Decorating for Christmas

Decorating for Christmas is something I look forward to all year long. Call me lame, call me a loser, I probably won’t argue- what I do know is you won’t be able to say the same about my cozy Christmas space.

To be fully transparent I am not an elegant, all white kind of Christmas gal. I like things colorful, fun, playful, and lit! That’s right. Every piece of garland will have lights and the lights on my tree will contain color. Part of this is having kids. Not only do the ornaments need to be durable but I think they should be exciting and fun for the kids to see. I love using a mixture of durable, yes non-breakable ornaments, with various shapes and little plush characters. Aside from the lights these are what fill the tree. Since having the boys I have tried to buy one new ornament a year that reminds me of them or that makes me think of them. Last year it was an adorable plush popcorn ornament because the boys LOVE popcorn and we love having a cozy movie night with fresh popped popcorn from the pot! (No Microwave popcorn in our house!)

I haven’t found ‘the one’ for this year yet, but I’m sure I’ll know it right when I see it!

Still living with my parents I have withheld decorating our little area for most of the year. I recently decided that life is too short and I don’t want to miss out on these meaningful experiences for me or the boys! I know what you might be thinking…how is decorating an experience? Well I’m glad you asked.

I am a firm believer that environment is very important. Regardless if it is your cubicle or office at work, your bedroom, or your whole home, wherever we spend time is where we need to leave our mark. To keep this narrowed in to the Holidays, when we do things like prep for the season or decorate, we make a big mark on our memories. I have very sweet memories of decorating for Christmas with my family. It’s the little moments that tend to make the most impact.

The holidays aren’t about gifts, or decorating, they are about coming together and thinking less about ourselves and more about others. In the Western world the holidays seem like the only time we allow ourselves to actually slow down (whether or not we actually will depends on us of course) and just enjoy. Enjoy a deep breath, enjoy the scenery, enjoy a good conversation, a laugh, or a delicious meal with people we love. I feel decorating for these things invites those moments in. It makes these little objects more sentimental because we can pull something out of a box and be brought back in time to a moment that felt so right.

Now that you understand a little more of my heart, let me share with you some sweet little finds I have to jazz up our little area.

At my parents house, me and the boys have our own area where a ‘playroom’ divides two bedrooms. It’s the perfect little area for our situation, truly God’s work if you ask me. I plan to put our pencil tree in the playroom in the center of two windows, add touches of Christmas / winter vibes in the boys room, and hopefully use anything that is left over in mine. I would love to get Christmas bedding for myself, but am not sure I am going to pull the trigger on that this year.

One of my FAVORITE things to do is recreate and redecorate with the things that I have. I almost never use the same thing in the same way, aside from our tree setup. This also helps with shopping as I pace my decor shopping around the holidays with the visions I have for each year. The last 5 years we I have moved around so much I was careful to buy things that tied into one space. When I would grab a few more decor pieces I would always keep in mind the things that I already have, knowing the plan is still to use it all.

Despite doing this, I do think you can change up a vibe every year. You don’t have to use everything you have or you can chop up what you do have throughout the house. Keeping children’s areas more playful and adult areas a little more refined. I also think you can play up specific colors despite having a multicolor theme. You can have the multi colored lights and garland while still using a deep red or green as a prominent color with ribbon and other accent pieces.

I have found I love a little more of a vintage vibe to my Christmas. Something a little more classic feeling but deeper in color. The wool balls I found for the playroom were the perfect color scheme I was hoping for. I made some DIY ribbon that have more of a rustic / vintage feel from the ripping on the sides. I also love the wooden garland for the tops of dressers, mantels, and shelves.

Last, I want to add my Christmas artwork to the walls! I may even use some of my cards in little frames within the playroom or create a festive garland out of them.

Whether you move around a lot, are in your forever home, or maybe you’re in a temporary situation like me, I encourage you to decorate for the holiday. Get yourself excited to be home, make yourself a cozy space that invites you in day after day. You deserve it, and as always I truly believe we all deserve to love our home.

Cheers to the Christmas Season my friends!