I do snowmen!! They are so fun and why you would make room for them with all the beautiful Christmas things in December I do not know..but I don't do Santa either. I keep it about the reason for the season! So in January I go nuts with snowmen. They are cheery, they scream SNOW and January. They are colorful and can be found in all sizes and types. I hate to say good bye to Christmas but knowing I get to get out my snowmen makes it easier. FYI: I change out every month...Feb. will be red and hearts, March is all about the green..April means spring and EASTER...

I tend to try and steer clear of the red & green combination after Christmas, Karen . . . but I LOVE the mantel you've shown us here. I usually go for the silver, blue & white myself, It conjures up memories of snow, calmness, peaceful Winter scenes, etc. I like nature Winter pieces, too, which is what that mantel brings to mind. For another vignette, maybe you can use Bunnies in the Snow as an inspiration.
I did my Christmas dining room in a Victorian Santa look this year. I love it, but am already thinking about packing away much of it before Twelfth Night and breaking out the blue & white things. First I actually have to take some pics of what I do have up, though!

I am going to keep out my non-Christmasy woodland stuff out - pine boughs, pinecones, birds, and white candles. It will be minimal but I just need to have something out .....

Lynne

I love the idea of using your Cardinals.
Perhaps a woodsy setting...spraying glittery snow onto branches using white Candles at different heights and blending in tiny white lights into the background would look lovely.
This Christmas I used twig branches on the mantel, mixed in with my winter garland and a few red cardinals. I really liked the look.
Since DH put up a few bird feeders outside our bay window, for the winter, I've been watching the Cardinals in the snow these past few days. They're just lovely winter birds.
I think since you didn't get to use them for Christmas, they'd be a perfect Winter display.
jane

Could you take a look at the bathroom garland and let me know if you'd leave it up for winter? I can remove some of the ornaments but I just used silver pinecones and glass type icicles, and small blue balls. Santa would get put away with the rest of them of course, but the silver pinecone tree behind his left arm could stay.

Arcy, I don't have Snowmen except the ones in the first bathroom photo (back of the potty, LOL). I do have several things in the copper colors like in that photo tho.
And more Snowman plates.

Jane, adding twig branches is a great idea. I can get plenty of little pinecones from my backyard thanks to neighbor's tree. With my birds and bunnies, a woodsy look should be easy.

I really just want to do the family-room area which includes bay window and kitchen long counter, and for sure my entry hall where the antique sideboard is.

Its always been hard to feel 'winter-y' here in Phoenix where everything is so green when you look out the window.
LOL. So a little inside would really be nice!

hugs, Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: bathroom Xmas decor

Karen, that mantle is lovely, but still looks a little Christmasy to me. I went back and looked at the bath pic, I think if you just used the icicles with garland and maybe if you could find some little snowbirds they would look cute too. I think your cardinals would be wonderful with just greenery and snow. When I take all the Christmas down I kind of like the clean blank slate look for a while and that is when my yearly ritual of washing all the glassware takes place.
Frou

Great ideas for winter decorations. What I've pulled from here is, keep out snowmen, icicles (I'll have to go buy some, but I love that one, and, if I can find them, they should be on sale), and all things birds. All of that would fit nicely with a Valentine's Day theme, as well.
Nancy

I knew all of you would be a big help, cause I sure was stumped what I wanted to do this year. In the past when I packed up my Christmas, the house just felt so blah and empty till Valentine's. I really need things a little festive so I don't get so gloomy!
And tho I wish I could do Jan as a blank slate and start fresh, I'm need my 'stuff' out. LOL.

hugs, Karen

Karen, with all your decorating I know what you mean about the home looking blah. I leave all my snowmen out after Christmas for this same reason. I'm also to lazy to put all of it away at once.

Your snowmen on the BOP can stay for sure. We are having severe storm warnings tonight and tomorrow. So far it hasn't hit here.

Punk

Karen, (luv your name!), just this morning, I was looking at a magazine, and they had some cute ways to display snowmen, and I thought of you. It was a bhg mag, so maybe you could find some of the ideas on their website, OR it might possibly still be on your newstands in your area--but may be gone. They did some really clever things with very little purchased. Good luck, and take pics for us to see, please.

Here is a link that might be useful: Better Homes & Garden

I have a village with the *Snow Village* pieces. So living in the midwest where we have snow into March, I don't feel bad leaving anything that pertains to winter. Snowmen, icicles, etc. I do take down the tree a week after Christmas.

Hi Karen #3, LOL. Glad you like my name. Nice to have another one of us here. NanaKaren will probably get a kick out of it too. Don't see too many 'Karens' around.
Actually I get BHG, I just haven't had time to sit down with the latest issue so I didn't see the Snowman decor.

Bliz, I am definitely leaving my Village awhile. It will be the very last thing I put away.

Punk, hope the storm doesn't cause you guys problems. We are actually going to get a "taste" of winter in Phoenix.
Its raining today but temps ok till tomorrow night. Our normal lows would be in the 40's. That is going to be the high Fri and Sat. And down to the 20s those nights. The weather guys said its a fast moving storm and that is good. I have 5 plants I'll have to cover tho. We just don't get these temps in Phoenix. It rarely hits freezing much less below. So guess we'll be setting still more records for this year. That's all we've done weather-wise it seems. LOL.

Hope you guys the blizzard hit have dug out, and really hope you can be home and off any roads.
hugs, Karen

PM...definitely leave out your villages in your beautiful cabinets! They are wonderful & they cry "WINTER!"

Here in IA I leave my pine trees & snowmen...put away Santas, Nativities & such ... change up the buffet a bit with some white dishes or whatever fancies me at the time...but, I love leaving all the "natural" woodsy items out...pinecones, nuts, greenery, etc. And I leave my winter dishes on the counter...the Pfaltzgraff Winterfrost.

I agree with lynn...the silver, blues & such are so bright & uplifting for the new year! And your bathroom is "blue"...so maybe you can use some silver garland of beads or something & still have the icicles & glitter! Your cloches are always so wonderful ...so that bunny one ...& the polar bear & penguin would still be so lovely on your counters!

I'd love to see you put out your Cardinals...& you also have that wonderful, wonderful bay window to decorate! The cardinals have been so busy this winter & I'm going to attach a couple pics from the last few days. One is out my porch window where I couldn't catch the cardinal in the pic...they love the berries on this bush...but I scared them off by trying to take a pic close to this window...but thought the pic was cool, anyway.

{{gwi:200864}}

Out the LR windows (where I can hide myself a bit on the couch when I take these...LOL!)
{{gwi:201079}}

Ok, I've hi-jacked your post with "cardinals!" So I better get off...my Internet is back to good speed again & phone lines working...Whoopee! Now I can do some lookin' here again! Have fun with whatever you do! Hugs to DD! Jeanne S.

These are 4 scenes that I will leave up most of January.

This is on my back porch

This one will probably get moved to another place and not have all the snow around it

This is in the main bath and will stay until we remodel in February

I have taken the Merry Christmas off and added a bird to this scene

Lynne

I got to thinking about my post and realized I forgot to say I feature my cut crystal bowls, candy dishes too. They remind me of ice. I too stick to blues and silver for colors. It actually makes my entire house seem cold, mimicking the outside I suppose.

Now is a GREAT time to look for snowmen. Keep your eye out for the ones that don't SCREAM Christmas. I got some really fun ornaments a few years ago. Snowballs, I cut off the string and pile them in bowls so they look like a snowball fight ready to happen. Fake snow is also on sale now.

Arcy, in one of my bins, I have some sparkly styrofoam balls that are fake snowballs. Thanks for the reminder since I didn't use them this year in my Christmas decorating! Plus I've got some silver, and gold, bead garlands. I have only a couple of Snowmen, very few really hit me enough to want to bring them home since I have so many other collections going. Tho I just bought an S&P set that tickled my fancy, they'd be cute under a cloche or on a tray. Plus I have another set in my bathroom. Its going to be hard for me to change my thinking on Snowmen being for winter and not just Christmas tho. LOL. Old habits die hard.

I am getting real excited about decorating a new way now,
and can't wait to unpack my cardinals! Jeanne, hijack any post of mine, anytime. I LOVE your cardinal photos each year. They all look like magazine pix or cards to me.
I follow your albums so I don't miss a thing. LOL.

By the way, Lynne, I really like the Christmas Tree basket wall hanging in the bathroom. That looks great decorated like you did it.

hugs, Karen
here.

I found one similar to this today, and didn't realize until I got home that mine is a place card holder. The arms aren't holding anything; they're sticking straight up to hold a place card. It was only three dollars, so I'm going back for a couple more. I have friends coming over the first week of January, so it's perfect.

Karen, I think putting your cardinal out now would be perfect! Of course, I love seeing birds and birdhouses anytime.

Jeanne, gorgeous pictures. I think cardinals are so pretty, and that white snow is sure the perfect backdrop for them.

Nancyjean, that's a cute little snowman. Hope the others are still there waiting for you. You'd better hurry.

KarenMO, does the MO stand for Missouri? If so where abouts? I was born and raised in Mo.

Luvs

Here's some of my snowmen I'll leave out in the kitchen...the ones on top of fridge with my winter dishes, Pfaltzgraff Winterfrost (remember those goblets I found of my dishes at TS last yr!):

And I shared this pottery from a TS find a few mos ago...here it is on my counter with a small snowman who will stay out for a few mos:

Great ideas being shared on this thread for Winter decor! thanks, holiday-ers! Jeanne S.

How on earth did I miss this wonderful post!!!!! Everyone has great ideas and there are some wonderful pictures.

I'm with Lynn on the silver and white color scheme. I never thought about blue. Of course that would work too. Blue is my favorite color - how'd I miss that???!!!

I add silver balls to a faux garland that has little white lights. I even leave that New Year's Eve decorations up for about a week before they get put away.

If I had cardinals, I'd put those out too. Sounds like a perfect idea to me. It's been rainy here, but of course, no snow. Never snow. So it's hard for me to think of snowmen in January.

Again, I loved this. Made me think about how I might change out my usual January stuff.

Cute Snowman, Nancyjean. And Jeanne, the chubby little Snowman are so darn cute. I seem to be drawn to 'round' lil critters like that. (frogs, birds, etc. Chubby is good. Except on ME!)
Here's the S&P set I just bought off eBay. Its called
"Oh No, I'm Melting".

{{gwi:1466236}}

And I have this big ol' Snowman Nutcracker and hand-painted shovel decoration I displayed last year but didn't this time. Found the Snowman on Craigslist for $15. Its in perfect condition!
{{gwi:1466237}}

hugs, Karen

This is a really fun thread. I love hearing everyone's ideas and seeing the pictures. It gets me thinking about my decorating. I always put everything away but this year I won't do that. Thanks to you all for sharing.

Marylee

I go with a blue and white decor for New Year's Eve and after. Being in the Northeast where it's cold and dreary, we tend to hunker down, have lots of comfort food and enjoy the simplicity of a winter decor. For the table, blue and white is easy for me, because it's my wedding china. Then I layer silver and white. In fact, I think I'll do that for tonight's dinner. Thanks for the inspiration and sharing of ideas!