Hey Friends!
Our tree is up, the stockings are hung and I’m so excited to share with you our Christmas décor + a few of my favorite DIYs we did this year. My interior style right now for our home is a mash up of bohemian with hints of glam and cozy cabin vibes thrown into the mix. So of course for our Christmas décor, I wanted to channel those boho vibes but also add in some sparkle. I love that this year so much of our décor is stuff we picked from outside or somehow made from natural elements. I always think of Christmas décor as this delicate mix of adding traditions and sentimental touches to the current styles your loving. Sometimes it can be hard to mix these things into something cohesive, but I think **both** of these elements are super important for creating a Christmas home that you simply adore. So here’s our mix of ornaments old and new (literally have my baby Christmas ornament hung and some of my parents ornaments from the 80’s) and our home filled with simple holiday cheer!
Cranberry and Orange Garland
In the past, we’ve done cranberry and popcorn garland but this year I was loving all the warm tones and orange colors so opted to add some citrus into the mix. You can literally add any citrus fruit you want. Think oranges, grapefruit, lemons, you name it! These garlands would be super fun for the whole family to work on while watching a Christmas movie or listening to your favorite Christmas album. You can also make citrus ornaments with some twine + simple beads and dried fruit (these would also look fab as present toppers!!)
To make, simply pick your fruit. Cut into thin slices and lay on a baking sheet. Bake at 120 F and make sure you flip the fruit every 30 minutes (otherwise one side will brown). You want them to be dried to the consistency of leather – not crunchy. This will probably take a couple of hours so make sure you have plenty of time before starting this project. Once the fruit has dried out, simply take needle and thread and start threading your garland. You can add wooden beads, cranberries, popcorn, cinnamon sticks, really whatever you want. This garland looks super cute on the Christmas tree, around doorways, or on the mantel. After the new year, we also take the garland and string it on the trees outside so the animals can enjoy our stale popcorn and cranberries!
Simple Advent Calendar
I absolutely adore the way this advent calendar for the kids turned out. I simply took a branch from the backyard, used some bakers twine from the dollar tree and cut up brown paper bags to make little envelopes for the goodies to go in. Our advent calendar is filled with a combination of activities, little chocolates and candy canes, and small treats found at the dollar tree or dollar section of Target. Some of our activities include “Bake Christmas cookies with mom” or “Go look at Christmas lights with Mimi and Papa”. I did about one activity a week, one special treat a week, and then filled the rest with candy.
A Few Other Christmas Décor Tips…
- Keep it simple with a white Christmas village that way each year you can change up the color if you want to by simply switching out the trees and accessories around the village. We love our minimalist Christmas Village and get a couple of new pieces for it each year from Target. I think we might also make a few simple accessories to add to our village this year. We’ll see!
- Crazy plant lady who doesn’t know where to put all of her plants once the Christmas décor comes out? Make a cute display with your plants and add some Christmas lights for a festive touch. I put a few of my plant babies together in this window seat for the Christmas season so they could all soak up the sun together. Another plant tip, all of our mantels are adorned with garland picked straight out of the front yard! If you have Christmas-y looking trees in your yard, cut off some branches and add all over the house for a free and beautiful garland.
- Make your work space more festive by adding some simple bottle brush trees and a festive saying to your letterboard! Also, I made this “Mary did you know” art piece for less than $5 with a simple canvas and black paint pen. You can make super simple holiday art just by writing the lyrics to your favorite Christmas jam on a canvas or thick piece of paper.
That’s a wrap for today! I hope you enjoyed seeing some snippets from our Christmas décor and feel inspired to go put up some Holiday magic in your home as well. Wishing you all a peaceful + Cozy Holiday Season and as always, stay fabulous.
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