I am so deeply saddened by the events of last Friday. The friends & families of all the victims in the Sandy Hook School shooting have been in my thoughts & prayers since I heard the news. The Christmas joy for many of us has been overshadowed by grief, pain, & fear. Fortunately, though, through all the pain, we still have the Hope that was sent to us in the form of a tiny baby. A baby that came to save us from this suffering and give us the chance to live with Him in a perfect place where there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4). I pray that those affected by this tragedy will be able to find that hope this Christmas.
We’re finally finished decking the halls! I’m not sure what happened this year, but my plan to have my house decorated, presents bought, & cards mailed by the first week of December did not happen! I feel like things kept coming up this year & the obligations have piled up so much that I still haven’t even taken a picture for a Christmas card, much less sent them out! Without further adieu, welcome to our house at Christmas…
This year, we bought fresh greenery for the front door. It came bunched together, but I added the faux berries, ribbon, & gold ornaments to dress it up.
I hung faux greenery along the stair rail & added some simple white bows & lights to it.
Our rustic nativity set sits on the entry table. Maybe next year I’ll get a prettier ceramic set for this table.
A large “Joy” ornament hangs from the coat hook in the entry.
The decorations are minimal in the living room this year. I decided I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on decorations that would only be sitting out for a month & save my money instead for decorating projects that will be out all year! I did purchase this paper mache deer on sale at Michaels’ though.
I placed a few random ornaments on bookshelves & tables, like these in the living room.
The dining room also has a few Christmas touches this year.
For a simple centerpiece, I put a candle & glass hurricane on a nice dinner plate & then added silver & gold ornaments of various sizes around the outside.
I also hung a swag of ornaments from the chandelier.
I kept the wreaths on the morning room windows this year, but switched out the maroon ribbon with white.
For another simple centerpiece, I put a candle on a silver Dollar Tree tray & filled it in with colorful ornaments of various sizes.
The new gallery wall got a few ornaments to dress it up for the holidays.
We are using the other wall in the nook for our Advent calendar. I simply drew a Christmas tree with ornaments on it. Then I numbered the ornaments 1-25.
Each morning when the kids wake up, I just stick a post-it note with the day’s activity on the next ornament. We chose to count down, so the kids can easily tell how many more days until Christmas. Once they read the activity, one of them colors in the ornament.
I made a few items for the mantel this year too.
I was inspired by Cassie at Hi, Sugarplum to make this sequined Christmas tree.
I stuck some ornaments & a pine cone on candle holders and added more faux greenery & lights.
I also made an ornament wreath, using the tips from Virginia at Live, Love, DIY. I am really happy with how it turned out!
I added a little mistletoe to the master bedroom doorway.
If you’d like to see more of my home this Christmas, you can check out my kid’s rooms by clicking the links below!
To see my son’s room, click here.
To see my daughter’s room, click here.
Now I’m off to prep teachers gifts, Christmas party supplies, & get ready for company! Wish me luck!
Sharing here:
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Thoughtful Place, The Inspired Room, Nesting Place
