It’s that time of year again where everyone is hauling out their Christmas trees–whether from the farm or the basement—to start the tradition of decorating their home for the holidays. I honestly have been thinking about this for months, but at the same time, was really slow to start this year! Every year I wait for the week after Remembrance Day (which is very close to my daughter’s birthday) and tingle with anticipation to get started…but this year I decided to take it slowly, not rush the process, and make sure that whatever I put out, I LOVE.
We had initially thought about getting a new Christmas tree, but decided the one we have will do just fine for another year! Instead, I purchased things this year that I have always wanted…and waited a long time to get! One of those things is a Nativity Set. I am not into snowmen, Santas, reindeer, or villages…but I have ALWAYS wanted a Nativity set to have a prominent place in my home. I know they can get quite expensive (and even a little tacky at times), but I had a little bit of money saved from a gift and when I found this set on Amazon.ca, I knew it would be just right!
I have also REALLY wanted to get a grouping of mercury glass trees…I love the vintage quality they have, and the shine isn’t too over the top. I have been keeping my eye on the prices for the last couple of years and they are always generally about $25-$30…not bad if you just want one, but I was hoping for three and that adds up pretty quick! So, I brought up this fact with my hubby and… well…he didn’t say no… so I took that as a good sign (insert gleeful face here)! When I had a chance to stop at Homesense a couple of days later, I picked up two and happily brought them home, put them out, waited for a response…and no comment! That means they could stay (insert happy dance)!! I paired them with the Nativity set and a couple of other trees I had on hand. I had hoped to spray paint the brown ones on the end, but didn’t get a chance so I wrapped them in a garland I got at Ikea years ago and my display was all set!
I was also inspired by this photo that I included in a previous post and wanted to try out this unsymmetrical look. I have never hung a garland in any of my doorways, but this year I thought I’d give it a try and see if I could incorporate this idea. I used garlands and cup hooks I had on hand and viola… a bit of glimmer in an unexpected place! I also tried it on my stair way and like the effect it has here as well…just a little bit of something different…
Now in the living room, I have to admit, I was really nervous about how the decorating was going to stand up to my very curious, very adventurous (read I-climb-everything-I-can) 19-month-old little guy. I purposely kept things more simple than usual as he is apt to find an ornament and think of it as a toy he can throw across the room! I also thought he may grab a garland and run….so I had to keep that in mind as I planned things out. I left the glass ornaments in their boxes this year and placed the more precious things higher up on the tree…and so far, things have stayed in place and nothing has broken…whew!
At one time, our home had a fireplace in the living room, but a previous owner removed it so we don’t really have a ‘proper’ spot for stockings. In all honesty, we received stockings as an engagement gift; but as neither my husband nor I grew up with the tradition, our stockings were more decoration than anything! We decided this year that we would do stockings for the kids and I managed to find these beauties at Michael’s for 60% off—score! But where to put them? I tried the stairway, but they looked too clunky and visually heavy for that space. I thought that putting them by the Nativity would be too risky as they were too tempting to be pulled down by little hands. So, I got the idea to hang them on the ladder that usually stores extra blankets…tried it out….and loved it! It added the right touch of bling to an undecorated corner of the room.
The last spot that needed attention was my sideboard. I massed all my ginger jars together for one over-the-top blue and white display, and kept the branches I used for our Thanksgiving tree for height and a bit of whimsical natural-ness. I cleared everything else off (this is a terrible catch-all spot) and put my frosty garland across the whole thing. Oh. My. Goodness. LOVE. IT! I added my glass icicle ornaments to the tree and as simple as that….it was done!
There are a few other touches scattered throughout the house…a “White Christmas” poster I picked up at Universal Studios in Florida, more evergreen garland in the kitchen and a small tree for the little ones in the basement that they decorate themselves (ok, they do get a little help from mom!)…and our home is ready for the Holiday season! Merry Christmas everyone!
