I like to decorate the house for the holidays but our taste runs to angels, cherubs and putti rather than Santa figures. The oldest is a small (below, 5 in./12 cm.) hand-painted china angel, complete with my name on her hymnbook. My mother's best friend from college made this figurine as a baby gift when I was born.
During the year she lives behind the glass doors of our china cabinet. But at this season she gets to come out and join the most impressive spirit who lives at our house: a Burmese (Myanmar) Buddha head from the 18th century. It's life-size, made of gilded stone on a brass base.
The newest angels (below) are this pair from Swedish designers Bengt & Lotta. This year I decided to use tall candles to play up the angels short stature (just over 4 inches/10 cm.). They are only one of the many delightful designs by this Swedish pair available at Madison's Century House.
This folksy angel of painted wood and tin is a another Scandinavian figure that we found 15 years ago.
Our wooden putti with removable wings (below left) works equally well for Christmas or Valentine's Day. We've had this Italian figure for 20+ years and have never regretted splurging on it when we were first married. We have a few others but don't put them all on display each Christmas. That way we appreciate each of them in turn.
You can also see another of Mark's recent drawings taped on the wall above the buffet. The house is covered with new drawings making the space more arty and less Christmasy!
