Thanksgiving turns into Christmas

We spent our Thanksgiving dinner in Colonial Williamsburg, enjoying turkey and fellowship with some friends.

Our host was just getting off from work - about 90% of the time I see him, he's dressed like this. :)

Before dinner, we strolled around the streets of Colonial Williamsburg. The sun was setting and cast a beautiful glow on everything. It's such a lovely place to visit!

I was feeling pretty good about myself because I had just assembled some Christmas decorations for our front door. The kids collected pine cones and painted/glittered them, I hot glued the ribbons. Not bad, eh? Snow covered pinecones when it's about 70 degrees!

Yep. I was pretty happy. Then I saw the Christmas decorations going up in Williamsburg. Wow. At the risk of sounding un-thankful on Thanksgiving day, these make my creation look like a 2nd grade craft project (ok, it pretty much is!). I know these are done by professionals, but still. Gorgeous. This year the decorators have gone beyond the typical fruits and seed pods. Just look:

wheat, clove-studded oranges, lavender and cinnamon sticks (or cattails??) I love how they chose the wheat instead of greens - it stands out against the red so well

turkey tail, pine cones, & green apples - simple yet striking

this is the more traditional fruits and seed pod wreaths

my favorite: antlers, pheasant feathers, holly berries and cotton pods

Now I'm really in the mood to start my Christmas decorating! I'll have to go back to CW soon when they finish putting up all the decs to see what other ideas they've come up with. This could turn into a fun kids' project - making wreaths with objects found in nature only.