Decorating the Home for Noel

Is there anything more magical than the holiday season? The cozy fire and festive atmosphere are just the sort of thing that will lift your spirits and remind you that there is happiness and light in this world. 

I wish I could just bottle up all the love and magic from this season so that I could experience it all year long. It doesn’t matter if I’m standing at a Christmas market on the Champs-Elysées or simply cozied up on the sofa here at home, Christmas feels special no matter where I am.

There’s no doubt that much of the Christmas magic comes in the form of glimmering lights and holiday decor.  That’s why I make a point of adding holiday touches to my home here and there. Nothing makes the home feel more inviting than a beautiful tree and strands of warm, glowing lights.

Last year, I partnered with Balsam Hill and received their gorgeous 7.5-foot blue spruce tree and royal celebration ornaments. This year I used the same tree and some of the ornaments from that collection to create an equally festive, yet slightly different themed Christmas tree.

I wanted to go a more traditional route this year with lots of red and gold, including touches of plaid. One easy addition were the classic, plaid bows I picked up from Michaels. I used two packages of bows to decorate my tree.

The gold ribbon is also from Michael’s and measures 4″ wide (I used 2 rolls for the entire tree).

The Royal Celebration collection from Balsam Hill came with red, gold, and purple ornaments. I used both the red and gold but skipped the purple ornaments this year.

Other ornaments on the tree are simply a collection of pieces I’ve gathered over the years from various sources. One of the newer ornaments I added to my collection this year was this shih tzu ornament, gifted to me by my dog’s groomer. Looks just like my little Bentley!

I’ve linked to some other ornaments I love below for those of you interested in the French-inspired ones.

I carried on the plaid throughout the house with little touches here and there. One find I was really excited about were these plaid coasters I found at Target in the dollar bin. They’re perfect for the holiday season and the theme I was going for this year.

I changed my pillow covers from the fall rust colored ones to red velvet covers and this pretty deer pattern. Both of them were ordered on Amazon, each coming out to less than $10.

One easy swap I did to decorate for the holiday season was remove my fall floral stems (a mix of orange peonies and pumpkins) and replaced them with green winter stems.

I kept the faux acorn vase fillers and simply fitted the vases with the new stems. The stems and fillers were all found at Michaels.

I always keep little containers around the house with candy too, so I just added some red and green M&Ms to my Eiffel Tower glass and made a holiday popcorn mix for my popcorn bowl. The Eiffel Tower glass is from Z Gallerie and the popcorn bowl is from Crate and Barrel.

The mix inside is simply a combination of caramel pecan corn (from the Target “Wondershop”), green and red peanut M&Ms, and mini unwrapped Kit-Kats.

I added some festivity to the kitchen by adding a garland to the counter and added some decorative pieces like a woodland deer with a plaid scarf and a Nordic patterned cookie jar (with these cookies inside).

The garland and deer were from Michael’s and the cookie jar was from Home Goods.

I also busted out my holiday cookie book and displayed that on my cookbook stand. I love using the book for inspiration and ideas for holiday baking.

And speaking of baking, I’ll highlight that I also set out my copper holiday cookie cutters. I found the tin of cookie cutters at Home Goods and love the variety of shapes. Plus, the smaller size of the cutters were appealing to me as I prefer my cookies to be on the petite side.

Another simple substitution I did (which I do not just for Christmas but any season) was switch out my kitchen towels. I hung up these adorable Christmas towels from the Threshold line at Target. The one with Santa Claus also has Mrs. Claus on the back!

Perhaps my favorite decorative addition this year is this Christmas village from Bed Bath and Beyond. Here’s a similar one on Amazon.

The village is battery-operated and lights up with skaters who actually move and skate over the ice along with playing some Christmas carols should you desire a musical effect too.

I find that in the evening, my favorite thing to do is come home and kick up my feet in front of the lit up Christmas tree with a good holiday movie. Nothing makes me feel more relaxed and cheerful than seeing all the cozy holiday touches around the home and the lovely warmth cast from the glimmering lights.