Holiday cheer on Ginseng Road

It’s the holiday season, baby. And you know what that means? Christmas decorations are back!

I’ll be honest with you: last year, Chad and I were total garbage and decided “not to do Christmas” at our house. We weren’t in the spirit at all, and knew that we’d be spending the actual holiday in Gunnison, away from our townhouse. So, we kept all of our décor—the tree, lights, cute little Target pieces—kept away in storage. Bah humbug, we said, feeling stressed and over-worked and like the house-saving process was draining all of our fun and energy. (If only we knew what was coming.)

Flash forward to this year, where it seems more critical than ever to pump up the cheer factor, regardless of the various stress and uncertainty around us. We’re lighting the garbage on fire, and emerging reborn as Christmassy phoenixes. It’s the least we can do, to send off 2020. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that we’re homeowner’s now, with a puppy, and can stash away these holidays under our category of firsts.

Here’s how we brought Christmas cheer to our little house on Ginseng Road.

Setting the Mood

First and foremost, it took a little work for Chad and I to properly get into the spirit of Christmas. We weren’t as garbage as last year, but we still had to convince ourselves a little to get into the holiday mood.

To do so, we kicked off our holidays by watching the movie Klaus on Netflix. (It’s one of our favorite seasonal films. It’s animated and quite good.) Then, we put up our tree with Christmas music, and another night we trimmed it with the aid of red and green-themed sugar cookies.

Outside the House

Though I someday want to be the house on the block for holiday displays, our budget mandated a different narrative this year. We did what we could, and bought a few solar light strands from Amazon, along with a string of icicle-style lights.

We were able to light up one of our smaller trees really well, and were able to wrap around our larger tree once. The icicle lights went across the underlay of our roof, above our garage. Wally was predictably watching over us through the window as we put everything up.

Overall, I’m happy with it! I love to add some cheer and color to our curb. 🙂

Inside the Home

As you likely know, I’ve been really getting into the interior design spirit, picking up various projects along the way. I love it! With Christmas decorating, I didn’t want to totally abandon the style that I’ve been curating. So, my goal was to stick with the aesthetic: minimal, modern touches to carefully add to the vibe of the space.

Our tree was the biggest addition. We kept it pretty traditional, with a mix of simple ornaments and ones from each of our childhoods. In future years, I’d like to stick with a simplified color scheme, but I didn’t feel like this was the time to totally invest in new tree trimmings. I did, however, get a blanket as a new tree skirt, adding a little neutral texture to the area.

Lights were another way I decorated our rooms. I added strings above our entry door, along our little peek-a-boo kitchen ledge, and as a backdrop to our tree.

I added a few signs throughout our house, all from Target. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” and “holly jolly Christmas” were from previous years, and the tree farm was new this year—a pretty accessory to our stockings.

Garland was my most used piece of décor, along with faux red berries. I added it everywhere I could: framing our coat closet, on our open-concept wall ledges, stuck on some art, and as the main event on our table-scape.

Other small details included some small tree figurines from Target, including a sparkly deer, several tiny trees, and a small faux-tree. I also recycled an old “noel” sign and candle holders from our wedding. Most of these can be seen on display on our table-scape, flickering with battery-operated candles (also left over from our wedding, surprise!).

How about you?

How’s the holiday cheer gong elsewhere? I’d love to know how you are handling the season of merriment and brightness in a year like this.

Here’s to a little seasonal joy, from me to you.