I am fascinated by how blue the sky turns out. Just love it! So glad you shared another one with us. Have a wonderful day! blessings ~ tanna

A Cultivated Nest said...

I love your mom's decorations! She is one creative lady. I bet her neighbors really appreciate her efforts.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Manuela

Babs said...

How wonderful!! That is so cute and I'll bet all the neighbors love it. I can tell those "elves" have worked really hard getting everything decorated. Please tell The Duchess "thank you" for sharing her home...and thank you too, of course for taking the photos.

Crickit said...

How creative the Duchess is! Wish I was closer to drive by and see this in person! :)

Maryann said...

So much fun for the little ones, just love it

Christine said...

What a Gift your mother is giving her neighbors.
The time and work is amazing.

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Oh fell in love with her last year...she inspires and is just a gift! What a blessing to all...just wonderful..give her a hug of appreciation from me!

Unknown said...

Debbie, I love seeing your mom's house. This is such a fun display and I really like how you captured the whole front of the house. (especially with the blue hour!) Is she doing all of her trees again this year?
xo
lynn

corners of my life said...

Too cute.
They must have so much fun designing and putting up the decorations each year.

lesa said...

Very cool! Hi, new to your blog.

Mrs. Kelley Dibble said...

The Duchess is somethin' else! Wow! It's adorable.

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

This is wonderful! At her age most people are powering down and even the young people are "doing simple" this Christmas! So happy to see someone going the extra mile, no matter how much work, or how tiring! She deserves a medal!!

Katherine

(P.S. - she is just a few years older than me!!)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails