When it came to decorating for Christmas, I really wanted to have a very merry first Christmas in our home. But I also was feeling really overwhelmed with finishing and cleaning up renovation dust, that I decided to concentrate our Christmas decor in a few key areas, telling myself--we can always add more in the years to come. So not all the wreaths came out this year. Or all the garland. Or all of my tabletop trees.

Having moved to NC after living in Idaho for the last several years, this is our first Christmas that won't be white and we were worried it wouldn't feel like Christmas without snow, but it turns out, the music, the decorations, the smells--it's Christmas in our home. And I'm excited to share a few photos of how our home for the holidays looks this year:

Entry

I ordered a large gingerbread doormat for the front porch in November and it got backordered :(. But luckily, the small lit trees and the wreath with the tartan ribbon feel very holiday. We also had our roof lined with red and warm white Christmas lights.

Just inside the front door, I hung my same wispy garland as we did in our last home with fresh ribbon. I originally just had the burnt terra-cotta color but then I added the green velvet bows for a more neat and traditional vibe and I love how it pulls everything together. The vintage runner is meant for the kitchen but now seeing it here, I'm not sure I want to give it up! Haha. I pulled in a tiny vintage table we had and a modern lamp for juxtaposition and hung a small piece of original art my sister gifted me. It feels simple and merry and unexpected and for now, is making me really happy.

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Living Room

I definitely spent the most amount of effort in the living room. I originally had our tree in the front right corner but it was blocking the window too much so we moved it to the other side of the couch and we love it so much there. bonus points, we can see it from the dining room and kitchen now.

Alternatively, I put matching wreaths on the windows and hung a couple garlands on the mantle with mismatched stockings. The Merry Christmas banner is stunning in person. It's a beautiful vintage-looking metal that glistens with the fire light.

Here's the tree!! Our tree has always been super collected. We buy an ornament everywhere we go and it's filled with so many memories.

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Dining Room

I carried the same periwinkle tapers into the dining room to tie the rooms together. And also put two different kinds of faux branches in the vase to make it look a little more realistic. But the real star? A simple velvet ribbon loosely tied around the vase. The simplest addition made it feel so festive.

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Bonus Room

Since we spend so much time in the Bonus Room upstairs, I knew it was the last place I wanted to add some Christmas touches! A smaller, more sparse tree with bows tied all over it and a train circling around it keeps the girls entertained for hours. I hung a small wreath with a command hook on each dormer window (def gonna paint the window trim this week!!) and kept the ribbon nice and long for extra effect. My favorite addition in here? the plaid lamp I found on marketplace. It's Christmas-y, but it will probably stay out all year, too.

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That's Christmas around here this year!! We're so excited to spend Christmas in our new home after such a whirlwind couple years. Especially as so many projects are wrapping up. More on that in the coming days!