Our Christmas Decorations & Christmas Day Recap

Being in a new home for the holidays was ... absolutely great! We had a completely blank canvas to start from, and it was so nice to reuse holiday decor items I've used for five years in a completely new and fresh way.

I didn't add too many holiday decorations to my stash this year, but I do plan to hit up Michaels or Hobby Lobby soon to see what I may be able to score on major sale to use next year!

So here's a glimpse of our home decorated for the holidays, and then some photos from Christmas day. It was an awesome Christmas for us, not because of what was under the tree, but because of the little girls who came down the stairs to see it all.

I decorated our banisters with inexpensive garland from Michaels (I think it ended up taking 6 or 7 bundles), plaid wired ribbon from Michaels, and red mesh ribbon that I nabbed on major sale from Walmart last year after the holidays. I seriously think I got the 3 rolls of 20' for like $0.50-$1.00 each. 

It was my first time of using mesh ribbon, and it was SO easy. Next year I plan to add some to our Christmas tree before the ornaments go on it. 

We have this little shelf at the landing of our staircase. Normally we just have the tobacco basket up there, but we added the lights, a little tree, a large Santa, and a wreath to the mix. I have a feeling once it all comes down, the tobacco basket by itself may look a little plain!

Our chandelier had matte gold ornaments from Hobby Lobby on it, and a few more little details on the mirror and a kissing ball hung in the doorway to the kitchen. 

On the 23rd I had flowers delivered from The Bouqs so they would look nice and fresh on Christmas Day. They are still looking lovely a full week later!

I have the mini version of the Heidi Swapp lightbox and it was so fun to make little holiday messages and stick it around our home. Normally I kept it up at the coffee bar area.  

Upstairs, the girls had matching fun wreaths on their doors. These used to be all purple and silver and they hung on our double front doors at the old house. I added the hot pink and green this year to make them really playful for the girls' bedrooms. 

Some simple decorations on the media console in our playroom were an easy addition.

And our Christmas tree (faux, from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot) lived in our den and was so colorful and fun. Only one ornament was broken this year ... that's a win. 

In our kitchen, we had the felt Christmas tree we made which I blogged about here. 

Ian's mom was with us this holiday. Christmas Eve, we attended church at 5pm (the family service ... they specifically asked us not to worry about loud or crying children!) and then had she crab soup and barbecue shrimp with cheddar biscuits for dinner. 

Ian took a photo of the girls and me right before they went to sleep. We were setting out cookies and milk (egg nog) for Santa. 

And boy oh boy did he make an appearance! He brought the girls an art easel to share. Camille got a wooden dollhouse, a Dory book, and a paintable Elsa piggy bank that she saw and just HAD to have. 

Charlotte got a new lovey and a ball popper. 

Camille was super excited to come down the stairs on Christmas morning!

We just played with those Santa gifts for the first few hours of the day. After Charlotte's morning nap, I got the girls dressed in outfits that my mom made them (and bows that I made them!) and we opened some of the gifts under the tree.

And after the afternoon naps, we went outside on the screened porch and opened stockings! 

Ian got me some new Converse sneakers, a "best mom ever" mug, and he upgraded my diamond stud earrings two sizes. He got me those earrings several years ago, and our jewelry store lets you trade them in and just pay the difference for the larger size. It's a fun way of working your way up to nice stud earrings without breaking the bank on that first purchase. 

Oh! And I'll share a photo later, but I got Ian a Flags Of Valor wooden flag. They are beautiful works of art and they are made by veterans. Definitely worth checking out!

We'll keep our Christmas decorations up through the new year (at my insistence)! How about at your home -- are decorations still up?