I have really great memories of coming home after school to Christmas music playing while my mom decorated the house for Christmas. My mom made our house so magical for Christmas! It’s a very sweet memory for me, and I enjoy doing the same in my home!
Ok, so I don’t actually love pulling the stuff out of the attic, and I’ve recently started thinking about letting go of some of my mom’s old decorations (She had tons! Entire themed Christmas trees!). I’ve been inspired by a few friends who have been selling some of their old hand-me-down Christmas decorations, and another friend suggested keeping a few of my favorite ornaments from my mom’s collection for a garland on the mantel. What are your thoughts? What do you do with old Christmas decorations?
Anyway, one of the things I love about decorating for Christmas is trying to find new places for my old Christmas decorations to change things up! It’s super fun when there is something new, too! Last Christmas, I shared my colorful Christmas tree with you all, and this year a reader messaged me that she was using it as inspiration for her tree. I was so honored, and it inspired me to share more of the Christmas decor around my home! I’ve linked everything I could find. Most of it is collected from different spots, so you’ll have to forgive me for not linking to more items.
I am obsessed with fresh garland for the house. I started this tradition a few years ago when my neighbor’s son was selling it for Boy Scouts. No one came by this year, so I bought it from our local nursery. I put it around my door, down the middle of my dining table, and on the mantel. Since it’s fresh and still living(?), my allergies don’t react to it. You know what the best part about it is? I don’t have to store it!!!
This is my accidental Nutcracker collection. The two big guys are my mom’s and the medium size nutcrackers belonged to my husband’s grandmother. I think it’s so sweet to have a classic collection that stands the test of time!
How fun are these paper placemats for the kid’s table? I decided to put them on our kitchen table this year.
Ginger Jar here, here, here and here
Chargers, Gold Flatware, Nutcracker Plates here and here
I’ve been enjoying the challenge of incorporating my mom’s blue and white plates with my Christmas table. The white hydrangeas in the blue and white pottery add a fresh Christmasy feel. But, I feel like it all comes together with the nutcracker dessert plates. The blue on the nutcracker plate really ties all the colors together!
Wine Glass Pens, Stemless glasses here and here
I still love the wine glass pens! No need for place cards when you can just write everyone’s name on the glass. One of my favorite entertaining tips is from Ina Garten. She says to put the most talkative people in the middle of the table. It works like a charm!
I decided to decorate my rosemary trees with these random white ball ornaments I found in a box. I think it turned out so cute!
We hang our stockings on our stairs because we light a fire every night it gets below 50 degrees, and moving the stockings every night would get super annoying.
This is the first Christmas decoration my husband and I bought together. When we were dating, he was living alone in an apartment and had no Christmas decorations. We went to Marshall’s and bought this tree. This year, I had the genius idea to make it into a pear tree from the pear ornaments my mother-in-law gave us when we got married (our theme was pears because we were the perfect “pear”). It’s ok if you just gagged, I did, too -ha! Anyway, now all we need is a partridge!
And just in case you missed it, here’s my colorful Christmas tree…
Rainbow Garland, Ornament Ball Garland, Tree Topper here, here and here
I love mixing standard ornaments with keepsake ornaments! Oh, and my friend texted me to see if I added my felt garland before or after the ornaments. I trim the tree with all the garland and ribbon first and add the ornaments last.
And to every teacher who has taken the time to make picture ornaments for their students to take home, THANK YOU!!! They are my very, very favorite ornaments, not only at my house, but when I go over to my friend’s houses, too!
Want to see more of your house! OMG! It looks SO good. Please share. How many strands of Pom garland did you buy & about how big is your tree? Trying to figure out how many strands I should buy. Thanks!
Thank you! I have a 9 ft. tree, and I have eight pom-pom garlands. Although, I think I should buy one or two more, because the back of my tree has no garland -ha! I hope this helps.
Oh my! I LOVE EVERYTHING! Your house is so festive and cozy!!!
Crate and Barrel has your partridge, but I think they call it a quail which is its Southern name!
Thank you, Nancy! Funny, just yesterday I asked my friend what kind of bird a partridge is, but we both had no idea. But I do know what a quail is!