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So this was the weekend we have been dreading! But the good news is that we survived! We had the Christmas House Tour on Saturday and Louie's dance recital (he was in four dances, that means four costume changes! and he has the personal dresser me...). It was a lot.

The Christmas House tour was arranged by our local library. A beautiful facility and a very worthy cause. But it is a weeks worth of work to get ready. I was asked as being a house in the borough and the fact that my house is a historic home. So basically an excuse for random people to come into your house and look at stuff. The idea is that you decorate the home for the season and people then buy tickets and they limit the number of tickets given out and people can tour the homes open. It gives people a start to the festivities and actually is rather nice. But when you do it yourself ie host a house, it is a lot of work. Coming back from being away and having a week to get ready was a close run thing and the tree was only cut and put in place Friday morning!!!!! But 'nuff said, here is the evidence

Dress Rehearsal Thursday

trying valiantly to do algebra home work.....

Quick change...dance of the flowers

Yes mum this isn't really a 'bloggable' moment!

No seriously I have to get on stage....we're in the glamorous dressing room in the wings!!! ie the toilet! works well though...not far to get on stage

Alright ready for the party scene

More algebra

Louie and Elizabeth...could be homework ....more likely mindcraft....

Friday Morning approximately 9:45 am

We are at our Christmas Tree farm and off we go...

You know that cart is quite heavy

There are thousands of trees....easy to get lost. Luckily my bright yellow wellies meant that Damian didn't lose me and coupled with my penetrating voice, there was no chance I would be lost!

How about this one....as I explained slowly and repeatedly ...we needed an angry stubby tree, like the ones in the Isle of Man, to take the weight of mercury glass ornaments.

This one Damian...perfect

Well you cut it!

Now lets drag this several miles back to the car

Nice man helped

And home and all before 10.30am

OK enough standing around, hoof that tree in

Ah, now that's lovely and because I asked the man at the tree farm, I now know, that when I want a stubby angry tree, it's a Norway Spruce....good to know. I believe that's the tree Norway gave to the Queen, all those years ago! So that's about right, that's what I need.

I decided that we had to have some splendour for the table, so I set it for a make believe tea party, with plates showing 12 days of Christmas. Although having a setting for 6 did throw me. But no one commented on that

Dinning room with all the "artifacts" of the house on display....photos and maps of the house that a previous owner complied...properly a lucky break for me, all I had to do was label them.

Fireplace and library

Christmas trees by the office and front of the house reception room on the right of the entry way

Decorated by the evening on Friday and looking wonderful, although angel needed some adjustment, as she looks like she's ready to leave

This is the tidiest ever in the history of a Damian office, that it has ever ever been...evidence for future use that is

What I forgot about the Friday night was it was First Friday in West Chester and the Christmas Parade and for us to put out luminaries....thank goodness I had some from last year.....so running about at 5:00pm to set these babies up

But decided that although dead on my feet and they were sore, I had to see the luminaries in the neighbourhood and park....

The statue in Marshal Sq park even had them on the steps and I love this picture

Damian is so good at being a silly billy and this is his way of being exhausted.....following the star. This is  on our porch. He says he was being a camel, I have another word for it and it isn't camel!

I think this picture I took just before the Tour shows the tea party better...and you can see more of the room

THE TOUR SATURDAY

So when you look out of your library and see this scene gathering on your lawn...that's anxiety that is! This lot went through the house. It is estimated that we had conservatively 500-600 people on the tour and yes they came through the house and no they didn't take anything or break anything. I talked myself horse and didn't manage to leave from 10.00 till 2.30. Managed food before I fell down and did meet the most amazing people and they were so grateful to be in our home and share it. It was lovely to see how people reacted and the things that they loved and though the kitchen wasn't 'tour tidied', or even meant to be on the tour, they loved that too! no kidding people literally pushed their way through the whole ground floor and didn't miss the downstairs toilet, also not officially on the tour! on their way through. 

The Recital

This is delivered to us as we arrive for the performance and what an amazingly fantastic costume is this!!! He really can be the Rat King/Mouse King in this

Splendid

Louie and this years Nut Cracker,....we love him

Louie in the wings waiting to go on

I know that you can't really see what's going on but the essence is there. Louie has a blue vest on or tank..

And this is my favorite photo, the snow queen and lit up! as they circle her. Just stunning

Change

Drink

New performance...Charlie Brown and friends

We are nearly finished

I made him pose and bless him he listened. Love that costume!

This is where I sat when I got home

I lit the luminaries and enjoyed their glorious glow

and pondered of all the things in my house that this is the thing people seemed most drawn too. This hangs in the library and was bought for me for a birthday, one time in Cape May. I laughed so hard in the shop, I had to leave...I was on my own and literally laughing like a crazy lady. I told the boys about it and so a few days later on my birthday, that often coincides with Cape May holiday, this was one of my presents. So when I was guarding the library, from random public peoples, practially every one that came into the room zeroed in on this and as I saw the first person look at it, I had that sinking feeling...OMG what if there is swearing in there, as to be honest I've not read it recently...and didn't think that tour people would look at this....as maybe the fireplace would be more compelling, with original tile work and working fireplace........well from then on everyone looked at it and took pictures of it!!!! and now I come to read it....I had forgotten the screw thing! So there you go, people always surprise you and I hope that they enjoyed this and all the tidying that I did. It was such a crazy day.....

Next time...