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Holiday Decorating Update

I’ve been taking some of your excellent advice on my Holiday Decorating with Target post, and I’ve been working on my house some more. We are entertaining this weekend, and we have out of town guests coming to stay with us during the week after Christmas, so I really want to feel good about my house. I slogged through the attic this morning and came down with a few more items — some of my favorite pieces were still hiding up there.

Note to self: organize attic in the New Year.

I’m determined to make my JOY letters work this year, and short of taking down the 3 kid pictures for the season and replacing with a big wreath (not happening; I’m out of time and budget . . . maybe next year), I think it is just going to look kind of cluttery. I did take someone’s advice and move the JOY letters to the side so they aren’t in the middle, and I added a few more objects. I think it works, but again, it’s not really me. I tend to be a plain jane, and this feels cluttery, but for now it’s staying put.

I did glean a few nuggets of great advice from the comments on that post. It never occurred to me to take down pictures from my wall and replace with a holiday wreath or print. I will definitely keep that in mind for next year.

I also like the ones who said they don’t use every decoration they have every year, and they change it up from year to year. I don’t know why I always feel obligated to find a spot for every last holiday figurine I’ve ever owned. I’ve been collecting things for 18 years so that’s a bit unrealistic, especially if I ever want to add new pieces. So I’m no longer going to let that bother me.

Case in point, my mantle this year. I might have liked it better last year, but I’m not going to feel like I have to keep it that way every year. I’m having fun playing around with it, even if I’m not completely satisfied. And the funny thing is, I wasn’t satisfied last year either. I actually wrote a post called I. Hate. Decorating. HA! Not much has changed in a year, has it?

I do want to show you the bookcase in my foyer, though! I moved the wooden advent calendar to a kitchen counter where the kids can see it and reach it better. And I dug out 2 of my 3 silver angels and put them with the rose tree. I also found this little garland that helps fill in. I LOVE IT NOW. This is the first thing people see when they walk in my door. I also think it could use a small wreath or some type of festive wall hanging, but I will keep that in my mind for next year.

I also added my sled to the front porch. I’ve had this for a few years, it’s been redone once, and it always makes me smile.

Anyone got a solution for those hideous extension cords running all over my porch?

Back inside, I added a bow to my railing.

Yes, that is my purse hanging on the other banister. What can I say!? I’m a slob!

And I found this wreath. Yeah, I could maybe hang it over the bookcase, but I really love it on the basement door. I hung it here last year too.

I switched out the greenery in these wall vases, which is another thing I do every year. It’s so quick and easy and I think it adds a nice festive touch.

And finally, this was my last attempt at doing something new this year. I often put my lighted Christmas village houses on the entertainment center, but I am losing interest in this project as it is so time consuming. I never do much else with this space; during the year it only has the lamps and a photo album in the center (and usually a lovely collection of homework papers, remote control devices, odds and ends of game pieces and whatever other treasures my family decides should grace its presence.) Did I mention we are slobs?

But I had this swag that I drug out (it wasn’t working on the mantle with the JOY letters, as I had hoped) and it was too big for the bookcase in the foyer. So I decided to see if it would work on the entertainment center.

Then I basically stuck every other decorating item that I didn’t have a home for on top. LOL!!! I usually stay away from doing candles and lamps together; it seems redundant, but I decided to let that go and this actually seems to work. If it doesn’t, don’t tell me. Cuz I’m done.

I have basically decided that if anything doesn’t look right, add some greenery. Somehow it makes even the feeblest decorating attempts look okay.

I know several people suggested adding greenery to my mantle, but there really isn’t room for much. It’s very shallow. But I’m going to keep my eye out for something that might work.

But I think it is pretty much it! I’m decorated out. It feels festive and homey and it may not be perfect, but it’s ours. And that is what matters, right!?

You may have noticed that I haven’t really mentioned our tree this year. We often do a formal tree and a kid’s tree, but this year we are just doing one. I decided to combine the best of both worlds, and I love it. It’s a mish-mosh, but every ornament on the tree has a significance to someone in our house — even if it’s just one of the kids.

A lot of comments on my Decorating with Target post expressed the importance of holiday decorations being meaningful, and I couldn’t agree more. I thought it might be fun to share our favorite ornaments (or other holiday decorations) and why they are special to us.

So I’m planning to host a Christmas Ornament Show & Tell link up next week. I’m giving you fair warning! Take some pictures of your favorite ornaments, write a quick post, and then plan to link up on Thursday, the 20th. That gives you plenty of time, even if you don’t have your tree up yet! Here’s a button you can use in your post, if you’re so inclined.

Or, if you prefer a smaller one . . .

See you back here on the 20th!

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5 Responses

  1. Love what you did with the angels and rose tree. I’ll have to admit that red is my fave color when it comes to Christmas. I find mantles so difficult. I have my nativity and stockings on mine but it still looks like it’s missing something to finish it off but for the life of me I can’t figure it out. I want the nativity to take precidence so I think I’m afraid of adding anything to take away from it.

  2. Ooooo….looking forward to Show & Tell later in the week! I get so sentimental while decorating the tree each year because of the stories behind so many of the ornaments. For a couple of years I have been telling myself to take pictures of the ornaments and combine them in a mini album along with their stories, just in case the kids MIGHT be interested someday! Perhaps this is the year to do that. 😉

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