Tag: christmas decorations

Hello!

It’s the time of the year when I really love my time at home enjoying the twinkle of Christmas lights. It’s always quite a bit of effort to get everything in the right spot, but I’m always so happy when we have our holiday decor out.

While it doesn’t change too much year to year, today I’m sharing how we decorate for Christmas.

Come on in!

I changed up the console in the front hall a bit compared to last year. I just moved some holiday items to different spots, and then added in a couple of my cute new houses from Kirklands.

This year, I did print out old pics of the kids with Santa to change up the frames that are out year round. They are sweet memories.

This year, I changed up the trunk in the living room. Last year, I made note that I wanted to get a couple of pre-lit trees for the trunk and then add in a mix and match of trees that I’ve collected through the years. I love these trees from Walmart, and it was fun adding in various trees I had in my Christmas storage bin.

I love my morning view of the coffee table tree and scented candle.

On the fireplace, I put out my favorite Santa and some nutcrackers.

On the built in, I switched out the picture in the frame to include my favorite Santa pic of the kids.

I added snow globes and another LED house from the Kirklands set to a couple of shelves too.

Just like when I shared my fall decor, I have to be honest and say my couch will never really look like this, but I love when it does. The couch is usually covered in order to Homer proof it! haha

I’m still loving our new tree, and it’s even better now that it’s decorated with ornaments and a few presents.

Nothing new in the office area…but a few of my favorite decorations and the sweet pic of the kids under the tree for their first Christmas.

I love my view from the kitchen when I’m cooking…and I love the little pic of Hadley being Hadley…and Hayden being embarrassed of Hadley. My brother took their Christmas pic many years ago. I also picked up a snowy fern from Trader Joe’s.

On the kitchen island built in, I added the bell and candle. The Santa plate isn’t really a spoon rest, but that’s what I’m using it for currently. The Merry and Bright sign is of KC’s Plaza lights which I love. I’ve had the monogrammed hand towel for years.

I’m still loving how I decorated the mantle this year with new garland and “Merry Christmas” sign from Smallwoods.

I decided not to hang the stockings yet…and Hadley is beside herself 😆

I added a few things to the tray on the kitchen table; I decided not to use a table runner this year.

Hadley’s favorite part is the village…She put it out the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

It looks even better at night.

A few other festive touches in the dining area:

A couple of years ago, my mom gave me this Santa cross-stitch that she made.

Much like the living room couch, the sun room doesn’t often look this neat and tidy, but I love when it does!

It’s similar but different every year too. I always change what I put in the tray and what I add to the side tables. The pillow slip covers are an easy way to decorate.

At the end of the hall, I added a few things. I put out some of the cards that I received last year from my mom, Gma, and aunt. They always make the best cards. The LED trees are also from Kirklands and provide the perfect glow for the nativity scene.

In our bedroom, I have our pencil tree and reindeer crock. When the crock has a candle in it, the stars shine on the wall. I love it.

Some years, I wish I had more neutral decorations, and this year, I wanted to “do less,” but Hadley wouldn’t let me! haha

Hello!

Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite posts of the year…

Honestly, not too much has changed since last year, and I even referenced this post when I started getting out my Christmas decorations. That being said, of course I picked up a few new things, and I always love getting a peek inside other people’s homes…especially during the holidays.

So, come on it!

Front Porch:

Of all the spaces, the front porch pretty much stays the same from year to year.

We’ve had rain for the past few days, so I wasn’t able to get a pic, but here it is last year:

That being said, I haven’t picked up the fresh garland from Trader Joe’s yet, and I did pick up a new doormat at Michael’s this year. I think I will leave it out all winter.

We didn’t put lights out this year. We might get to it this weekend, but I had to tell myself that it’s ok if we don’t get it all done in this season of our lives.

Decorating early:

In early November, I put up my two pencil trees. One goes in the sun room…

…and the other goes in the living room until we get our real tree.

Front hall:

The front hall table is one of my favorites spots.

I picked up a couple of new things including the green and red frosted tree at Michael’s as well as the new tealight set from Amazon.

Living Room:

I did change the chest in the living room up a bit this year. I added a new tree from Home Goods and put lights on the tree and mirror. Then, the rest of the string of lights fit perfectly in the snowman lantern.

….and we played “musical trees” with one of the pencil trees. Once we got our real tree, we moved this one to the corner behind the chair in the living room. I love the reflection of the tree in the mirror as well as the extra glow of light in the living room.

The Santa that sits on the fire place is one of my favorites, and then I have a few festive odds and ends that I put on the antique chest.

I love the contrast of our new dark brown leather couch with the white pillows. (Truth be told, 90% of the time, the couch is covered for Homer, but I do love this set up when we can enjoy it.)

The tray on the coffee table holds the same flocked tree I’ve had for years as well as a candle. I usually leave the tray styled this way through January for winter.

Our built ins house a few decorations like ornaments, a snow globe and nativity scene. The light up present is one of my favorites. I’ve had it for years.

Office:

I joke that we are a “5-7 day business” tree decorating family. We got it on a Sunday, let it “fall” until the next day. Then, Travis strung the lights, and on the fifth day, we finally had time to hang the ornaments. #itsaprocess

Ta da….!

The nutcrackers and presents top our office cabinet.

Festive Touches:

Some of my favorite pieces are the most meaningful. I’ve always loved this pic of the kids with Santa. Also, when the kids were a month old, I took this photo of them under the tree. I put it out every year. Lastly, last year, my Gma gave us this framed sewing hoop with ice skates that she made. It sits on our desk in the office.

Kitchen:

I always change out the tray that sits on our island. I love the snowman that holds the tea light, and the candle in the lantern provides an extra glow.

I picked up the tartan plate at Home Goods this year, and love it next to the Trader Joe’s candle. An easy way to decorate is by switching out kitchen towels. I put the monogrammed one out every year.

For the second year in a row, we put out the Christmas village. On the cabinet, I add ornaments to the cloche that sits out year round. The cabinet is also perfect for the snowy tree and Christmas dishes. The mini wreath with red ribbon is the perfect finishing touch.

Last year, Hadley got the Christmas village organized. She helped me again this year. Hayden promptly moved the pieces around, and now I often find the village rearranged from day to day.

I’ve had the tree pillow and chair decorations for years. In our cabinet, I have one of my snow globes, a Christmas tree that my Gma painted years ago, and a Merry and Bright plaza lights (KC people #iykyk) print that my mom gave me last year. We have three swags with ribbon for our chairs, and they’ve yet to be #homered through the years.

This is the second year that I hung the stockings on the side with command strips rather than using stocking holders. The mantle is the same as last year…

…except I did pick up these gold bell trees at Michael’s. (A few new things this year from Michael’s, but just one trip to Michael’s! haha)

I still love my plates from Target. I have Santa, snowman, and Christmas tree plates that we use this time of the year.

The plaid table runner is a festive touch, and I just add in some faux holly trees and ornaments to the tray.

Sun room:

The sun room is easy to decorate with pillows, a red and white blanket and berry wreath.

The pillows add more pops of red and green.

A mix of trees and ornaments as well as a candle are on the tables out there.

Bedroom:

Musical trees continued when I moved the sun room tree into the bedroom. Since we decided to keep the other pencil tree in the living room, but I still wanted one in our bedroom, I moved the sun room tree. The pencil trees sure are easy to move around…😂 While I miss a tree in the sun room, we don’t really hang out there this time of the year.

The crock that holds a tea light and another tree are all that I have in our room (besides the pencil tree and a candle). I just wanted a few festive touches. I love falling asleep to the glow of the tealight in the crock after I turn off my tree.

In last year’s post, I mentioned that I’d thought about decorating all of the house in early November because last year I felt like by the time I finally got everything put out, it was time to take it down. This year, I had the house mostly decorated by mid-November, and that has felt like a really good compromise.

By January, I’ll be ready to get the house back in order after a few months of fall/Christmas decorations. That being said, the pencil trees may stay out through January. I love the glow of the light in the winter months.

Thanks so much for reading. See you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites.

‘Tis the season for reds, green, and sparkly. Well, at least that’s what you’ll see at my house.

This is the first year I didn’t decorate until after December 1st. I typically try to have my house decorated the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but with the kids’ birthday that weekend and then holiday travel, I just didn’t get it done until the first weekend in December.

My holiday decor tends to stay the same year to year, but I tend to always pick up at least one or two new things to add to our home. These posts are a way for me to share how I’ve decorated, but they also help me remember where I put things each year.

Come on in…

Outside:

For the second year in a row, I purchased two strands of garland from Trader Joe’s. I have no clue if it actually helps but I take a spray bottle of water and midst them every couple of days hoping they will stay green until December 26th 😉

I love my door hanger from a local artist, the Rudolph pillow covers are from Etsy years ago, and the light up trees fit pretty perfectly in the planters I keep out year round. I also add bows and a few pieces of leftover greenery to the planters.

Travis puts lights in the bushes which are a nice finishing touch for the front.

Front Hall:

This area pretty much stays the same year to year. Next year, I may find something to replace the light up tree…it can be glitchy.

Our elf left the bow on our new mirror, and I forgot to take it down. I kind of like the added touch.

I add a few holiday touches to our built in’s.

I love this tall Santa, and I found him the perfect spot on the living room fire place.

I’ve had the same pillows and blanket for quite a few years. Next year, I may find one to replace the “Peace” pillow because a red pillow and Homer hair aren’t a great combo.

I always love decorating the tray on the coffee table. I have quite a few trays and tend to move them around. I light this candle every morning while I have my quiet time.

I gave Travis a hard time about the size of our tree, but I really do love it. The snowflake pillow, picture of the kids under the tree at a month old, and a few packages (Amazon boxes I wrapped a few years ago) round out this corner of our home.

I added a few festive touches to the top of the cabinet in the office.

My Gma made this winter shadow box for me as one of my Christmas gifts. This week, I found a perfect spot for it on our desk.

The view from the kitchen to the office is a fave of mine. I added a few holiday pieces to this tray on the island as well.

A friend made me this sign a few years ago, and I love displaying it every year.

I shared in a previous posts that Hayden was insistent that we find a place for the village my Gma gave me years ago. I can’t believe I didn’t think of the buffet sooner. It’s perfect there.

This glass dome sits here almost year round. In the fall, I fill it with pumpkins, and for Christmas, I fill it with ornaments.

The small wreath with ribbon was a last minute addition to the tobacco basket. The wreath typically sits on my candle holder, but I wasn’t using it right now. I just tied it to the basket with a leftover piece of ribbon, and it was the perfect touch.

I always swap out my china for Christmas plates, and the angel can hold a tea light; I’ve had it for years.

Here’s the village lit up at night:

I purchased new garland for the mantle last year, and I’m still pleased with it.

Last year, one of our stocking holders broke, so this year, I decided to just use command hooks. I also moved the stockings to either side, and I like that the fireplace looks less cluttered.

I loved decorating this tray on our kitchen table. I kept it simple with this lantern, some ornaments, and these red berry boxwoods. I only purchased two new things this year. These boxwoods for $5 each at Target and a new pillow for the chair in the kitchen.

I love setting the table with my Target plates that I’ve had for a few years.

Here’s the new pillow I picked up at Michaels.

My mom gave me this cute “Merry and Bright” Plaza lights art, and I love it in our kitchen hutch. I also added a few trees and a favorite snow globe. My Gma painted the tree next to the snow globe years ago, so it’s also one of my favorite pieces to put out each year.

This is the second year I’ve decorated the sunroom. The tree and slip covers were purchased last year.

A few trees and a seasonal candle are perfect for this tray.

In our room, I have one of my cashmere pencil trees and a crock that I add a candle to at night. Both are from Michael’s.

One more peek at our living room tree. She gives off quite the glow in the morning and nighttime hours.

It’s so much work, but I’m always happy when I get everything in the right place. Also, as I wrote this post, I realized that so many of the pieces I put out each year are from (or made by) family. That makes this time of the year extra special.

Next year, I’m seriously considering decorating in early November. I love my fall decorations as well, so I tend to keep them out as long as possible. November is a hectic month for me, but I do think it would be worth it to have fall decor out in September and October, and then have more time to appreciate the Christmas touches in November and December. We’ll see!

I will say that I always love a fresh start in January, and it’s nice having everything back in its place. That being said, I will also enjoy the twinkle of the lights and the cozy decorations for as long as possible.

Happy Holidays from our house to yours!