Simple Christmas Decorations

This weekend we finally broke out the Christmas decorations and decorated our home for Christmas! When it comes to decorating for Christmas we tend to keep it pretty simple around here. The less you put up, the less you have to take down come January, right? Also, this is the first Christmas we have really decorated our home and what decorations filled up an apartment don’t quite fill up a house but we are okay with that. We plan on adding one or two new pieces that we really like each year.

Last year we put up the Christmas tree in our living room where our nook is now so we decided to move it to our front room that currently has nothing in it. This location is nice because we can open up the windows and it can bee seen from outside. Bonus… we don’t have to worry about the cat knocking off the ornaments and them breaking on the tile.

There is something I love about a monochromatic tree. We opt for white lights, white and silver ornaments and a white tree skirt. It just feels so simple, cozy and warm. In the past I became quickly frustrated when I couldn’t get the lights exactly right, the ornaments perfectly spaced or the tree fluffed so there were no empty spaces but over the years I have relaxed and don’t worry so much about perfection but just enjoy the process of decorating the tree.

^ My favorite ornament.

^ I (Courtney) found our tree topper about four years ago. I love how it has a more natural look integrating the branches and berries. It ties perfectly into our rustic/winter decorating theme we have going.

But I have to admit that tree topper is a beast to try and get on up there. I am so glad Brent now handles the struggle that is putting the topper on the tree. I may or may not have fallen into the tree in past years trying to get that thing wrapped around the top branches.

I love incorporating pieces that have special meaning into our decor like this Nativity Scene that was given to my parents as a gift the first Christmas after they were married. It has sentimental value and fits perfectly with our style.

For our mantle this year, we kept a lot of our every day pieces and mixed in some rustic winter decor such as evergreen garland, small led string lights, a burlap runner, mason jars with fresh evergreen, berries and baby’s breath and of course pinecones!

Our DIY Christmas project this year were these Christmas vases made from recycled wine bottles.

^ First, we painted three wine bottles white.

^ My brother has a vinyl cutter plotter so I asked him to cut me the letters j,o,y and snowflakes stickers at the appropriate size. I have seen where you can paint the letters on but I don’t have a steady hand when it comes to painting and stickers were so much easier. I like the look of silver letters because they are subtle and match our tree.

^ Next, I just stuck the letters on the bottles. That part was super easy!

^ The final step was to add the evergreen, berries and baby’s breath.

^ The decorating festivities would not be complete without hot chocolate!

We would love to hear how you decorate your home for Christmas and the holidays. Do you have a specific theme or color scheme when it comes to Christmas decorations? Do you have pieces that have sentimental value that you put up every year? Share with us in the comments.