From Our Home to Yours: Holiday Decorating with Sonia Kirkman
"One of the best ways to decorate for the holidays is to use simple Christmas decor in unexpected but simple ways."
One of my favorite hobbies is decorating, though I'm not a professional by any means, and I've probably had more misses than hits. However, it's something that brings me a lot of joy. The holiday season, of course, provides many opportunities for decorating and I look forward to it each year, having the privilege of decorating at the inn as well as at my home.
A fun challenge for myself is to always make my spaces look a little different than the year before, all while still using 90% of my stored decorations. Entirely changing my holiday look each year would be outrageously expensive and environmentally wasteful, so I tend to ignore trends (such as the Ralph Lauren Christmas trend, which has cluttered my Pinterest feed since September). To achieve this I might change the placement of my Christmas trees (yes, that is plural), or add inexpensive ribbon throughout my house - in a different color than the year before, or simply find new and unique uses for various decor items that I use each year. Using the same Christmas decorations each year creates a feeling of nostalgia around the holidays. As you put up your favorite paper garlands, you remember making them with your daughter years before (yes, before they became the 'in' thing to do), and, of course, many of the tree ornaments hold their own special memories.
One of the best ways to decorate for the holidays is to use simple Christmas decor in unexpected but simple ways.
Glass (or plastic!) ball tree ornaments:
Don't place all of your ball ornaments on the tree, place some of them in a bowl or on a platter, inside of a hollow glass lamp, or around a candle inside of a glass hurricane. This year I placed a collection of my more vintage-y looking ball ornaments on a coffee table tray around a pile of books and a candle.
String lights:
Instead of only placing string lights on a tree, drape them around the tops of picture frames, on open shelving, over hutches and bookcases, and over doorways. You can also shove an entire string of lights into a glass vase or pitcher to add a little festive fun to a space without much effort. This year I laid a string of lights on my entry table without any order to the placing of them. It added just the right touch of 'glow' that I was looking for. Also, is there a rule that string lights on a tree only belong on a Christmas tree? If so, you know what they say about rules...If you have other trees or plants in your home, stick a string of lights on them too! (You might like it so much that you keep them up all year round!)
Garlands:
Another easy way to add some Christmasy cheer around your home is to use inexpensive garlands - tinsel, paper, fabric - there are so many options for holiday garlands. I have collected a very large supply of the felt ball garlands that flood the Homegoods shelves beginning each July and I use them throughout my house, but I also love our paper chains, our paper stars, our homemade dehydrated orange slices that we strung on long lines of floss (seriously, floss), and my favorite (purchased) paper garland - cats bringing figgy pudding.
A fun, easy and inexpensive garland idea is to collect old Christmas postcards and hang them on a string with clothespins. I've done this across my mantle and across mirrors. You can find these postcards year round in most antique and vintage stores.
If your garland collection is large enough, I highly suggest layering numerous garlands in the same space. I currently have two garlands hanging on my stocking mantle and five garlands and a string of lights hanging from a doorway. Try to differentiate the garlands when you're hanging them together to make the look more interesting. Command hooks are super handy for many things this time of year, including for hanging holiday garlands in unexpected places.
Ribbon:
Ribbon is one of my favorite holiday decor items! Ribbon is relatively inexpensive (depending on the ribbon you purchase - some ribbon can be quite expensive), which allows you the option to change your ribbon each year to update the look you're trying to achieve. This year I decided to use a green and white stripe ribbon in my living room, but I have lots of different colored bows throughout the rest of the house.
You can put bows just about anywhere and they will make even the simplest item look festive! At Ashford Acres this year we tied thin red bows around the necks of the blue ball jars in the sitting room, and everyone thought it was so cute! Do you have any plates displayed on your walls? Slip a red ribbon through the back bracket and tie a bow that sits at the top of the plate. You can do the same with a picture on the wall. Slip the ribbon through the wire on the back of the picture and tie a bow that sits at the top of the frame. Tie bows on lamps, on the Christmas tree branches, on your stocking holders, on your candlesticks, and on the necks of your wine bottles. Literally anywhere a bow can go, a bow should go.
For my birthday, my daughter, Abby gave me bookends that are two adorable Highland Terrier dogs. I put holiday bows on both of them and now they are even more adorable than before.
Blankets & Pillows:
Christmas = cozy, right? It's cold outside, maybe you've had snow already, you're in the mood to make chili, you're lighting candles a little earlier in the day because it's dark by 4:00. Well, that's the Christmas I fantasize about in my head. In southern California, where I'm very lucky to live full time, we often have days when the temperature is in the 70s and the sun shines bright. But in the evenings it can get down to a chilly mid-50 degree temp (brrrr...) and I have a small collection of Christmas throws and pillows that allow me to pretend the weather matches the holiday season. Most of the throws and pillows I have were found at - you guessed it - Homegoods, and therefore were relatively inexpensive and have been collected over a number of years. I put pillows on all my chairs and couches, drape throws over the corners of chairs or on an ottoman, and roll the rest up in baskets that sit near the couch. Even though these items have practical uses, they also add holiday color wherever I lay them.
In our family room we have a very large, blue, three-sided couch and this year I purchased three queen size, red plaid blankets on Amazon and draped them across the back of the couch on each side. They make the space feel more cozy and add holiday color to the room. Next year maybe I'll use them on our beds to add some Christmas cheer in our bedrooms!
Vintage:
I am a sucker for vintage anything, not just vintage Christmas decor. So, naturally throughout the year when I'm browsing in an antique store, perusing a yard sale, or scouring the booths at flea markets, I will always pause at a Christmas collection. This year Abby found a magnificent Santa cat teapot that we could not say no to. I also started a collection of what I affectionately call my 'lady heads'. They are vases, but they are also lady heads. And that description should be all you need to realize that you should probably start a collection of your own. I display my lady heads all year, however, for Christmas I stuff them with bottle brush trees and holly berries. This has been the new addition to my Christmas decor that has brought me the most joy this year.
Another collection I've added to over the years is old, multi-color outdoor string light bulbs. I simply lay them in a tray or a bowl and they add lots of color to the space.
The point is to always be on the lookout for good vintage Christmas decor! I mentioned the Christmas postcards above. You can find fantastic Santas (I have a small collection of Santas from my great aunt, which I have added to), beautiful tree ornaments (I used only vintage ball ornaments on my living room tree this year), vintage Santa mugs (put candy canes in them and display them on shelves or tables), and silver plated items like bowls, teapots, and trays, which you can display all year, but look great reflecting the lights at Christmastime. If you're lucky, maybe you too will find a teapot of a tuxedo cat dressed as Santa!
In conclusion, there are so many easy and simple options when decorating for the holidays. You can decorate with food, like Oranges and pomegranates! You can absolutely decorate with live greenery, purchased or directly from your yard. You can print photos from past holidays and put them on your refrigerator, tape them in a collage on the wall, or display them in frames.
If you want to do something new and different this holiday season, or next year, you don't have to feel overwhelmed. And most importantly, decorate for yourself, not to satisfy anyone else's expectations. If you like a trend - go for it. If you hate trends - do your own thing. If you want to buy the full Christmas tree Grinchmas kit and it makes you and your family happy - get that thing! And if all you manage to do is get the tree up with lights and ornaments hung - then you've done more than enough. Christmas cheer comes in decked out houses and yards and in small countertop trees with multi-color lights (my favorite). It's in holiday parades, local festivals and big church events, but also on the couch watching Christmas movies with take-out dinners. However it is that you find your Christmas cheer this year, I hope it brings you mountains of joy.
- Sonia
