Holiday Home

If I had to choose a theme for my holiday decorating this year it would be “Make the old new.” I didn’t want to dedicate any budget to updating my Christmas décor this year and honestly, I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted to add anyway so it worked out perfectly. I did make one purchase, which you will see in my porch pictures and did buy 2 rolls of ribbon but that is it! And I’m really happy with how festive and pretty the house looks this year! Allen is forever bugging me to weed out the home décor stuff I’m not using on a regular basis but I have held onto some of my Christmas things for years. This year that hoarding mentality has really paid off. I used a bunch of my décor that hasn’t seen the light of day in a few years in new ways, making them seem totally new. I’ve loved the challenge this year.

First up, the front porch. My one purchase was the trees on either side of the door. I’ve wanted a set for years and found a great deal on the pair early in the season! Close up (still LOVING my sign stand and how it gives some height to the area).

Living/Dining Rooms:

Same tree/theme but I did my ribbon and topper differently and I like it more this year than ever.

Tree at night:

Family Room:

Tree at Night:

I did add a stocking for Emery this year that my sister sent for my birthday. Love seeing them all lined up! (And I love the holders this year that I scored for 90 cents each last year after Christmas).

Jars:
Funny story this year. I keep my candy from year to year and replenish when I need to. I have had this Christmas candy for the past 3 years. Carter begged me for a Hershey kiss the other day and I warned him that the candy was old but he still wanted it. He popped a kiss in his mouth and got the funniest expression on his face and then went and spit it in the trash. I tried one afterwards and it was horrible! Chocolate definitely does NOT keep. At least it looks cute, right?

I love to add little holiday touches everywhere and this is in our half bath:

Kitchen:
Old ornaments but love them hanging in the window this year

Pantry Door:

Have had these wreaths for years but haven't used them for the past few Christmases but I love them hanging together

One really fun thing I made this year are beach ornaments. We collect a bit of sand from all of our beach vacations and I have been looking for a way to display our sand for years. I saw this idea to use clear ornaments and put the sand inside them with a tag of the beach it is from. BRILLIANT! Since our family room tree is our “travel” tree it goes perfectly with the theme. I have a few more to make but I love I have a place to show off our beloved beach vacations over the years. We also added three new travel ornaments this year: a new Disneyland ornament, a fluer de lis from New Orleans and a pink flamingo from our Florida trip.

The only thing I am sad about this year is that I don’t have a place to display all my nativities. Not only do we buy an ornament from our trips, but we try to get a nativity from them as well. I have some fun and beautiful nativities stored away for someday when we get into a bigger house. I’ve missed them the last couple of Christmases (I do have my main nativity out in my kitchen).

I have a bit more throughout the house but this is the main stuff. I'm happy have the house pretty and cozy and ready for the season!