For me, Christmas and winter decorations often overlap. Some of my décor is strictly for Christmas, that's true. And we always had a rule in our house that even though we put up the Christmas lights in November, you couldn't turn them on until December 1st. But one thing that can make your life easier is to meld the two seasons together. This helps cut down on money (buying décor exclusively for Christmas and then using it for two or three weeks in the year); and also makes transitioning away from the fun and festivities of Christmas less of a stark contrast, as you put away everything in your house that is cheerful and sparkly, and go back to work and school while facing the reality that yes, it is still getting dark at 4:00 P.M. and yes, we still have to go out in it.
While I am a big fan of things being special (I do have a few things that are solely for Christmas and that's it) I am also a big fan of beauty all year round, living the true meaning of joie de vivre (in other words, having a joy-filled life without breaking the bank), and cozy décor for the winter. Christmas is a beautiful season in which we should be together with friends and family, and above all else, remember what the season is really all about; the birth of Jesus. Without this, we have nothing, including this holiday, and all the warm feelings that go along with it as we give each other our time, love, gifts, and enjoy all the fun family traditions we keep each year. You should not be stressing out about decorating your house.
Every year, my mom, sister and I bake cookies, I read Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, my family draws names for a gift exchange, we attend church functions, we spend Christmas with my aunt at her house and have the traditional turkey dinner, we go boxing day shopping (ok, my husband does not do this, he runs as far away as possible and sends me the occasional text to make sure I'm still alive), and I decorate my house for Christmas/winter.
Here is some winter and Christmas inspiration for your home:
I had some *books that I hated. Here is what happened to them. But really, this was a very cheap way to get some décor into my house. I painted these books with acrylic paint and then painted the words to one of my favourite old Christmas songs on them. The *lantern is from my mom (I think I may have stolen it when I got married and moved out. Sorry mom!), and the snowflake tealight holder inside the lantern was a gift. I would consider this a piece of décor suited only for Christmas.
Approximate cost: $0.00
These glittered pinecones are available for purchase in my shop, these ones are in the colours, freshly fallen snow, and mountain slate. The* bells were an end-of-season sale purchase after Christmas last year, and the bowl was a sale find from Walmart. The *mat is woven plant fiber of some sort and was a souvenir from my sister after their trip to Colombia. I originally thought it looked like summer but I'm enjoying it as a winter piece. I will leave this piece of décor up all winter.
Approximate cost: $12.00
You know how sometimes when you walk into the store at this time of year you see all the poinsettias for sale and they have glitter on them to make them look extra festive? I decided to do that with my succulents. I don't know if I'd
recommend doing this with leafy plants that move a lot or plants that are in a high-traffic area, but with something like a succulent, the plant is hard and stable, so this idea works. If you have small children, just glitter that little plant up on the windowsill that is out of reach! I would use this idea for winter and Christmas.
All the pottery, glassware, and dishes on this shelf were gifts except for the cup full of spoons and the spoons themselves. The pine tree candle holder, the platter, the *cake server, and the little *bottles with corks were also purchases I made. All the books except one were also gifts. The little *pine trees were dollar store purchases, while the strings of sequins in the bottles came from I can't remember where, though I know I did not purchase them. I might remove the glittery bottles and gingerbreadmen mugs after Christmas is over, then again, I may not. Everything else I will leave up for the winter.
Approximate cost: $85.00
I am quite tickled by the way this turned out. My mom and dad bought me this marble and wood treat tower for my birthday and I put it on my desk when I got home from picking it up. I think I had a little tree that I had been using for photos lying around so I popped it on there to get it out of the way. Suddenly the tower took on the appearance of a little mountain. I really liked that. So I left it on the desk and kept on adding.
The cones on the top layer are pinecones, the ones in the middle are *tamarack, and the ones on the bottom are *larch cones. I think the larch cones are particularly pretty because they have an elegant, almost lacy look to them. All these cones are available for purchase on my website. The little *trees come from either the second hand store or the dollar store, the darling little *felted mushrooms I found, fell in love with; and purchased this year. They have little strings attached to the top so I can hang them sometime too. The *pinecone candles on the bottom layer were a boxing day special I picked up a couple of years ago. I can't bear to light them because they are too pretty. When I was done setting everything up I sprinkled silver glitter over the whole thing. I will leave this up for the winter.
Approximate cost: $32.00
Let's move outside. I like to do my decorating outdoors; before it gets so cold you can't work with your bare hands anymore. A couple of weeks after we became the proud owners of a fifty-two-acre parcel of land, Gary, Toast, and I took the Toaster (that's what we call our pop-up camper that Gary built. Go ahead and say it, we put the Toast in the Toaster;) and spent the weekend there. We cooked over our little fire, made hot chocolate, and wandered around the woods. I looked for mushrooms to draw on (and I found a few!), cut a small birch tree into lengths, planning to sell as outdoor décor later, and gathered pine boughs for my own outdoor décor. Gary cut down a couple of small evergreens to make into poles for something, leaving a slew of fragrant evergreen boughs as well as the tops of the evergreen trees. I took it all; and stuffed the work car to the brim with my treasure. Boy did it ever smell good in there!
Later in the week, I dragged everything to the porch and started to decorate.
The two large stumps you see in the first photo, Gary brought to me years ago to use for decoration. The holes in them are heart-shaped so he thought of me (he also gave one to my mom, isn't he sweet?). The *rattan moose I found in a thrift store close to the apartment were we lived in Montreal. I felt like it was a great find because it was very cheap and looked almost brand new. All the greenery is from our land, while the Canadian holly berries I found in the ditches along the roads we often drive. Aren't they fantastic? As long as it's cold out, both greenery and berries will stay beautiful. The bird nest was a happy coincidence. When I was cutting holly, I happened to glance down, and there it was, still clinging to a few sticks, bare and lonely in the chilly air. So I brought it home and tucked it into my trees.
On our downstairs porch, I went with a similar look. I filled a bucket and a planter with greenery and holly, dragged a chair out of our shed and draped a blanket over it (it's actually an old *shower curtain my aunt was giving away), and arranged them together to make a cozy corner. I added the birch logs, then tucked the *copper lantern in there for some extra cozy. Our downstairs porch is very dark at night so I like to light the candle in the lantern when evening comes to make it less foreboding and more welcoming. P.S. The white planter and the lantern both came from the garbage. I will leave my outdoor décor as is until spring, when it begins to naturally decompose.
Approximate cost of both porches: $18.00
People have often told me that I'm good at decorating, but the truth is, to be a good decorator you have to notice the happy coincidences. I'd say my decorating skills are made up of three parts: one part creative intention, one part trial and error, and one part happy coincidence. Sometimes you happen to put something down to get it out of the way for the moment, and when you come back to it, you realize it looks great there, and you leave it exactly how you placed it. True, being able to recognize these little coincidences is a bit of a trained skill, but if you feel ready to see the beauty in the ordinary and the opportunity and the more inopportune spots, you will soon begin to spot these happy coincidences. If all else fails, ask! Ask your friend, your mom-in-law, your sister. Sometimes even your dad :) And just so you know, I'm always happy to answer questions as well. I'd love to be in on your decorating adventures.
I hope you find loveliness in an unusual place today!
Note: If you are a city dweller and you're feeling a bit down about the fact that you don't own fifty-two acres of trees from which you can glean pine boughs, I have some tips for you. Remember, I too have lived in the city, in fact, most of my life my home was in the city.
Parks are a great place to find dried seed heads or flowers. These can be taken home and spray-painted gold or silver. Or if you're going for a more natural look, leave them brown, and tie a ribbon around them. Some parks offer bright berries as well, like the park that was close to our Montreal apartment. You can always drive to the countryside if it's not too far away and glean from ditches and roadsides, or ask people who live there if you can collect evergreen bough or pine cones. Most people are very friendly and happy to share.
Growing up in Laval, we lived within walking distance of an overgrown field and patch of woods. Here we found bird nests, grape vines for wreaths, dried flowers, etc. There is always something around you that is easily accessible. You just have to open your eyes and see it!
Comments