Christmas Decorating for Normal People

Confession: I wasn't going to do a Christmas Home Tour this year.  There are just so many gorgeous home tours online, and yes I love checking them out.  I am super inspired by (and in awe of) you ladies who have beautifully coordinated Christmas decorations throughout your homes.  Then I realized, there's very little out there for normal people.  By which I mean people whose kids insist on colorful lights and handmade ornaments.  People who can't afford to coordinate their entire home, or change up their theme each year. So hey, here's my normal-person Christmas Home Tour. Welcome...enjoy...and remember it is the comfort of traditions we are after, not a magazine spread!

The Kitchen

I just tried to bring simple little touches to the kitchen.  I will keep my pheasant feathers in my rustic gilded jar all winter.  The glitter "Joy to the World" is something I crafted--you can get a smaller version in my etsy shop.  

The console in my kitchen "mud room" has become central station for outgoing gifts.  It's a great place to keep our kneeling Santa.

This is one of the things that has given me major joy this year, and it isn't even a true "Christmas" decoration.  Paper light garland above the sink?  I just love the warm glow it gives off, especially early in the morning when I *might* not be at my best.  I don't remember where I got these, but World Market carries a similar one which you can find right here.  (They also have 15% off everything starting today!)

Coming into the kitchen, we look at the blank side of a cabinet, so this year I filled it up with our past Christmas cards.  The boys love seeing themselves from past years:)  All this is is burlap ribbon and mini clothespins.  Easy peasy.

 Living Room

Our living room is our main hangout, and for that reason it reflects the style of everyone in my house. This year I tried to get the boys to accept white lights for the tree and they just can't.  And I get it. They're kids, and we are normal people.  I've had people praise our colored lights but also, in one notable case, tell me that our color-changing star is horrible.  It might be.  But I love it.  Because I am normal and that's how I roll.

The mantel is much as it was last year, because I can't change out all my stuff every year.  And it makes Rudy (the reindeer) happy to be up there.

Our elf Barry is keeping an eye on that cat.

 

 The Front Room (aka the Music Room)

So.  What's a girl to do when the big tree has all the colorful, hand-made ornaments and flashy star? A Mommy Tree, silly.  This year mine is tiny, because it is a live tree with roots and everything that is going in the garden after Christmas.  A Dwarf Alberta Spruce, to be precise.  This year I just didn't want to drop a wad of cash on a living tree and then kick it right out to the curb.  So I went small.  It's practical and hopefully will be with us a long time.

Opposite the wall with the tree and windows is this little vignette.  Lesson: if it's not Christmas-y enough, just stick a $1 evergreen sprig on it.  Bam!

Oh!  I haven't shown you our "new" piano yet!  It was given to us by a family that had it for the last 30 years.  Their kids learned to play on it, and now mine are.  Above is a little gallery wall and on top is Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, among other things.

"Paint me," says the old, dingy piano.  "Are you sure?" I say.  "That seems like a big step."
  "Yes, please.  Please paint me as soon as possible."

The Dining Room

By far my favorite decoration is my Nativity Scene.  I love displaying it with olive branches--a symbol of peace for the Prince of Peace!

So...hope you enjoyed my "normal people" Christmas Home Tour and can be inspired to love your home and the mish-mash of decorations we all have just a little bit more!

P.S. This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are 100% mine, all mine.