Day 319

Speaking of a party, now that we’ve successfully hosted a party in our barn, we were wondering when we could do it again. With the winter holidays on their way, Christmas seems as good a time as any. Now, I am not usually inclined to jump on the Christmas decoration bandwagon the second Halloween ends, but with three kids motivated to help, we decided a nearly sixty degree in mid-November was a great day to prepare for the most wonderful time of the year.

Similar to Halloween, we needed to get the barn in the holiday spirit. Let the decorating begin!

In the past, we did most of our winter holiday decorating outside. While we still might add a little color and pizazz to our yard, we decided to focus on the barn’s interior. This will make the reveal of the holiday spirit that much more exciting for anyone that enters the barn.

Though we had a few decorations scattered around, we definitely felt the need to upgrade. We checked out a local thrifty store and dollar store to find new items to help bring the festive spirit to the barn. Personally, I enjoy the crafty wood decorations that can easily hang from the beams and stalls. My kids opt for the more flashy decorations. We met in the middle and started the process of turning our pole barn into a winter wonderland.

Once we hung up the first set of decorations, we turned our attention to the art of interior illumination. Inspired by the great Ckark Griswold, we decided to put lights up.

Lots of ‘em. 

Now while we won't be setting any world records in terms of overall lights included in a holiday display, we are using more this year than we have ever done in the past. The chickens were probably a little confused when we tested the lights but I think they’ll get into the holiday spirit with time.

We still have plenty of time before the winter holidays arrive but if it is like every other year, the time flies. The early feedback from our decorating is positive. But, I have a feeling we'll be making bigger and better changes.