If we’re driving around at night and spot a house or yard covered in Christmas lights, there’s one guarantee: a tiny two-year-old voice from the back seat will shout, “It’s Christmastime!” It’s hilarious every single time—sometimes it happens fifteen times in a minute—and we still cheer and laugh. Christmas is officially here. I usually resist pulling out decorations for a little while, but when the decorating bug hits, I absolutely cannot wait. This year the house went from “holding out” to “so ridiculously festive” in just a few days. And I’m like, “It’s CHRISTMASTIME!”
Here’s a little holiday house tour to show what it looks like around here. First up: the living room tree, which is lovely to watch from the kitchen now that we opened up and renovated that space.
That view through our new kitchen into the living room still amazes me. It’s wild to think a big wall and wet bar used to block all of that openness.
Sometimes I sit at the island and just beam at the tree like a goon. #Imacoolmom
Our tree these days is a joyful mix: popsicle-stick reindeer and bells made of paper from school sit alongside ceramic hamburgers, handed-down childhood ornaments, chihuahuas, initials, tiny red bikes, and a few grown-up homemade creations from our first house. The result is imperfect and personal, and I love it.
We have homemade silhouette ornaments with the kids’ initials and tiny hand-print ornaments I traced when they were small enough to fit on a round ornament. Those sentimental touches are some of my favorites.
Nearby, a thrifted birdcage by the fireplace holds a stack of old fake presents that used to sit on the mantel. No real reason for the jail sentence other than it makes us laugh. Our stocking setup is the same as last year: one stocking per child (and Burger gets a big gift bag full of treats). I also repurposed some decorative elephant strands into ornaments, cutting them down to suit our decorations.
When the tree claims that corner of the living room, the armchair simply shifts in front of the built-ins. It makes a cozy nook for flipping through a book, and while I’ve been tempted to add a second chair, I’ve stayed lazy and kept just the one—less moving around when the tree goes up.
The built-ins are now home to my Christmas miniatures: glass boxes filled with faux snow, tiny ceramic dogs and trees, and small angel, Santa, and Mrs. Claus figurines from my childhood that my mom gave me this year. Because they’re fragile, placing them up on the shelves keeps them safe and still lets us enjoy them.
I added a little holiday cheer to the kitchen shelves with small white ceramic houses and ornaments in a bowl and under a cloche. A framed print of the tree—just a page I tore from a magazine—sits on the shelf and feels festive without being over the top.
Near the stove I placed a couple of wooden trees and a red bottle brush tree—because I apparently never have enough feather and bottle brush trees. A bowl of ornaments here and there is practically my signature move. I also dug out green cloth napkins because, why not?
In the foyer I kept things simple: a favorite white feather tree and red rubber boots filled with faux evergreen sprigs. Last year those boots were on the porch and I missed seeing them when we came in through the garage, so they’re inside this year. I still giggle every time I see them—“BOOTS WITH THE FIR!”—and I suspect our son gets his spontaneous shouts from me.
Paper flowers from a local craft fair sit in a vase on the console. They’ll never need water and have survived curiosity so far—which feels like a small holiday miracle.
We draped faux greenery down the stair railing, which always requires a little muscle (and some cable ties under the ribbons) but looks so festive once it’s in place.
Our daughter has her own small tree in her room, tucked into a hand-painted basket instead of a metal stand. She helped pick out some felt ornaments for it, and it’s so cute glowing in her corner.
We added a mini tree to the bonus room this year, and it’s one of my favorite additions. It sits in front of a window between our homemade shelves and glows down the hall so you see it as soon as you reach the top of the stairs. Because the driveway and garage are below that window, we can see the glow from outside too.
The bonus-room tree is filled with ornaments the kids picked and a few special finds. Watching them pretend to sip from a felt hot-chocolate ornament is delightfully adorable.
Outside, we keep things simple and warm. I love red lanterns filled with lights on the steps for a little extra glow. We also hung Moravian star lights on the back porch—one of my favorite outdoor touches because they feel both special and classic. They plug in easily and hang with a few cup hooks, so setup is quick.
All told, we’re 100% done decorating and about 110% excited—Will Ferrell–in–Elf level excited. IT’S CHRISTMASTIME!!!
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