Part of my Christmas decorating each year is to turn my dining room chandelier into A Fancy Christmas Chandy!  I  like to add embellishments to my chandelier, whether that be changing out the shades, adding fresh greenery from the yard or filling the cups that hold the “candles” with cranberries.  This year I decorated my chandy to match my gold and silver tablescape.  

My chandelier has a story of it’s own.  It was the first birthday gift my husband bought for me after we moved into our first home . . .

I grew up in a wonderful old home in Seattle and my mother had a gigantic crystal chandelier (at least it seemed that way to me as a child).  I loved to lie on the floor on a sunny day and watch the prisms reflect rainbows all around the room.

So when Mr. OTN bought me a crystal chandelier of my own I was delighted.

My youngest daughter also delighted in my new chandy.  She would bring friends over to the house and if they had never been there before she would take them right into the dining room to show them the chandelier!

“Your house is SO fancy!”, they would say.  It wasn’t really, but the chandy made it feel that way.

My chandy has been with me for many years now and followed us to our current home.  When we first purchased this house it was more Tuscan in style and my youngest daughter (who was by then all grown up and in college) thought it was totally out of place.  I didn’t care and I WASN’T giving up my chandy!  

Over the years we’ve lived here our home has gradually changed over to the style I’m most comfortable with.  I love sparkle . . . crystals, gold and silver.  I also love shabby pieces of furniture, burlap, and horns hung on my wall!  (You may have noticed that the chandelier chain is wrapped in burlap and gold ribbon!)

My chandy fits right in with the changes we’ve made here and my “Farmhouse Glam” style.

It also fits with in with my decorating on a budget way of doing things.

The iridescent Christmas balls are from our local Goodwill Christmas Store.

The gold wired ribbon has been around for years and used to be added to our Christmas tree . . . way back when we didn’t really have enough Christmas ornaments to fill a big tree.

Perhaps I sound materialistic to say I love my chandelier.  But it isn’t the chandelier so much as the feeling of happiness and well being it creates within me.  It reminds me of a very happy time in my childhood.

Last Spring I had a crafting party for some friends and at one point my friend Betty said, “Look at the walls, just like in Pollyanna!”

The sun was shining through the crystals and painting tiny rainbows all around the room as God smiled down on our day together.

I think this year’s Fancy Christmas Chandy may be my favorite one yet.  I may have a hard time taking it down.  Do you think it can remain as a part of my winter decor, even after the other Christmas decorations are put away? 

Wishing you happy holiday memories to warm your heart this holiday season.

Blessings,