Christmas Around the House 2015

I'm not one that enjoys holiday decorations in every nook and cranny of the house. It makes me claustrophobic, and I find Christmas music does more for bringing cheer this time of year than anything. BUT! A few, thoughtful, festive decorations go a long way in making our home feel a little more merry. Here's what we're donning:

These two twig trees put an instant smile on my face. They are festive, but also don't demand attention thanks to their natural color. I put these out right after Thanksgiving. The first hint of Christmas. (For the kids' table, I let them add some ornaments, but for a centerpiece, I think they look great au naturel.

A couple weekends ago, I was on a serious hunt for a wreath for the range hood. It's just something I envisioned since we built it this fall. We ended up finding this real one at Home Depot for $13! It had a red ribbon on it that I plucked off and we hung it immediately with a little command hook. Err, after the command hook set for an hour. I did NOT know that was a thing!

^^ Charly doing what she does best--counter surfing for food.

This past weekend, we found the sweetest artificial flocked tree at a local craft store for 60% off. It was slim and a little smaller and the price was just right so scooped it up and put it in our living room. We decided to make it our memory tree filled with all the ornaments our girls make and will make (glitter glue and construction paper galore on this one!) and also our yearly ornaments Chris and I pick up, generally around our anniversary. It's the happiest tree I've ever seen, but of course, it's filled with all of my best memories.

For the first time ever, we put up a second tree. We barely had the energy, but we HAD the tree so why not? This tree you can see from the street which is nice (especially since we still haven't strung lights outside this year. It might not happen. Hope you enjoy the tree though, neighbors!) and it feels a whole lot moodier, which is appropriate for the moody study. As a finishing touch, Greta wrapped the tree, pretty tightly, with gold garland and we laughed and exclaimed, "It's perfect!"

The holidays are so, so fun with these girls of ours.