29 Comments

  1. so pretty! i love the branch with the photos, and lily’s room is the sweetest. i wanted to make paper snowflakes this year but i never got to it.

    1. Have Emmy make some 😉

  2. I LOVED reading this Julia! My mom lived in Germany before I was born and we visited at Christmas time once when I was a toddler and once when I was 9. It left such an impression on me as a child. My mother brought back several German Christmas decorations, a German pyramid, a little wooden village, and wooden toy trains to name a few. I have a small pyramid of my own and set up the little wooden village from my childhood in my home. They hold such special memories to me. Thanks for sharing your traditions:)

    1. Oh we had a wooden village too. I forgot about that the tree had these curly wood shavings. I’d love to bring one of those home too one day. Thanks for the visit Heather. You should go back to Germany one day again.

  3. Love to hear about others traditions and your family photos are so special. Beautiful decor everywhere. Can’t wait to see a sneak peak of your dining room.

    1. Thanks Marty. I’m so in love with my new dining room light 😉 and can’t wait to share it.

  4. Julia, I love your tour! I love everything from your display of your ornaments above your desk, to the snowflakes hanging in your daughters room. I also love reading about your german traditions, my dad lived in germany when he was in the army, my older sister was born there. My younger sister and I were just talking about some of the traditions we felt like were meant to scare kids. I am happy we got to grow up with a nice happy version of Santa Claus ; ) but if I’m not mistaken, we owe the tradition of Christmas trees to Germany, that one I love! sorry to hear about your fur baby 🙁 hugs to your family!

    1. Thanks for the visit Jen. Yes the Christmas tree is from Germany too. St. Nicholaus was a happy guy though, I was only scared of his helper. But I think a little bit of being scared isn’t all that bad for kids 😉 It made us behave. Happy Holidays!

  5. I like how they seem to stretch Christmas out all month long in Germany ;). And I love how your daughter’s decorated her room–the snowflakes are just lovely!

    1. Thanks, she’s working on trying to get pointy star shaped snowflakes right now 😉

  6. Shavonda@SGStyle says:

    Oh Julia i just love this so much friend. I remember leaving our boots out by the door when we lived in Germany and praying that St. Nic brought us nuts and fruits instead of coal. We were so stressed every Christmas! I love seeing all your German traditions highlighted here. I miss the chocolates there so so much. Nothing here compares. Also adore your girls room. The snowflakes instantly made me smile.

    1. Yes to the chocolate. But a lot of them you can get at our grocery store here now too.

  7. No pickle on the tree? That is one of my favorite German traditions that I am sharing with my two girls. No Saint Nick in part because my youngest’s birthday is Dec. 5 so I could never keep the dates straight but that was another favorite childhood memory of mine. Luckily since we were in the states we didn’t have to worry about his helper – my mom didn’t bring that part over with her 😉 And lebcuchen. How I used to love getting the packages from my Omi with Lebcuchen and gummi bears!

    1. Nope no pickle. As a matter of fact I didn’t know anyone growing up who actually did that in Germany 😉 My mom always brings the kids Gummibärchen too. Thanks for reading Susan.

  8. My heart is so sad for you, its so painful to lose our furry children. They give us so much love.

    1. Thanks Barbara, I burst out crying non-stop randomly 🙁

  9. Sheryll $ Critters. says:

    Every single part of your home is gorgeous. I am wondering if you will share the how to of the snowflakes? I have a desperate need for unbreakable, and inexpensive ornaments. Thank you for the tour.

    1. Maybe I can get my daughter to make a square snowflake tutorial 😉 but she just cuts randomly and sees what comes out and the end 😉

  10. Sheryll $ Critters. says:

    Thank you for giving little Monkey a happy, loving home for his last days, before crossing the rainbow bridge.

    1. Thanks Sheryll, I will miss her so much. Even my husband said yesterday that he will miss her and he didn’t want to have anything to do with her when she showed up at our door step. But she became his garden buddy and hung out with him when he did yard work or sat in the sun.

  11. Oh, I love hearing your the history of Christmas and how you celebrated it as a child. I really like how you are incorporating your past into your children’s lives. So good! Also, I don’t think that picture frame display could be any cuter. Really adore it. Can’t wait to see that dining room.

    1. Thanks Ashley. I wish I could take the kids to Germany for Christmas one of those years 🙁

  12. Alexandra berlit says:

    Liebe Julia,
    Es war schön, Deine Weihnachtsgeschichte zu lesen. Danke dafür. Wir packen unsere Geschenke übrigens am Morgen des 25.12. aus…..im Schlafanzug ; ) .
    Fröhliche Weihnachten wünscht Alexandra aus Hamburg

    1. Hallo Alexandra, echt wie die Amerikaner? Keine von meinen Freunden in Deutschland haben das früher gemacht 😉 LG und frohe Weihnachten

  13. I loved this. The fondue meal sounds so fun, what a great tradition. The champagne too 🙂 The framed photos each year are such a sweet idea – I love how it’s snapshot of where you were in your life that year. I might not like to see myself aging though…

  14. Oh Julia, I loved your post so much! It’s funny– every time I read something of yours I can hear you saying it in your adorable accent and it makes me so happy! I was laughing at your story about the scary santa– how terrifying! And crying over your sweet girl, traditions, and poor kitty. I’m so sorry for you! I can’t thank you enough for joining in the tour. Love you! xx

    1. Awwww thanks Jen. Love you too and I think back to our dinner conversation in NYC which makes me smirk and giggle sometimes. Knowing these little secret did-bits about each other is awesome!
      The scary santa helper was quite helpful to my parents at times. I could use him at times in our house too. Thanks so much for including me in your series and Happy Holidays.

  15. I love hearing about other people’s traditions. We do our big Christmas celebration and extended family presents on the 24th also. Santa and immediate family is done on Christmas day. Since we get the large Christmas celebration done first thing, Christmas day always feels more relaxed and chill.

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