I loooove Burgundy. Love, love, love it. It's such a rich color, and it's also a color that I personally look very good in.

When burgundy is paired with gold, it gives it even a more rich quality.

I just asked my husband (whose background is graphic design) what he thought of the four Christmas ornaments below, and he said, "Instead of being 'light and fluffy,' they're more 'deep and rich.' They would work nicely as a accent for natural wood tones."




It's no secret that we're big Disney fans, so I'd have to say that my favorite of these ornaments is the Disney Park Exclusive. It's made of matte burgundy glass with red rhinestone Mickey ear heads. Wow!

We have been luck enough to have two different Disney World trips during the Christmas season: one was last November, when we stayed off-property at a Marriott, and the other was a few years ago in December, when we stayed at the Grand Floridian (which, by the way, none of us liked as much as either Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach).

Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian

One really fun about the Grand Floridian, however, is that they have a life-size gingerbread house in the lobby that stands 16 feet tall and features 40 window panes.

I did a little research and found that it takes roughly 400 hours of baking and is made with 700 pounds of chocolate, 600 pounds of confectioner's sugar, 35 pounds of spices, and 800 pounds of flour.

Animal Kingdom never stays open past 5:00pm, so they don't have any lighted Christmas decorations, but they do have an impressive animal-themed Christmas tree to greet you at the entrance.

One thing to keep in mind if you visit Disney World during the Christmas season -- it can be cold! Last November we all wore jeans and jackets to Illuminations at Epcot, and we were still chilly enough that I almost bought a hot chocolate just to try to keep warm.

We've never attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but I've heard it's really great. Here's a video of some highlights:

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party -- Magic Kingdom

If you're a Disney fan, or planning a trip there, here's my other blog where I wrote about our latest Disney vacation:

Why We Love Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort

Cool Things to Buy for Your Trip to Disney World

Our Favorite Snacks at the World Showcase in Epcot

Wait! Isn't Christmas supposed to be about things like snowflakes and earmuffs and sleigh rides and drinking hot chocolate? Why are we talking about Beach-themed Christmas stockings!

Well, these four stockings make me think of my husband's family, who live in Florida near the Gulf coast. For them, starfish and flip-flops might be more appealing decor than reindeer and snowman.

They also make me think of one of my son's friends, whose family is from Australia and staying in the United States for three years. Christmas probably makes them think of warm weather and these stockings would make total sense.

I don't have any beach Christmas decor myself, but if someday I were wealthy enough to have a beach vacation house, this is totally how I would want to decorate it for December.

One of my daughters just walked in the room, and I asked her which of these four stockings she likes the best. She said she liked the ocean coral one because her favorite color is teal.





If you are, in fact, decorating your Florida home, Australian home, or vacation beach house for Christmas, you'll want to check out this video from Debi's Design Diary of how to make this lovely "Beach Ball."

DIY Seashell Christmas Ornament