I really dived into making the house festive this year! I tried to use the things we have and make really minimal purchases to try to get the spirit of the season in our home!
First up, I styled our mantle. I found an old red and green ribbon that I twisted and curved around our regular items. I also bought some red and green fairly lights to make the whole thing a little more dreamy! I made sure our festive candles were on display and topped everything off with a few bows! We set the mood in our little living room by setting our accent lights to red and our fish lights to a festive green!
Speaking of bows... I went a little crazy with the bows! Each houseplant got a bow, plus jars, and even kitchen appliances!
I even put together a bow-embellished hot cocoa station for easy access on cold winter evenings! It was a delicious, cozy treat!
Also in the kitchen, we broke out some fancy Christmas towels and red and green oven mitts!
I put up all of the Christmas cards that we received this year on the fridge, and strung up a bunch of old ones above our kitchen table.
Something that was to special to lay out on the table was this festive table runner that my grandmother quilted by hand! Not wanting to risk ruining it with a single clumsy-moment spill, I hung it up and put it prominently on display in our living room.
One favorite detail I like to put out is the traditional fish-themed Christmas book that I made for Ben a few years ago: “‘Twas the Night Before Fishmas.” It’s exactly as cheesy as it sounds. I recently inherited this little precious moments angel that I put by this festive tin (full of ornament hooks) and eventually paired both with a scented wax melter that I got during a dirty Santa exchange!
Next, the Nutcracker station! I’ve had this little French nutcracker for a few years now and decided to get a bowl full of shelled walnuts, a tradition I’ve noticed several times at Ben’s family’s home. I’ve stationed both of these next to a dried bouquet that Ben got for me to celebrate our “one month since we said ‘I love you.’” Love keeping these little memories in my everyday space and consciousness!
I even got little stockings for our fishes! They are basically our kids.
We had recently lined our bedroom ceiling with lights, and decided to hang up some ornaments to make it feel especially Christmas-y!
And FINALLY, the tree! We found this cute little sprig and loved it at once!
We wrapped it in ribbon, some more fairly lights, and a couple special ornaments (the first of what’s bound to be an extensive collection). We topped it off with our ridiculous penguin friend, who never fails to make us laugh!
I put together a pretty bomb Christmas playlist (almost 100 tunes) and listened to it incessantly!
A special Christmas present was getting to spend some time with my dad during the holiday season! He came to Nashville for a weekend and we enjoyed catching up and spending some quality time together.
I made the extremely-dad-friendly sausage pinwheels that Ben’s dad always makes for us when we visit. Needless to say, my dad loved them.
We enjoyed going on a whiskey distillery tour together, went to The Frist Center for Visual Arts and saw the two exhibitions there, and had a very relaxed dinner at a local brewery and restaurant.
The next day, we trekked out to the beautiful Opryland Hotel and walked around for HOURS looking at the Christmas decorations, chatting, sipping, and eating. It was a great time, and I’ve never been able to make it out there during the holiday season, so it was really a treat! Overall we had a really wonderful weekend together, catching up, chatting about wedding plans, and watching some fun and hilarious movies together!
In preparation for the big day, I lettered and made a fun “To/From” stamp...
...and made sure to incorporate lettering every chance I could when gift wrapping.
After a long month of getting festive Ben and I were able to spend sometime at Ben’s family’s home for Christmas Day!
We had a great time relaxing together by the fire and spending time with loved ones. I received the traditional handmade stocking from Ben’s mother; if someone is officially joining the family they are gifted with this special tradition. I absolutely love mine, and was tricked into discovering it unexpectedly. Grateful to have this special memory recorded for years to come!
There were endless cookies and snacks and a really delicious array of menu items for our fancy Christmas Eve dinner! Ben and I accompanied his parents to the midnight candlelight service and got to see Ben’s mom perform a solo near the end! It was a very special evening.
Christmas Day was relaxed and joyful. Instead of busying myself with all of the cooking, setting up, and arranging that usually comes with Christmas time, I really took some time this year to rest, recuperate, and spend quality time with Ben and his family. I had a long Skype date with my family and got to talk to my grandparents over FaceTime as well! I continued my family’s tradition of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as well.
Overall it was a really lovely holiday and I’m grateful for every special moment and memory!
No comments:
Post a Comment