Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Falalalala … LaLaLa

We are enjoying the Christmas season here in our new home.  Coming up with new ways to decorate using what you have in a new space that’s a little smaller can often be a challenge.  We left a lot of our decor (I do miss my nutcrackers, santas and toys) in boxes this year for a more subdued space than normal, but we are feeling all festive and bright!

‘Tis the season to be jolly

Falalalala … LaLaLa

 

We spend most of our time in the living room in the evenings, which is much smaller than our old house, so we went for a twinkly glow.  It’s warm and cozy.

While my Pinterest and Instagram feeds are filled with flocked trees, I bucked the trend and kept my traditional green tree.

Have you ever seen snow on a decorated tree in a house, especially in the South?

Why would you flock a tree?  Snow melts inside.

(Totally my opinion y’all)

Our color scheme in the living room was gold, silver, white and blue.

I’ve never used blue in our decorating, so we added little touches here and there.  The addition of blue (and patriotic ornaments for another tree) were the only purchases for my decor this year.

We have 23 years of Christmas decorations, so there is plenty the move around and use in a new way!  I’m not totally sold on the addition of blue (I love traditional red and green), but the glowy affect I wanted is there.

And it is growing on me as Audley and I relax together in the evenings.

An elaborate tree topper didn’t fit the mood we were trying to convey, so I borrowed a sweet Santa from my mother’s collection.

{Is borrowing if you might not return it?}

For our mantle, I used a small artificial garland, then filling it in with cedar and fir clippings.  A little ribbon, small ornaments and lights, our mantle coordinates with our tree!

Since I was not pulling out all of the little knick-knacks this year, I added fresh greenery with battery powdered lights.  I liked the simple addition of it, and just one or two accents instead of a plethora of baubles.

See the blazing yule before us

Falalalala … LaLaLa

The evening glow is so warm and welcoming!

And the corgi is quite in agreement…

Strike the harp and join the chorus

Falalalala … LaLaLa

All of our kiddos will be home for Christmas Day along with our sons-in-law AND my parents, so we wanted to leave space for enjoying each other instead of Christmas absolutely everywhere!

Sometimes less is more and using what you have in a new way creates an unexpected look.  In our living room this year, that is exactly what I wanted.