This year I had visions of going all out with Christmas decor around the house and had plans of starting to put up my Christmas decor right after Halloween.
Abnormally early in my house.
My thought was, since 2020 was sucking, I might as well pour myself into my happy place of vintage Shiny Brites, Santa mugs and plastic blowmolds.
And then life got in the way, as it's so apt to do this year, and my decorating mojo slowed down.
Way down.
In the meantime, I was watching everyone on Instagram deck their halls in a style worthy of a 10 page spread in House Beautiful. All the gorgeousness was not making me feel inspired, it was making me feel "less than".
I got anxious scrolling through all the highly-decorated Christmas homes with not a candy cane out of place or a surface left unadorned.
And it started to make me feel bad.
And sad.
And Christmas decor should never ever make you feel that way!
So I took a step back and decided to just decorate my home with things I adored and made me happy and warm and fuzzy inside. And to step off Instagram.
Because decorating for the holidays is about celebrating the holiday and making your home comfortable and warm for your family. It's definitely not something to stress over.
So welcome to my 2020 Holiday Home Tour That's Really More Of A Few Vignettes That Make Me Very Happy Tour:
This is the first year with my blue sofa/sectional so I wasn't sure how I was going to make it work for Christmas.
But it turns out a dash of red plaid goes very well with bright blue. Who knew!
On the coffee table (which I probably should have dusted before taking photos) I simply replaced my fall flowers in my rustic birch bark vase with some faux greenery and added a vintage plastic deer.
If you ever run across these vintage plastic deer while out garage sale-ing or thrifting, grab them. I don't think I've ever paid over $1 a deer and they come in handy to tuck in different places at Christmastime.
The paint by number over the couch is actually a digital print of a vintage paint by number I purchased on Etsy from Elaine at To The Woodside.
She has a number of scanned versions of paint by numbers that you purchase and then can have printed at your local Staples or, in my case, Walgreens. And it's not just winter ones, she has a nice selection that can be used year round.
Maybe not as fun as collecting authentic vintage paint by numbers at the thrift stores, but it's a great way to get the look without traipsing all over in a pandemic.
OK, let's talk trees.
I've had a 9 ½ foot tree in the living room since we moved into this house 15 years ago. I felt the cathedral ceiling pretty much dictated a tall tree.
I was wrong.
It all started when neither my husband nor myself felt like lugging the huge tree out of the basement this year and then lugging out enough ornaments to decorate that beast.
So we decided to just pick up a 6 ½ foot live tree and be done with it. But in the end, I think I prefer the baby live one over the monstrous, labor intensive fake one anyhow.
It may not have a ton of ornaments and the tree topper sits a little wonky, but it's a tree. And it smells wonderful!
Next to the tree, I added some of my vintage Christmas decor to the hutch.
I just swapped out some of the year-round items with some of my most loved Christmas pieces.
Like the N-O-E-L candle holders my mother used every year.
And the little hand carved wooden Santa my sister made me probably 25 years ago.
I added one of my Vaillancourt chalkware Santas at the last minute.
No special story about this house, since I bought it last year at the grocery store.
But it's plaid and plaid makes me happy!
Oh look, there's another deer.
Lacey wanted to make an appearance this year, but she didn't want to look like she put too much effort into it, so she agreed to lay around in the entryway.
And trip anyone who wants to walk in the house.
More deer (I told you they came in handy), this time flocked ones.
The wreath holder is the repurposed yardstick frame I made this fall with the wreath/candle ring swapped out to a holiday one.
I found this mottled red poinsettia at the grocery store and simply plopped it in a green basket for a quick and easy pop of color.
Remember the paint by number print from the living room? This is just a smaller version for the kitchen dining area.
I had actually printed this one first and then realized I have no concept of scale and it was much too small for the living room. So I then had the larger one made for the living room and put this one here.
I felt the need to explain that, because I probably should have just bought another digital print and had something different here, but I had already driven to Walgreens twice that day.
My hot chocolate bar is still set up on the kitchen table. The only difference is I put the loose cookies away, so Lacey would stop trying to eat them.
And a home tour would not be complete without my dear deer friend.
This year I decided to string together some plastic ornaments with some twine and throw them over his antlers. Sort of looks like he was running though the house and got tangled up in the tree decorations.
If it were not for the fact that he doesn't have legs.
Below him on the turquoise buffet is just a bunch of random Santa and red items mixed in with some of my milk glass collection.
The pure white of the milk glass really makes the red POP!
So that's a wrap.
Thanks for visiting my "2020 Holiday Home Tour That's Really More Of A Few Vignettes That Make Me Very Happy Tour".
May your holidays be joyful and relaxing and a time to reflect on this year that hasn't been entirely a dumpster fire.
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
Christmas Home Tour: Thrift Store Decor Style
Decorating The China Cabinet For Christmas
Kathi
I absolutely love your Holiday Decor and it echoes my thoughts exactly.
I have my old decor out and love every piece I have. So many memories.
Always remember Less is Best and More is Less..
Kevin
Kathy,
I love your 6 foot live Christmas tree.
A beautiful artificial tree is 3 times the work as a real tree.
Recently I saw a dead Christmas tree spray painted white and decorated that was beautiful and CHEAP.
The smaller 4 foot white tree had been on the console in the entry foyer of a showcase home with a tremendous interior design.
Around here an expensive upscale suburb of New York City a local nursery or florist charge a lot of money $$$ for a real tree. We see these beautiful trees in driveways ready for sanitation pick up from 12/26 to 1/6 Little Christmas FREE for the taking and NO one wants them.
This year I plan to swipe the most beautiful used tree I can find haul it home in the SUV put the dead used tree in a stand and place it in the corner of the heated garage to watch ALL of the needles fall off in fact I will help it along pull needles off myself over the next months if needed.
When the tree is free of ALL needles I plan to spray paint the tree green, maybe add a splash of silver spray paint, a splash of bronze spray paint, a splash gold spray paint to the green tree - I plan to keep the dead tree green for the most part.
When the paint on the tree is dry put that tree in the corner of the den and proceed to decorate with lights, ornaments, bead garlands (NO tinsel) and more than a few red cardinal ornaments, etc.
I suspect that this tree will be a winner.
I will send y'all a picture of the dead recycled tree.
Any suggestions for this idea?
Best wishes,
Kevin Fitz
Pam Kessler
Hmmm, that sounds interesting! I have seen some Halloween trees at the store that would almost look like that if you painted it black. You could just keep repainting it different colors all year round!
Dawn
Hey
I love your Christmas decks- particularly the 1950’s plastic sleigh and reindeer decoration (on your globe). We had the exact same one when I was a child and have desperately looking for one for years (my Mum thinks she threw out our one!!). If you know where I can track the exact one- I would be very grateful. Thank you.
Florence
So I'm a little late catching up with the blog posts. I think your house looks fine, but I know how that comparison game can get ya.
You did better than me. I didn't put up a single scrap of decorations this year...recovering from broken bones is my excuse. Told my hubby I wasn't up to it, so I can enjoy others' without all the work!
Pam Kessler
Oh no, Florence! So sorry to hear about the broken bones. That's no fun!
Maureen Sheridan
I think attaching Santa's sleigh and reindeer to your globe was very clever. Your tour made me smile.
Lou Ann Bolte, Central Illinois
Thank you for sharing your vintage Christmas decor ! Love the Santa in the sleigh with his reindeer on the globe!!
Kathy
Thanks for the tour. I love your decor and hearing about the different pieces. The name Lacey suits your dog perfectly!
Where did the church come from? Was it from the grocery store also?
I don't know if you've heard of Tim Holtz, but take a look at his Christmas house tour on Facebook. Unbelievable collection of vintage and antiques. No human should be allowed to have so much! lol
Janice
Hi Pam,
I, too, loved your house tour.
May we all have a safe, healthy, creative, and happier year ahead.
Chris
Hi Pam
Aw! Know exactly what you mean when ‘life’ catches you unaware - hope all is good with you though!
Really enjoyed your festive home tour, as ever some lovely ideas - I’ll store for next year.
Happy and safe holidays to you and your family x
Tiena
I love looking at all of your neat collectibles! You have a knack for arranging them. Your place looks great! Thank you for your home tour and Happy Holidays!
Carolyn
Enjoyed the tour, deer head this year was colorful and festive. Did not put the tree up this year, but do have lots of small trees hanging around. I have one of the carved Santas also.
Good part of not putting the tree up is: we do not have to put it away. Merry Christmas, Live to all.
Debra Oliver
LOVE it LOVE it LOVE it. Each time I come to visit I know I'm going to get a chuckle and leave with a smile and a sense of down-to-earth vintage goodness. Santa and his sleigh is perfect on that globe, and adore the deer with his ornament garland, (even without legs). thanks for always bringing some fun to the mix. Have a wonderful Christmas and blessings for the New Year!!