My Christmas Decoration Wonderland

Around the holidays my home becomes a Christmas decoration wonderland. My goal is to make it completely magical and exciting. My son absolutely loves Christmas. I try to make the decorations reflect the joy and wonder of the holiday season!

First Things First – The Christmas Tree

We went shopping for our Christmas tree on December 1. I don’t like to put any Christmas decorations up until it’s December. I feel like it’s too soon before that. On December 1 the family piled in the car and headed to the closest Christmas tree lot. Friends and family like to go to the Christmas tree farm where you can cut down your own tree. My son is four and by the time we find a tree on the lot he’s already getting antsy. If we went to a Christmas tree farm, it would be miserable for everybody. I love the idea in theory, but reality dictates the show in my family!

I love a big, full tree but am willing to be flexible. Ultimately my son wants to be the one to pick out the tree . We let him roam around the right size of tree and let him do his thing. As long as the tree doesn’t have huge gaps or holes I’m pretty amenable to whatever he picks. After all, it’s not about having the “perfect” tree, but having the perfect tree for us. Happy four-year-old? Happy family!

We had our tree up and in water within a few hours. My husband was in charge of putting all the lights on and then my son took over with decorating. He absolutely loves to decorate the Christmas tree and likes to do it by himself (with us supervising). It’s not always balanced in terms of placement of ornaments but I don’t mind. He did it and loves it so we love it too! Here is the final product:

Thankfully it’s in a corner because the back of three has zero ornaments on it!

A Mantel Fit for Santa

I love decorating the mantel for Christmas. The more lights and garlands and decorations the better. After all, we have to highlight the stockings for Santa so he doesn’t miss them! I spent a day at Michael’s getting all sorts of fun decor to spruce up the mantel. Candles are an important part of the decor, although I use mostly faux candles. It’s not worth the risk to use real candles so close to greens and the Christmas tree. Here is how the mantel turned out this year:

And one with the stockings hung by the chimney with care:

Wreaths, Wreaths Everywhere!

I went a little nuts on the wreaths this year, as you can see in my post How I Saved Over $450 Making My Own Pottery Barn and Frontgate Wreaths. I have them scattered all over the house, including the front door. Anything to help brighten things up and add a little more holiday cheer!

Even the TV Stand Gets in the Holiday Spirit

No flat surface is safe when the holidays roll around. I love greens and really making every surface full of Christmas joy. The TV stand under the flat screen is a perfect space to “spruce” up with holiday cheer:

A Christmas Railing

We have a wrought iron stairway railing that was practically begging for garlands. I took two garlands – one of all greens and one with pine cones, berries, cinnamon sticks, and ribbons and wrapped them both around the iron banister. I then wrapped small LED string lights throughout them to give it some glow. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It definitely spiced up the railing a bit:

I also repurposed a metal pitcher container I got at Thanksgiving for fall decor. I filled it with greens and Christmas decorations I found at Michael’s. I included two Poinsettia flowers in the mix and finished it off with a red velvet bow. I love the little touches you can stick in nooks and corners throughout the house:

Outdoor Christmas Decor

For years I’ve wanted to put lit Christmas trees by my front door. I would look in Frontgate catalog and see these gorgeous displays of trees framing the front doors of homes. The costs of those trees were out my reach though. This year Michael’s ran a big 60% off faux trees in November  before Thanksgiving. I decided it was now or never. I got two 5 foot trees, pre-lit, with pinecones and berries sprinkled throughout. I’m thrilled with how they look. They bring a lot more light to the front of the house, as well as just being pretty.

In addition to those trees, I also have two pre-lit characters – a snowman and a reindeer – in the front flower bed. They add a nice glow, along with the string lights on the bushes nearby and framing the front porch. We also have one of those projector lights that projects images of snowflakes and other such holiday things on the front of the house.

We have quite the menagerie out front.

Luminaries

My neighborhood does a neighborhood-wide luminary every Christmas. We are all response for placing them on the sidewalks in front of our respective homes. It looks so pretty when they are all lit. We love to drive around the neighborhood and look at them. Several adjacent neighborhoods do it as well so it’s quite the sight to behold.

What are some of your “go-to” decorations at your house? Do you go to town decorating your home or have you dialed it back a bit? I love hearing about other peoples Christmas traditions so please share some in the comments section below!