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| {simple christmas decorations} |
We're doing things a little bit different this year. Mainly, we're going without our traditional tree. It's big and beautiful--probably the most real-looking fake tree I've ever seen. But it's too much for our small space. And it's too much work considering we're leaving to visit family the day of Christmas. So, here's our simple and slightly minimalist Christmas decorations.
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| {nontraditional small space christmas tree} |
Originally, I hoped to try one of the nontraditional tree ideas I posted about earlier. Then I started getting a little creative with what we had. We ended up with a tall vase I pulled from the bathroom, wrapped it in a string of greenery lit with white lights, put our regular tree star in the top of the vase, wrapped it all in another string of white lights, and added some white flowers I bought from the Dollar Tree a couple years ago to use as tree decorations. Set up on our small space entertainment center, we have a nontraditional Christmas tree complete with a shelf to put presents on and under.
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| {simple Willow Tree nativity} |
The Willow Tree nativity is simple and beautiful. My mom gifted it to me a few years ago and, besides for white lights, it's been my absolute favorite part of Christmas decorating. Brylee helped me get it all set up on our bookshelf, but it was entirely too crowded and we don't have many other flat surfaces to spread it out like we did in Florida. So I took it down to the main nativity scene and absolutely love the simplicity and focus that brings. There's also room on the bookshelf for the occasional drinking glass or guest's keys that end up here.
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| {white light christmas star} |
We have a big empty space on the wall above our sofa where I'm still deciding what photos/artwork to hang there. We had another string of lights that, of course, needed to be used. So, we stuck up five clear wall/ceiling light holder clips and strung the lights in the shape of a star. It's different, and this year I'm liking different.
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| {simple christmas centerpiece} |
The dining room table started with a big clear bowl full of ornaments with candy canes hanging around the bowl. That just didn't seem right, so I tried a couple other things until I came up with this simple solution: Fruit ornaments stuck in our tea light candle holder.
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| {simple twine christmas wreath} |
This wreath is my favorite decoration this year. My sister and I took an idea we found on Pinterest and made two wreaths out of a 6 foot tube we bought for just over a buck at Lowe's. I knew I wanted something simple so wrapped it all in twine. Then went back and forth on what sort of flowers to embellish it with, and came up with this stained onesie upcycle. I love it! Although, I'll love it more when we actually hang it on our door where it's intended.
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| {christmas stockings on coat rack} |
The stockings have not yet been hung with care. We've talked about a couple places we'd like to hang them. For now they've taken up residence on our coat rack, and actually, I kind of like them here. Perhaps I should get more intentional about it and spread them out among the hooks so Santa can more easily fill them.
That's our simple Christmas decor for 2011. No overwhelming "holiday" clutter and no hassle. (Although, I'm realizing now, we're still missing the mistletoe.)
Happy decorating!
