Christmas Home Tour 2017

Can I tell you a secret? We don’t use a live Christmas tree in our home anymore. For years when the kids were younger, our tradition was to pick out a real tree together. Dennis held different trees out, pounding and shaking the branches open, measuring height, talking about which loose twigs to trim. It really was a dreamy holiday tradition, chalk full of regular, everyday family squabbling and needs.

But a few years ago, we decided that was too much work for us empty nesters. We have since resorted to an artificial tree.

So I’ll let you in on another secret: I’ve had that dazzling fake Christmas tree up since this summer. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds. We drug it down from the attic, assembled, fluffed, and dressed it for our Christmas photo shoot in July. Because we put together a lovely Holiday Catalog for you, and that meant pictures had to be taken early. I wasn’t sad about it at all!

Dennis and I talked about folding the tree away again until Christmas season (or at least November!), but instead we chose to slide it into our mostly now-unused playroom. Every now and then I go in to get a peak of the beauty and glitter of Christmas. Even a glimpse sends me longing for the fast approaching holidays.

Since we’re all there collectively now:  hoping for cooler weather, pinning sugar cookie and cocoa recipes, marking calendars with forthcoming festive dates, it’s time that I show you my home, decorated for Christmas. You likely saw the just-released Holiday Catalog, but I don’t have the space there to include all the fun ways to use the beautiful and meaningful decor.

Here’s a look at other ways to spruce up your home this Christmas.

I’m going simple with my front door this year. Our home is tucked back into the trees down a long private drive so no need to string the rooftop with lights. My guests will be greeted with our new Snowflake Door Hanger. I cut a pine sprig from my yard and looped a pine cone on the twine hanger too. What I love most about this piece is that when I’m sadly packing away my holiday decor at the end of December, I’ll be able to leave this in place. It can glisten its way through the entire winter season.

Most of my visitors, when they come inside my front door, head straight to the kitchen by route of our dining room. I like to have the dining room looking festive, even for everyday decor too. Dennis and I eat at a tiny two-person table tucked in the living room, but seeing this dining room table all set brings me joy in memories of our kids around it and excites me for holiday visitors who will be here soon.

This is the look from the entryway. You can see three Leave Him Thanks wreaths: two secured onto the chair backs and one laced around our chandelier. The white glittered leaves are classic for pairing with Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. I currently have white pumpkins and pine cones on top of the burlap runner.

Side note, this isn’t my house but: We loved this idea! One of our friends used our Leave Him Thanks Wreath at their daughter’s wedding reception! We think they made for lovely centerpieces for their early fall reception and we love how they turned out. {With thanks to Tonya Damron for this pic}

For my Christmas table, I use AdoreHymns as part of each place setting. In some years we’ve chosen to listen to or sing each hymn that is at someone’s plate. Our family is far from musically gifted but it can be a fun tradition anyway.

Of course, our living room is the main hub of holiday festivity, so it’s my favorite area to bring to holiday life. We have a windowed corner, complete with a cozy cushioned seat. That’s where we put our tree each year. The morning light floods through making the glittered ornaments dance in delight to our King.

This year, I’m excited to drape our new tree skirt around the bottom.  We love that it’s imprinted with the verse, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). This is the perfect spot to fill with gifts!

Have you seen my last few year’s gift wrapping? I wouldn’t have done this as a young mom, but I do enjoy now having the packaging tie into the whole tree’s look. So I’m pulling a few pieces from the tree and using it as a little extra happy for the packaging and gift. It’s a fun way to gift someone an ornament, and it’s a nice way to pull the full look together.  Use basic butcher paper. Be sure it’s thick enough that it doesn’t tear. I like brown, but you could also try white. Here I tied His Christmas Name ornaments individually with green ribbon or twine. Pop in a piece of greenery for full effect.

You can also use our Bright Morning Star Garland as a gift wrap accent or His Advent Names work well, too!

For a hostess gift, or little special extra, try lacing on the Bright Morning Star Tree Topper to the top of a larger gift!

I’m still loving the handpainted Advent Globes we debuted last year and shimmery star garland. Here’s a closeup. See how pretty an artificial tree can be?

But don’t confine your ornaments to only hanging on the tree. We had this idea during our photo shoot, and I fully plan to prop His Eternal Names wooden stars on my mantle inside a classy gold frame. 

Here’s an idea from my friend who hung the silver glittered His Royal Names against a black painted buffet. The contrast is nice, and she added a reverent reminder of Christmas to another area in her home.

I added His Name Among the Nations to a fallen backyard branch, with our Star Garland again (see how many places you can use it?). You can add it to a mantle or bookshelf!

One of my favorite spots in our home is our screened in back porch. It can be cold during the Christmas season, but some nights Dennis will build a fire and we’ll drink a cup of coffee under blankets out back listening to the stillness of God’s creation. I love to bring holiday beauty to this space, too. I have a small tree out there that I reserve for His Christmas names. I carry the theme through by framing several of the same ornaments for the mantle. The mixing of textures with the shiny gold ornaments against the white crackled rock with the pop of red brick feels like the perfect illustration of our precious baby Savior’s arrival on this earth, destined for the red blood of the cross.

I hope that these pictures throughout my home have inspired you to grab some meaningful pieces and ready your home for holiday worship of the one who came that first Christmas morning. If you’d like to check out our Holiday Catalog to get any of these on their way to you in time for tree trimming, you can view it here.