Little Home Christmas

I truly love this time of year, but it definitely is exhausting when you have four little ones! There is just so much to get done. In between all of that is the bundling up of babies, loading and unloading them in the car with each Christmas shopping spot, packing the diaper bag over and over, and keeping up with all the normal life stuff that has to get done. The one thing that makes it feel just a little less stressful is that we can do it surrounded by all the cozy feels of Christmas.

Last Christmas the twins were only a few weeks old, and as the season was approaching I thought, “There was no way I am going to be able to decorate the house!” Even though it was a blur, I know I did manage to get some Christmas decorations up so the kids would feel the excitement of the season. This year though I just couldn’t resist. So, with babies at my feet and a long look at Pinterest, I got to work.

As I have mentioned in House & Home, we live in a lovely two and a half story brick  home with lots of character. We have a pretty small space so finding ways to incorporate some warm Christmas coziness without too much clutter can prove challenging. Also, our twins are very mobile now and have quite the reach, so everything must be height tested!

One of the things that we ended up doing to save space was to replace our normal Christmas tree with a skinny one. Not only does it fit perfectly in our living room, it makes it look like there are a TON of presents piled under it. 🙂 Also, because we only have room for one end table, trays come in very handy. Found this cute metal tin one at Walmart.

I wanted to do a buffalo plaid theme this year and so when I found these black and white pillows at Michael’s they had to come home with me. My husband makes fun of me, but he knows I just can’t resist.

With the kiddos being so little, there is a lot of crying that occurs in our home – (hence the retail therapy of new buying new pillows). I thought this sign would be quite appropriate in the room we spend the most time in.

I love the character in old houses and one of my favourite things are stained glass windows. We have two in our living room. Perfect for wreath hanging! I’ve been debating for awhile what to do with the space above our couch and ended up putting a decorative “window” frame with a simple green wreath from Target there. To “spruce” it up (see what I did there :)) for Christmas I added a bow, a few seasonal pine picks from Michael’s and white lights. The little red and white striped sock garland, also from Michael’s.. (of course 50% off!), I strung between the two stained glass windows.

A few years ago I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so cute. You cut strips of fabric and tie them on a string of white lights to make a type of garland. I hung this around the doorway to the dining room with some red Pom Pom garland (Walmart $3) just to add some texture. Turned out so well, I think I’m gonna do it again for the girls’ room with some pinks and whites. I would suggest using warm white LED lights so you don’t have to worry about the lights dying and you’d have to redo the whole thing!

            

I used some of the pom pom garland in a couple other places too just for fun, like on my kitchen window.

I added a few things here and there in the kitchen as well because I spend A LOT of time in there and need to see something pretty. 🙂

To tie in the black and white buffalo plaid in each room, I thought a table runner would be perfect for the dining room.

I switched out some of the fall flowers in my pitchers, kept the neutral ones and added some greens and reds. To incorporate the plaid I tied some ribbon around a few different pieces, which is a great cost-effective way to change the look of something.

 

For my mantle, I replaced the pictures in the frames with some things I made on my Cricut, wove some black and white buffalo plaid ribbon through my garland, and added a cute little fabric Christmas tree I found at Home Sense for a few dollars.

Can you tell I was all over the plaid this year?? 🙂  You wouldn’t think so, but I really did try not to overdo it.

This is the first year that I’ve actually put a little more effort into our porch. It is one of my favourite spots when the weather is mild. Having a small main floor in the house it is so nice to have that extra “room” to be in. If there are any milder days this winter, you bet I’ll be out there with a coffee and wrapped in a cozy blanket.

This last space is where I hope people feel warm and welcome when they come for a visit. We have a pretty small and narrow front entrance, but I did manage to add a couple little “Christmassy” things. A little wreath on our tiny coat closet door and a tree in a crock! I mean, why not?

My favourite part about my front entrance is the banister. A banister was one of my must haves in buying a house, mainly because I LOVE garland on a banister and wanted to be able to put some up every year during the holidays. Also, this staircase reminds me of carrying my babies to bed all snuggled up, head on my shoulder, and legs wrapped around my waist, so it is full of warm memories as well.

And that about wraps it up! While it was a challenge and there were some late nights involved in decorating for Christmas this year, I’m so glad I did it. It is therapeutic for me to be able to use my creative side especially as I’ve been home so much this year taking care of little ones. Thanks for sharing in this with me and have a wonderful Christmas!