Friday, November 19, 2021

Simplifying Our Christmas Decorations

Hi, Friends,
How are you? I hope you are doing well.
I did it. I think I've finished decorating for Christmas. 
I'll give you a few sneak peaks. 
I have successfully simplified my decor. 


I have fewer chotskies on display. Those that made the cut are my favorite things. They happen to all be in soft greens, whites, or blue with only pops of red in the kitchen and dining room. 


This year, I opted for boxwood garland instead of traditional pine. 
This will eliminate all the shedding and it is really beautiful even though it is faux. 
I'll add some ribbons after Thanksgiving. 


The garlands all came from Hobby Lobby as well. I think they were $24.99 in the store. I waited until they were on sale. They are cheaper on the website but there'd be shipping.  
 I think that I bought three to augment what I already had.  


I have plenty of boxwood in the yard to clip for pitchers. 
I may add something else to the mantel but I'm not sure what yet. 

 I ditched the big tree and I'm very happy about it. It took about a week to make the decision. 
 I gave it to a friend who was not going to put up a tree this year. Instead, I picked up a slim tree from Hobby Lobby. It is the 7.5 ft. Slim Arizona Fir Pre-Lit Christmas Tree. It has the thin more realistic looking branches. 
It was easy to put up and it fits nicely in the corner. We don't have to move any furniture for this tree. I never liked removing a chair to put up the Christmas tree.  


This is the third year that I've used blue and white ribbon. We've had the picks for about five years. 



There are two other skinny trees at this house. One in the dining room and one in the garden room. 
 We will have a six foot tree at the house in East Texas if I put it up. 

The tree in the garden room has a new theme and I am smitten with it. 


I'll show that room in a post of its own.



I'm defying all blogging norms and ditching the hot cocoa bar as well. 
Please do not report me. 


Last year, our decorations were all about evoking a feeling of nostalgia. I think that was important. There was a lot of red plaid everywhere. However, it didn't replace what was lost and it only made me feel sad. I pulled it all down on Christmas day. 
This year less is appropriate somehow. 
I'm not sure why except that I want no reminders of last year. 
We won't know if our decision to pull back from all our activities last year was the correct one. 
It felt like we were the crazy ones although my extended family was on the same page. 
We've been pretty selective about stepping back into a "normal" routine and adding activities back into our schedule. Although, it was lonely at times, occasionally it was freeing to scale life way back to bare bones. Scaling back our decor feels cleaner and less complicated. I know it took less time to do.  I hope I like it more. I've never been one to pack up our regular decor for holiday stuff. Adding touch here and there is fun and festive and it can be done all the way up to Christmas Day. As we add activities back to our routine, I hope that we enjoy them more too instead of taking them for granted. 


There are a few favorite knick knacks still packed away. We will see what else is put out the next few weeks.
The Garden Answer YouTube channel inspired the living arrangement in the photo above. I love it. 

That is all for now. 
Have a wonderful weekend. 
Katie

9 comments :

  1. Hi Katie,
    I simplified my Christmas Decor this year too. Less is more for this year.
    Have a great weekend. Your place is looking so cozy and sweet for Christmas. xoxo

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  2. It looks beautiful, Katie. Elegant and bright and just lovely. I still don't know what I'm going to do. I went downstairs yesterday to try to pull together what I might want and I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure why. I won't start till TG but I like to be good to go that day so I can power through. Well, we'll see. It still feels like October to me...

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  3. It looks just gorgeous! I am looking forward to putting all my decorations up. It's not simplified by any means over here, but I am excited.

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  4. Even though you scaled back, it still looks beautiful! I always say I'm going to scale back, but once I start, I can't seem to stop! I love your centerpiece. I watch her show, too. She's been up here in Mich. on Mackinaw Island a few times. She's great.

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  5. It's all so pretty Katie. I love that precious little white ironstone pitcher with the holly and berries. I'm working on Christmas decor this week, since we're on our own again this year. Hopefully we'll be able to get together with family at Christmas. Have a great Thanksgiving week!

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  6. I love the boxwood garland! I'm with you on not wanting to rearrange everything for decorating. Skinny trees are great for that! Yours is beautiful! And I like things to slowly evolve too. I hope the season is enjoyable for you!

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