Christmas Decorations

I have no idea why it takes me so long to get a post together about our Christmas decorations. It seems like every year it takes me forever! They've been up since the beginning of the month but I guess I'm slow with getting the pictures taken.

Anyway, this year I tried to keep things simple but still sparkly and pretty. I always love sparkle but I feel like you can really go at it during the holidays. I try to keep things within traditional Christmas colors: red, green, with a little silver and gold thrown in.

Let's start outside - we kept it really simple. My red sparkly wreath that I bought forever ago, a little potted pine tree, and some garland around the entry way to the porch. I added a couple red bows to the garland and to the tree and called it a day.

I think our outdoor lights are festive and Loren didn't have to break his neck trying to hang them up. Win, win!

Our entryway is where we hang our stockings, this probably looks exactly like it did last year including our personalized stockings.

I changed a few things in the dining room this year. I kept the garland on the buffet and filled the apothecary jars with red and green ornaments. I also put a couple metal "gifts" on the the other side of the buffet. I hung up some star lights that I grabbed at Ikea during our last trip. I'm undecided if they'll make a return next year or not.

The table got a new red runner with a sequin edge, and I added some sparkly decorations to our usual centerpiece. Another change I did this year, is to hang some garland on our light fixture. I'd seen it on Pinterest and thought it would make my hanging ornaments look better. I just used some cheap-o garland from JoAnn's and put a few little decorative things around it.

I like the garland but think next year I'll replace it with some that's a little more full.

The kitchen is the same as last year with the addition of two cute little glitter trees and my DIY holiday card display. The trees I found at JoAnn's on super sale, and they just barely fit on top of our cabinets. I really like the extra sparkle up there though so I'm glad they worked out. Just a side note, they're actually hinged so they fold up completely flat! So easy to pack away after the holidays!

The living room might actually have less decorations compared to previous years but I'm enjoying the look. I switched up the decor on the media center; this year we have garland and these cute red lanterns I bought at Target last year after Christmas.

We didn't put lights in the garland because Loren said it would glare off the TV and drive me nuts but I think next year I'm going to try it anyways. I think garland just needs to shine! I did use those fake candles in the lanterns though just to make sure we didn't burn the TV. I really love our TV. :)

Our tree is the same one from last year just with a few new ornaments. I love it. I turn it on as soon as I walk in the door. It's definitely smile inducing.

So that wraps up our Christmas house tour, I hope you liked it! Please leave a link to your Christmas decorations in the comment section, I'd love to scope out ideas for next year!