Christmas Decor 2011

Everyone has been chatting away about their holiday decorations, and I feel like I'm a little behind. Then again, I've felt like I was behind on the whole Christmas thing since we got off the boat after our honeymoon cruise. See, the tree at my parents house went up Thanksgiving night after the rest of the family left. And then we'd spend the day after Thanksgiving putting on the lights and decorating it with ornaments. So, considering we got back from our cruise on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we were a couple days behind already. And I didn't exactly have the energy to put up the tree right away when we got home. But eventually it did get done.

I went really simple this year - a lot of my decorations are still sitting in their boxes. I've had so much on my plate already that I knew I wasn't going to want to put it all away later. So only the basic and sentimental stuff came out - things that make it really feel like Christmas.

To start, I hung up our stockings along our entry hallway. There's a stocking for the hubby and I, as well as one for each cat. I purchased these (plus one more that's still in a box) a few years ago at an after Christmas sale. They probably came from Wal-Mart or Target.



We used 4 silver command hooks to hang them up. And there's a gold letter on each stocking to identify it's owner. We're considering leaving the command hooks up after Christmas and utilize them for our coats and my cardigans. We'll see how that goes.

We went really simple on our balcony. Just strung a single strand of white lights around the railing.

Beside our bedroom door I placed one of our two nativity scenes. In my opinion, your home isn't officially decorated for Christmas unless you have at least one nativity. Doesn't have to be big, as you can see below. But Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, so it's only fitting that you recognize that somewhere in your home.

On top of the entertainment center we took down candle holders and replaced them with some blue & silver cone trees. I bought these from Jo-Ann Fabrics about 3-4 years ago. I worked at Jo-Anns for a couple months my senior year in high school, so I learned quickly what was considered a good sale, and when to look out for them. So when these beauties went on sale, they were mine! These pretty much solidified in my mind the idea of decorating in the blue/silver scheme. Last year I stuck to that theme throughout the house, but like I said earlier, I'm not that focused on how things look this year. (Please ignore the doctor's face on the tv... I didn't think to turn off the tv before snapping the photo)

The in-laws gave us an ornament this year that is gorgeous! I was eyeing this one at Macy's a few weeks ago, but the hubby and I decided that we were going to pass. It was a little on the expensive side, and it's a Lennox, which means fragile. And with a rambunctious cat in our house, we were afraid of it getting knocked off the tree and shattering. But once we received this, we decided we'd place it on top of our entertainment center where it would be safe from the cats.

And now, time for the tree! We moved the love seats around in the living room to make room for it in the corner. If you couldn't tell, it's a fake tree. Personally, I'm a fan of real trees. The hubby grew up with a fake tree, so he doesn't mind this guy. But there is just something about the smell of a fresh tree that I miss. Plus, it's really obvious when you look at the tree that it's fake. I've been searching for a fake tree that doesn't look fake but also doesn't break the bank. This is a mission I have failed. But I've not stopped looking - it's got to be out there somewhere!

As you can see, there aren't a lot of ornaments on it this year. And there isn't a single traditional bulb on the tree either this year. I decided the only ornaments I was putting up were ornaments that meant something to me or the hubby. Ok, ok... mainly me. But that's only because the hubby didn't really bring ornaments with him when he moved in. But there's a handmade ornament with UCF colors, ornaments from places I or we have travelled to, and ornaments that were given as gifts from friends.

I got some close ups of some of the more special ones. The first one is a photo ornament from 2006. I wanted to start buying a silver photo ornament every year and put our picture in it. But in 2008 I couldn't find one, so I sorta just stopped pursuing it. Anyways, this picture was taken shortly after Christmas 2006 in Pennsylvania on my Grandpa's property. It was the the hubby's first time flying on a plane and his first time seeing snow (that he could remember).

Then it's our "First Christmas" ornament from Hallmark. We got this as a wedding gift.

And here she is all lit up. Yes, there's a part of the top lights that are out. I swear they were working fine when I first strung them around the tree. But I haven't felt like fixing them quite yet.

So there you have it. Our Christmas decorations and tree. Nothing fancy. Nothing crazy. Just plain and simple. And this year, that's just perfect for us! Now if only I could get all of our gift buying done...

Anyone else feel like they are behind in Christmas decorating? Did you use a color scheme or just whatever felt right?

I'm linking up to Honey We're Home's Christmas Tree Party.