Nothing makes a house feel more like home than a touch of holiday coziness—especially when it’s a place we’ve only lived in for six months. Alongside decorating the front of the house and setting up our tree, we always like to walk through the rest of the home and add festive touches. This year felt extra special because it’s our first Christmas in this house, which gave me new spaces to decorate: a different fireplace mantel and, for the first time in seven years of home-ownership, a staircase to dress up.
Most of the decorations were things we already owned, but for the stairs I ran to JoAnn and picked up some faux garland and an evergreen sprig for a green HomeGoods jug. With a 50% off sale on Christmas items, both pieces were about $14 total. To secure the garland to the railing I reused red ribbon from last year (I save most ribbons from gifts to reuse), tying one loop at the top, one at the bottom and one in the middle. I also tucked a clear zip tie under the top ribbon so everything stays put.
The bench in the foyer is a HomeGoods find that will eventually go at the foot of our bed once I reupholster it, so for now I draped a furry blanket over it and placed it by the stairs. The whole garland-and-bench setup was inspired by a photo from Country Living that a few people sent me—funny enough, someone even pointed out that the blue trim in the photo matched our home. That little idea sparked this cozy holiday vignette. But the first thing to arrive in the foyer and the runaway favorite is The Christmas Moose.
We found him at HomeGoods back in September for $9—oddly, it was John’s idea to bring him home. He immediately named him Morris the Moose and declared that Morris should hang with us every Christmas to fulfill his destiny as The Christmas Moose. Sold.
Morris is now Clara’s favorite holiday decor item. Since we couldn’t bring a live seal for the roof, at least there’s a silver moose in the foyer. I didn’t need to put new holes in the wall to hang him—he’s on the same screw that usually holds an Ikea frame, so swapping the picture for a moose each December is effortless. I finished him off with leftover ribbon, some pom-pom fringe and a few pink ornaments around his neck.
The living room mantel holds many of our long-time favorites. Green feather trees (hand-me-downs originally from Target) look cheerful on the ledge alongside a few faux wrapped presents. I love those fake presents because they always look perfectly wrapped without any effort—my wrapping productivity is still laughably low, but the mantel looks ready for company. Our stockings are currently labeled “Mommy & Daddy,” “Clara,” and “Burger.” Next year, when the new baby arrives, we’re planning to hang five stockings so everyone has their own.
One of my favorite quirky details is a cardboard Burger—a reader made him and gave him to us during a book tour signing—and he’s always posted up holding a present. It makes me smile every time.
Some readers asked where our outdoor star pendants would go in the new house. We finally hung them in the corner of the sunroom-turned-veranda so we can see them twinkle from the living room sofa every evening.
The foyer console got a casual festive update with leftover ribbons and a sentimental handmade reindeer made by John’s grandpa. I keep little letterpress “love” blocks out all year, but adding a pink ribbon and two tiny ornaments makes them feel cheerful for the season. The wooden reindeer is special to us and we love seeing him perched on his ribbon pile whenever we head downstairs.
In the office, our leaning chalkboard got a holiday note—Clara asked me to draw birds and snow, and she still wants to add a snowman at the bottom. These little collaborative touches are her favorite: she loves chalking bunnies and other small drawings around the house, which is now officially part of our holiday decor plan.
Clara and I also made a delightfully messy holiday craft: two glass boxes filled with faux snow, tiny trees and miniature ceramic dogs. It was hilariously messy and completely worth it. For the project I picked up a couple of glass boxes from TJ Maxx (about $8 each), a bag of fake snow, a two-pack of little trees and a package of tiny ceramic dogs from Michaels—the kind people use for holiday village displays.
We filled each box with a mound of snow, added a tree and a couple of tiny dogs, and now they sit on the media cabinet in the living room. Clara often stands a couple of inches away just staring at them and has even given names to a few: Elmo is on the right and the one in the top hat is Gru. The handheld vacuum rescued the floor and table from the glittery aftermath, so the craft chaos was fully contained.
All these little additions—stockings, ribbons, a silver moose and handmade touches—have made the house feel cozier and more festive. Decorating the stairs has been especially fun; I find myself walking by every ten minutes just to grin at the garland. How are you decorating inside this year? Anyone else obsessed with dressing up their railings?
P.S. If you’re still in the holiday spirit, I’ve gathered lots of other seasonal posts and ideas from previous years for inspiration.
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Update: I’ve also rounded up our favorite holiday decor finds—many are under $15 and make quick, cheerful additions to any room.