My favorite addition to our holiday decorations this year is our wall advent calendar (above) that I created with mini red takeout boxes (they came in 4 packs at the dollar store- so overall, $6 for the boxes total!) I wanted to use white dimensionals for the numbers, but quickly realized I didn't have enough to make all the numbers in one style, so I mixed them up with different styles. Each box has a little note inside that I wrote with some love and a clue to what little item I got the hubs for that day (since they didn't all fit in the boxes). Each day leading up to Christmas I got a little $1-$5 item for the hubs (and vice versa) to add some holiday spirit through the entire month of December, not just on the 25th.
We decided to move our Christmas tree into our dining room, since we've since aquired more seating in our living room (no space for the tree). Our tree is pretty tall and thin, so it fits perfect in front of the window in that room. Sadly though, I'm still trying to figure out where the short or broken bulb is in the top portion of lights, but from the above angle, you can barely tell! lol.
I also found these adorable large sparkle pointesettas for our front porch at the Family Dollar in a Buy one get one free sale ($4 for 2)- perfect to match the red sparkle on the inside of the house AND they won't ever die on me. hehe
I actually really like our little white picket fence during Christmas time- I wish it looked this cute year round. lol. I added green garland and little red bows along the entire picket fence. I think it dresses it up nicely.
I went more minimal with our little shelf above the tv- using a tray I made at a scrapbooking crop a few years ago, a little wooden angel my grandfather made and a mini candycane tree. Since the shelf is not very wide, there is only so much I can put up there without it falling off.
This year I decorated minially upstairs too, by adding little red stockings to our bedroom and bathroom windows, with red swag.
I had gotten these cute stockings on clearance last year at Target, and have been looking forward all year to get to use them this year!
The rest of the house is a mix of silver/white, red and a little bit of green. I adore snowflakes, so they are mixed in all over the place (I keep the snowflakes up all the way through till Valentine's Day. Hearts and snowflakes, all the way!)
We also aquired these two wing-backed chairs from a co-worker of mine (we moved the black chairs upstairs into our bedroom), so I added some holiday pillows to dress them up. I like to think of my decor as a mix of modern and old world, all rolled up into one. As I told my friend a few days ago, I'm trying to make thriftyness cool with all my "dollar store chic" decor and miss-matched furniture. lol
Here is a simple way to add some color to any place- Christmas ornaments in a vase!
... and here is my favorite winter door decor. ;)
Right now I've been in the midst of preparing for "Brigadoon" which we open up on stage tomorrow (Thursday) at the Newtown Theatre with the Newtown Arts Company. My hubs is playing Jeff and I'm playing Maggie. So far its been fun and there is a great group of people involved- however it has been taking up a LOT of my free time.
The cast also got together this past weekend and sang a few songs from the show and some Christmas carols at the Bucks County Visitors Center's Tree Fest, where the theater company has a Brigadoon-themed tree (above).
I've also been slowly trying to eat up all our leftovers from our early Thanksgiving. My favorite recipe thus far from the leftovers is this Turkey Chili the hubs cooked up. LOVE it! It is kind of a mix of chili and pulled turkey, as the turkey isn't ground (like most chili recipes).
All in all, I still am not 100% set on our Christmas decor and I also still want to put lights on the house. a few days ago I found cute fake candles for the windows, that I think add a nice touch at night. However, Wendy (my kitty cat) loves to knock them over out of the window. Christmas time (to my dismay at times) with all the extra Christmas pillows and shiny objects all over the house, is I think her favorite too. lol
Well, that's our winter/Christmas decor right now. Have you decorated for the holidays yet, or do you wait till later in the month? I'd love to hear from ya'll on when you decorate!
Have a great day!
-M
Your holiday décor looks darling! I especially like the wall advent calendar you created. Did you attach the boxes directly onto the wall and if so, how? I have an idea to hang small objects for a Christmas display and don't want to go to the expense of buying command strips. I sampled a glue dot which didn't work plus I tried removing it and some of the paint came off. I may half to scrap this idea.
ReplyDeleteI put them up with clear push pins. Our wall is pretty thin, so they were easy to put up. When it isn't Christmas, a big mirror goes there, so you don't see the tiny holes. Might not be the best for bare walls that are normally bare, but where mine were, you wouldn't see the holes normally.
DeleteYour decorations are so fun and festive! I haven't done anything this year because I'm going on a trip over the holidays, and I miss it!
ReplyDeleteA trip is a good enough reason to not decorate, lol. Sounds like fun!
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