A Cozy Christmas at Fletcher Creek Cottage

Hello Friends! This marks our second Christmas at Fletcher Creek Cottage and it feels, even more, cozy this year than it did last year! I remember decorating the cottage and celebrating the holiday season here felt like such a dream!

We had sledding parties with hot cocoa and bonfires as often as we could! When you live in Northern Michigan on 65 acres of rolling hills, you definitely make the most of the snow! I’ve always hated the cold and all the snow..but having big hills in your backyard has been a total game-changer for me in the winter!!!

I am embracing the winters with open arms! Last year cross country ski trips down to the creek, were almost a daily thing! I’m not sure who enjoyed them more, us or our dogs!  When it came time to decorate, my kiddos helped me scour the property for lots of little “Charlie Brown” trees to display around the cottage and on the front porch!

It was so fun…even if the little trees on our porch did keep blowing away every time we had a winter storm! Haha… hey, you win some and you lose some, right!? I strung lights all around the porch posts and used all kinds of pine branches we gathered here and there to spruce the place up without breaking the bank!

It was picturesque all winter long! I love seeing all the varieties of trees we have covered in freshly fallen snow! I snapped this photo before I even owned a camera with my phone! Even the outhouse, in the woods, looked beautiful! Now that’s saying something!

We used all the greenery we could inside the cottage too! I dug up lots of little trees and used them everywhere! It’s funny how Christmas decor and other items can bring back so many memories! I remember the first year we had our daughter, I wanted to make sure she didn’t get hurt on any glass ornaments, so I bought all the plastic ones I could find at the dollar store! All these years later and I just can’t seem to bring myself to part with them! I mean, who doesn’t love little gold apples on a Christmas tree!?!?

 Maybe it’s the cooler weather or maybe it’s all the comfort food, but Christmas is a time of gathering for us! Gathering together, taking time to reflect on the year and just being still and at peace is what makes Christmas such a joyous time of year! At Christmas, there is such a feeling of warmth. I know it can get crazy busy during December…but I love to take time to focus my mind on the real reason we’re celebrating! The gift of Jesus, the incredible impact on the world of his birth, life, death, and resurrection! It really is the most wonderful time of the year for so many reasons!

 Our first Christmas at Fletcher Creek Cottage was such a joy to celebrate and it’s a year we will never forget!

As for this year, Christmas is in full swing… and to be honest it has been in full swing since about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving! I know, I know, I can’t help it! It brings me so much joy so I may as well ENJOY it as long as I can! Thank you for joining me for this little walk through memory lane and I hope you’ll come back to see how the Cottage is decked out this year!!! Blessings and Merry Christmas sweet friends!

-Dena