Christmas Decorating

Don’t hate me, but I’m ready to chat about all things Christmas now that it’s officially November. I asked y’all on my Instagram stories when you’d like to start seeing Christmas inspiration from me so you could start getting ready for the holidays. The majority of people said the beginning of November, so I’m wasting NO time – HA!

As you probably remember, I didn’t share hardly any Christmas content last year. With traveling so much for work and to see family for the holidays, I just really didn’t have the time. On top of that, I was pregnant with Layne and SO sick and tired – so I decided to take the holidays off to keep from over-doing it. (As a home blogger, that’s CRAZY.) But I’ve got so much exciting content planned for y’all over the next couple months, and I am beyond ecstatic to share my love for the holidays with you this year. My love for Christmas runs deep, and I’ve got all my *extra* from my momma. She’s the master of decorating for Christmas and hosting the holidays, so I can’t wait to teach you what I’ve learned from her and carried into my own home!

Cozy Christmas Design Inspiration

I’m doing all the clap emojis over my ‘theme’ this year. It’s definitely changed a lot year after year as I’ve been chasing trends and what I ‘thought’ I liked. (Life of a blogger trying to keep up, y’all!) But, this year I decided that I was tired of chasing trends and wanted to get back to the root of my Christmas style — and I feel like I’ve finally refined it down to a color palette and style that I absolutely love. (and considering I did this same exact color palette back my first year of decorating my first apartment, it’s apparently one I have always loved!) My favorite this is that I think it’ll be kinda classic and timeless, and I’ll be able to build on top of this base in the future.

Today on the blog, I thought I’d kick off my Christmas content this year sharing with y’all some cozy Christmas design inspiration and my Christmas mood / design board.  So if you’re curious as to how I plan to decorate this year, or even my thought process on how I piece it all together, you’re not going to want to miss this.

Cozy Christmas Mood Board

With Layne passing away in March, this Christmas looks very different than what I had hoped. I realized that after crying my eyes out in front of the Baby’s 1st Christmas stockings and ornaments in Hobby Lobby the other day. I thought I would be getting to make his first Christmas at home the best one ever – but that’s just not the case this year. (Meanwhile, he’s having the BEST Christmas getting to actually attend Jesus’s birthday party…) I decided that while the holidays are not going to be exactly what I hoped this year, I still wanted to make them extremely special for Rob and I. We’re still hosting Christmas at our house with both sets of our parents, and it’ll be an opportunity for us to love on one another just like if Layne would’ve gotten to be here too.

With that being said, I really wanted to get down to the root of what I loved about being home for Christmas. I love the comfortable, cozy, and warm-ness about being cuddled up at home in your with family. I love the leggings, sweaters, and mocassin slippers looking outside at the snow (okay, maybe no snow in Georgia) while you’re sipping coffee or cocoa out of a Santa Claus or snowman mug. Baking cookies and watching Frosty and Charlie Brown Christmas with the fireplace on. But mostly, I just love all the precious moments and memories that come with the Christmas season.

So I’m doing exactly that. I’m going back to my roots this year with my Christmas decor.

Christmas Color Palette + Style

As someone who has a huge love for neutrals, I can bet you didn’t see this one coming. Keeping it more rustic, casual, and cozy in feel, I wanted to get back to a more traditional look. Like I said, I decorated in reds and whites while I lived in my first apartment in college. However, it was more of a candy cane theme. Instead of embracing all things candy cane again, I wanted to go a little more cozy and less whimsical by embracing more of a rustic red and white Christmas ‘theme’. I decided to channel a more traditional color palette this year filled with creamy whites, deep reds (like antique Coca-Cola red!), and dark evergreen greens. I want to channel all of the cozy and comfortable vibes to make my home as warm and inviting as possible this holiday season.

How-to Come up with Your Christmas Decorating Theme

So if you’re sitting there wondering how in the world to come up with your own Christmas decorating theme this year, I promise you’re not the only one. The biggest problem I hear people have is that they love a lot of different things. However, they aren’t sure how to put it all together cohesively in their home. Here are some tips on how-to come up with your own Christmas decorating theme so that you’re confident about getting your home ready for Christmas – and making it a space that you and your family loves!

1 | Determine Your Style

Start off by taking a look at your Christmas decor from the past few years and pinpoint your decorating style. Are you a collector of rustic and antique pieces? Or is glitter and glam more your cup of tea? Are you a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas and the holidays? Or are you one who likes to keep up with the trends each year? Are you drawn to the whimsical side of Christmas with the grinch, candy canes, Santas, and gingerbread men? Or do you prefer to keep it more elegant and polished?

Essentially, you’re going to make a mental note about what you like and what you don’t like. When it comes to choosing a Christmas decorating ‘theme’, it’s overwhelming. However, if you can pinpoint your decorating style, you’ll find that suddenly your options have been narrowed down significantly.

For example, I know that my style is very cozy, casual, and relaxed – so I gravitate towards more cozy and natural textures rather than glitter and glam. I know that I’m done ‘chasing trends’, so I want a more traditional look. Meanwhile, I know that I also like a more polished look than whimsical because of the feeling I want to create in #3.

2 | Choose Your Colors

Once you figure out your decorating style, you probably have an idea of what colors you gravitate towards. Are you more traditional with reds, greens, and whites? Or do you like to follow trends with the addition of colors like mauve and black into your Christmas decor?

Pro Tip: You can save money by reusing the same colors from previous decorating years and put a twist on it with new accessories and accent pieces. For example, you can make your cozy and relaxed tree more polished and elegant with the addition of new cascading ribbon, larger glitter / shiny glass ornaments, and changing out natural textures to velvet and glass / mercury glass. You’d be surprised how the smallest additions can make the biggest difference!

3| Create a Feeling

When thinking of your decorating style and your colors, it’s important to think about the ‘feeling’ that you want to create in your home. By that I mean, how do you want your home to feel when someone walks through your front door? (ie. relaxed and cozy, warm and inviting, elegant and polished, etc.) Then, choose accents and textures to match.

For example, I always want my home to be relaxed and inviting. However, around Christmas I mainly want it to feel cozy and warm. I don’t care about it being super formal or elegant. That’s not my style. But rather, I want my home to be a retreat from the outside world. I want it to be a place to gather. One where people can come as they are, in their comfy clothes and hair in a top knot, and sit around the coffee table and enjoy time spent together. I create this relaxed and casual space by choosing natural and cozy textures with things like fuzzy knit throw blankets and throw pillows. 

4| Get Inspired

While it can be overwhelming, Pinterest is a great tool to use when trying to get inspiration. Make it less overwhelming by taking advantage of the search engine to narrow down your search to your specific style and color choices. This will help inspire you, get the ideas flowing, and help you narrow down your answers to tips #1-3.

5| ‘Shop’ Your Home Before You Buy New

You don’t have to buy all new home decor every year. Frankly, who has the budget for that? Before you go out and buy all new Christmas decor to fit your ‘theme’ this year, shop your home! This means going around your home and seeing what you currently have. Save money by reusing or repurposing decor items that you already have with a little chalk paint and TLC. (You’d be surprised the new life a piece gets when you paint it!) Then, you can possibly splurge on new statement pieces!

 

 

Well there you have it, friends! I hope this inspired you to start thinking about how you want to decorate your home this Christmas season. Have you decided on your Christmas decorating theme yet? Tell us in a comment below!