I don’t know why I always feel the urge to start these holiday house tour posts with a shouted declaration — but there it is. ‘Tis the season. Here’s how we dressed our home for Christmas this year. As mentioned on last week’s podcast, we continued our goal from last year to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want the house to feel festive, but without feeling crowded or overwhelming — and without a setup and takedown that takes forever. So the living room is mostly about the tree and the mantle this season.
sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table
Our tree is an artificial one we’ve had for more than five years. It has one of the most realistic branch profiles we’ve seen on a faux tree, but many of the original light strands finally burned out (they lasted a long time). After a failed repair attempt last year, we replaced most of the lights with warm-targeted LED strands from Target that match the tree’s original glow. We keep a few extra boxes of them on hand so future replacements have the same warm tone. The ornaments are an eclectic mix of sentimental and homemade pieces we’ve collected over the years. This year the kids had the most fun helping decorate — partly because they’re older now and we’re saying “be careful” and “don’t touch that” less frequently.
Christmas tree / similar rug / tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror
This year the fireplace is more subdued than usual, leaning into Sherry’s love of greenery. She used a faux magnolia garland across the mantle and added small ceramic white houses and battery-operated fairy lights to brighten the display. The result is a softer, calmer mantel that still feels festive without competing for attention with the tree.
faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror
We added subtle seasonal touches to the living room bookcases as well. Some of the figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and are small personal treasures she almost leaves out year-round. There’s also a holiday “terrarium” DIY piece we made a few years back, and a couple of pink wooden trees we picked up at a botanical garden gift shop — they add a playful, unexpected pop.
pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book
The kitchen is also kept simple. Under the floating shelves we’ve placed a wooden house advent calendar from the Magnolia collection. We debated how to use it — pulling blocks out, moving a ribbon, or flipping pieces — and ended up turning each house around to hide the numbers, then revealing one each day. It works and looks tidy on the shelf.
advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets
Sherry sprinkled a few ornaments and greenery around the kitchen and introduced a letterboard we’d been gifted — it’s been fun to play with seasonal phrases. The letterboard might eventually move to the beach house, but for now it’s entertaining us here.
letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar
The foyer keeps to a K.I.S.S. greenery theme (keep it simple). The white-on-white layering in that space already feels cozy, so a single evergreen branch and a white feather tree are all that was needed. This vignette is neutral enough to remain in place through the winter.
similar baskets / acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror
Sherry’s collection of colorful bottle brush trees found a home in the office this year. That room is already busy visually, so the cluster of small colorful trees fits right in and adds a cheerful vibe.
similar bottle brush trees / round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase
Upstairs we kept things minimal with a few small trees. My favorite is the little tree in the bonus room — it glows down the hall and is visible from the driveway at night. We actually boxed that whole setup together last year (tree, ornaments, cord) so it’s fast to set up.
similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / globe
We also have our daughter’s small artificial tree — a cheerful piece that Sherry likes to tuck inside a painted woven basket to hide the plastic base. It’s bright and child-friendly, and adds a bit of whimsy to her room.
similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo
New this year is our son’s own tree — a green tinsel tree he chose himself. We added a string of colored LED lights and some shatterproof ornaments and he was ecstatic. He even added his favorite knitted wreath ornament, which he fondly calls his “Christmas Donut.” It’s been delightful to let each child have a little tree of their own.
dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase
It might sound like we’re being Scrooge-y by cutting back, but our goal is to focus on the decorations that bring the most joy and let go of the ones that feel like busywork. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we emphasized trees and meaningful touches. Sherry’s favorite pun — “boots with the fir” — earned a pair of fir-filled boots on the porch, and she made a giant wreath with the girls that we’re pretty proud of.
similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in black pots / door color: BM Blue Lake
I also decorated my shed with colorful LED strands and roof clips so it feels festive without needing work on the real roof. The kids are into rainbow lights this year, so the shed was the perfect place to add some color distinct from the white lights in the front yard.
Next year’s main project is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t expect to use it much this season, but I’ll be hunting for a good post-Christmas deal to bring one home for next year — maybe even an extra-tall tree for those 9′ ceilings.
To finish, Sherry put together a “Get The Look” mood board with comparable items and a few of the exact pieces we used when possible. Many of our decorations are older, so the board is meant to capture the overall feel and provide similar options.
Happy holidays everyone!
Psst — Want more holiday ideas? Check our archive of holiday and entertaining posts for inspiration.
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