Our Christmas tree compliments the purple, burgundy, silver, and gold color scheme of the rest of the holiday decor. Fairy lights in purple and white wrapped the tree, and glass balls in matte and shiny purple and silver set the stage. Many of the ornaments were gifts to us, including several figural glass pieces (the large Beethoven with his ear to his piano is a particular favourite). The tree also features many handcrafted ornaments from my childhood -- yep, I'm quite the sentimentalist! I especially adore the Winnie the Pooh on a blown egg and all the flat wooden ornaments that my mom painted. These ornaments have been on every Christmas tree I've ever had, and they mean the world to me because my mom made them.

Silver snowflake garlands and white crocheted snowflakes add a wintery touch. I found a dozen balls and bell shapes decoupaged with antiqued sheet music at an after-xmas sale, and those, along with several Christmasy drums and horns honour to the musician of the house. Little metal bells in the shape of cat faces and bats which I decorated with silver glitter give a subtle, goth flavour. Assorted ornaments from around the world such as Mexican-style quilted diamonds and Middle Eastern pierced-tin stars round out the tree.

Atop the tree sits an angel garbed in purple brocade and black velvet. I made this a few years back and chronicled the project on my Gothic Martha Stewart site. Below the tree, presents sit on a burgundy velvet skirt edged with fat silver cord. The velvet was a scrap leftover from slipcovering the couch, so it brings the color across the room nicely.

I decked our fireplace mantle in a faux pine garland twined with silver and burgundy ribbons, plus silver star wire for sparkle. Because I didn't want to put nails into the lovely surface of our mantle, I put nails in the back of the mantle where it meets the wall. I used clear nylon fishing wire to string the garland up and onto the nails. So far, it's holding up ok! Tips for making garlands are on my Gothic Martha Stewart site.

Also on the mantle are some of the holiday cards we've received. This year, several friends and a family member all got married, and I love how they included wedding photos on their holiday cards! That's like a little gift in itself. On either end of the mantle, I put candy-cane taper candles (from Illuminations) in silver candlesticks. Below these hang tiny knitted stockings for Thomas and myself which my mom lettered (clearly, the Crafty Gene is hereditary :-).

At the other end of the living room, I scattered a few more holiday items across the bookshelves. Our gargoyle, Hermes, wears a Santa cap. Big stockings for Thomas and me, plus little stockings for Melusine and Toulouse, are all hung from the top of the bookshelves. The decorative stockings hung by the fire are too small for St. Nick to put anything into, while these ones are more generous ;-). Elsewhere on the shelves are more holiday cards from friends and family, along with a few Christmas crackers made by a dear friend.