Christmas 2011: Our Tree

Merry Christmas Eve!  I can’t believe the big day is almost here.  Presents are wrapped, dessert is baked, but I haven’t yet shared this year’s Christmas tree.  You can check out part 1, my vintage inspired faux Christmas tree, and part 2 my holiday living and dining rooms, but I’ve finally taken some photos of this year’s big tree and family room to share.  Here she is!

This year, I chose to put the tree to the left of our fireplace so it’s right between our kitchen and family room.

Keeping to my vintage inspired theme this year, the tree is decked out with ornaments from Christmas of yore.  This year, I brought over a lot of ornaments from my childhood since my parents no longer put up a large tree like they did when we were kids.  So I added a lot of wonderful and sentimental ornaments, like this fabric owl ornament:

This year we also have some vintage ornaments that were passed down to Rob which were originally from his great-grandmother.

I think the old family ornaments are so special and make our tree more meaningful.  In addition to all of the real vintage ornaments, I sprinkled some vintage looking glass ones and glittery baubles.

For an added vintage feel, I added tinsel to the tree this year.  We used to have tinsel on our tree when I was a kid so I really like the added touch of sparkle.

Over on the mantle, I used a tinsel garland for the vintage feel and decorated with some mini light up trees and a few more of those glittery ornaments that I love so much.

On a nearby side table, I set up a little Christmas village, another thing that I loved as a kid. 

 

Our staircase ties matches the mantle as it’s decorated with even more glittery ornaments (can you tell how much I like them). 

I also added some colorful garland that I used on the mantle as well.  I think it ties everything together nicely.

And of course, my colorful glittery ornaments are a must for this year. 

I’m so happy I went with a more colorful look for this year, but most of all I’m excited I was able to decorate with a  lot of vintage ornaments from both of our families.  Did you have a theme for your tree this year?  Are you feeling more colorful this year too?

Simple Christmas Card Tips

I’m about to head out to wrap up my Christmas shopping (yes, I am usually one of those last minute Christmas Eve shoppers), but I wanted to pop by here first to share a quick tip for sending holiday cards.  Although these tips are really simple, they have helped me keep my Christmas card sending organized from year to year, which is always a relief given how busy this time of year gets.

First, I buy boxed holiday cards each year and usually there are a few left over in the pack.  The leftover cards typically don’t end up being used because the following year I can’t remember who already received one of these cards and I don’t want to risk sending the same card to someone two years in a row.  So now, as soon as I write a card I jot down the recipient's name and place the note in my box of cards.  Next year, I’ll be able to see who received one of these cards already.  This is also a good way to remember who I send cards to each year so I don’t accidently leave anyone out. 



My other tip is also quite simple, but it’s something helpful that I don’t always remember to do.  Whenever I get a card in the mail, I tear out the sender’s address to compare or add to my address book.  As holiday cards come in the mail, I save all of the address clippings on my refrigerator and then make sure they are entered correctly in my address book when I sit down to send out my cards.  I still like keep tracking of everyone’s addresses in a book rather than online or on the computer and this is just a helpful reminder to make sure I have everyone’s most up-to-date addresses.



So there you go, those are my quick holiday card tips that are quite simple, but can save me a headache.  Do you have any quick tips for keeping things straight during the holidays?

Christmas 2011: Living Room & Dining Room

I’ve finally snapped some more photos of my Christmas decorations this year.  This year, I was inspired to have more colorful holiday decorations with a bit of a vintage inspired look.  Earlier this week, I shared my living room Christmas tree:
I loved the glitterly ornaments from this tree so much that I used them in a few other places as well.  My living room coffee table centerpieces has candles on a red charger along with a few red sparkly ornaments.  Simple, but pretty! 


The real vintage touch in this room are these Santa toys from my husband’s family.  I’m not sure what year these are from, but they’ve been around for several decades and I think have such a fun and distinct look.


Over in the dining room, I went a bit more traditional with the décor, but still tried to keep things colorful.  My dining room table centerpiece has a few Christmas cone trees along with some crystal candle holders. 



Instead of candles, I popped some more of the glittery ornaments into the candleholders.  I think it’s a fun look and ties together nicely with the Christmas tree in the adjoining room.



I also strung some garland along the chandelier to add to the festive look.



Here’s a shot of the entire table setting:



I also used ornaments instead of candles in some Winterberry painted glass candle holders that are displayed on a nearby ledge.



I think the glittery baubles add a fun touch and tie everything together nicely. 

So that’s what’s happening in our living room and dining room these days.  I’ll be sharing our family room and main Christmas tree hopefully tomorrow.  What do you think of my look for this year?  Have you changed up your décor for this year?

I am linking up this post at House of Hepworths.