Happy Sunday friends!
It's December, which means it's socially acceptable to start decorating for the holidays! I love decorating the house, especially for Christmas. This is my son's favorite holiday and even as a teenager, he gets excited when it's time to pull out the totes and start livening up the house.
Grab your coffee and let's get started! Today I'm showing you how we decorated this year and providing lots of ideas, tutorials, and inspiration along the way.
We'll start with the tree this year. You know I've had it out since October, haha! It sat in the corner until a few hours after we enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast. Once I had the Gratitude Tree put up and moved everything (all my workout gear) out of the way, it was time to decorate. We kept it simple this year, just ornaments. Everyone jumped in to hang them up. Unfortunately, my new tree topper was too heavy, so we opted for the Bah Humbug Santa hat. It fits. haha!
Moving on to the mantle.. I'm thrilled with how it turned out this year.
We bought icicle lights, intending to hang them from a doorway. Unboxing them, we realized how heavy they were. It just wasn't going to work out. No worries. Adapt and Overcome. They look gorgeous hanging from the mantle! As you can see, I have my new Christmas Cactus hanging out next to my Tinsel Snowman from last year. Isn't he the cutest?
And of course, The Grinch. I found these festive Grinch Kisses from Target and thought they looked perfect next to the plush.
Our Charlie Brown Tree has a new spot this year. We've had this for about 9 or 10 years now and it's definitely looking worn. I love it. I think it adds to the charm of the tree and really represents the whole idea overall. We always add a few extra ornaments to it, along with our Snoopy and Woodstock plushies. On either side, I put our collection of old glass ornaments. Those were a gift from my husband's grandparents our first Christmas together. I never use them because I'm always worried that they'll break. I'm happy I was able to figure out a safe way to include them in the décor this year. You can't see it very well, but the Scrabble tiles say Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal. haha!
I may not have been able to use the tree topper as intended, but I did find a creative way to include it in the festivities. I've had this old wooden box a long time! When I was little, it held my cassette tapes. (Yeah, you read that correctly.) I've held onto it all these years and it's had a few different purposes. At one point, it housed my fitness DVD collection, but for the past little bit, it's sat on top of the mantle empty. I thought it would be perfect to hold this tree topper, with a few ornaments and a little Santa figurine. It fits the rustic look I was half attempting. ha!
Some years I feel ambitious and create a little tree shape with our DVD's and books. This year I was ambitious, knowing I'd have guests throughout the month. It turned out cute, I think. I wrapped our new bell LED lights around the center to spruce it up a bit. Up in the corner is my rustic angel.
This was originally intended to be a reindeer, but as I was putting it together I realized it didn't look like a reindeer at all. haha! I turned it into an angel instead.
I made a few new pieces this year. The mini tree and the snowy scene in a glass jar are two such items. I was inspired by my husband's John Deere Christmas tin and wanted to make something new out of our old Christmas tree. You can find the tutorials in my article 4 Simple Christmas Decor Ideas. The gnome is an older project, but a piece that stays out year round. Check out how I made it here.
And as you can see, the owl and skeleton from Halloween will be hanging out year round.
A candy cane garland and my Tinsel Christmas Cactus jazz up this area. I added my multicolored LED lights for fun.
Even my flamingo got in on the action. I've had this sparkly wooden flamingo for a long time. It's a bit of a catch-all for the random pieces I receive from yoga and jewelry companies. Recently, I had to clear him off because I had so much stuff hung around him for decoration that he was lopsided. I think he's much happier like this... for now.
Isn't this candy cane wreath darling? Last Christmas, I received this as a wreath mold and I was so excited! The family gets me and my love for crafting. I added two strings of old red tinsel garland and I'm in love with how it turned out.
Our typical light and garland over the door display. I always hang up the handcrafted snowflake ornament from our neighbor here.
How adorable is this reindeer wreath? I have him hung up in our front hallway. You can make one too. Check out my tutorial here.
After watching a video on YouTube, I decided to purchase these big Christmas lights. I didn't realize they were a DIY situation, but whatever. I had intended to string them on the Christmas tree... but then I realized how hot they get. Long story short, I don't recommend getting these. I ended up not using them at all.
Extras
Well friends, that's all for now.
Happy decorating!
<3
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