Twinkling Lights

With all of these thoughts as my guiding principles, I approached my Christmas decorating this year with a main objective in mind.  I wanted a few magical spaces that would make us want to be together, doing simple things, appreciating simple blessings.  One of the most obvious is our evening meal together, so I tried to think of a way to make gathering at the kitchen table a special experience.

This is what I came up with:


I bought four strings of white lights on white wire and hung each of them in a corner of the room, then brought the ends together and wrapped them around the light fixture over our table.  I already had little hooks in each corner from this event more than a year ago.  I wrapped some gauzy fabric around the mess of lights in the center and hung some glittery bells beneath it.


A couple of years ago I bought these cool little wire things.  They’re made from very thin wire, all crinkled up and formed into a ball.  You just work a light bulb through one of the holes and they stay on (unless your teen-aged son gets his hands on them or your one and two year-old girls decide to unravel them).


These little balls are what make it feel magical.  They add an element of drama to an otherwise plain string of lights.  I love the way they glisten and soften the effect in the room.


I keep them on all day.  They’re so pretty that I {almost} forget how much I hate living at dusk.  When my children walk in the door after school I watch their faces as they look at the lights and smile.  It’s like they just walked into a backyard party with a canopy of lights, and they love it.


In the evenings we’re not even turning on the lights.  Every night has been a candlelight meal.  With this in the kitchen and the Christmas tree in the family room, we’re basking in the simple gift of twinkling lights all evening long.

So guess what?  I’m not taking them down after Christmas.   These lights are staying up until spring so we can keep our little wonderland for the winter.

I wish you were here to see them.  They really add a bit of magic to the night.
HH