We decided to keep things fairly simple this year. With all the packing and unpacking we've done these past few months, we didn't feel like unpacking and repacking every single piece of Christmas decor! Even though I've purged out a BUNCH of Christmas decor, we still have a LOT, and funny thing....I still keep adding to it every year!
I'm so thankful for a mantle on the fireplace. I would have missed not decorating a mantle this year. We decided that the Nativity scene fit perfectly right under the Magnolia Cathedral Window with my DIY wreath on it, and off to the side I have some angels of various kinds. (Including the 2 beautiful ladies in the photos - both of our Mom's have gone from this world and into Heaven, where they are rejoicing and praising God along with the heavenly host!)
Here's a link for the Free Printable "O Holy Night" banner.
In front of the fireplace I displayed my German sled with some fresh cut branches from the tree in the backyard. On top of that the burlap bow from last year's Christmas tree joins an adorable log cabin birdhouse. I made the Christmas Trees sign a couple of years ago, and I'm still in love with it.
This lantern was on clearance a couple of years ago at Target, and this year I decided to try a "Little Red Truck" display. Isn't it cute?
The ledge on the side of the fireplace holds our two Thomas Kinkade prints paired with a church and 2 log cabin "smokers" (we got them all when we lived in Germany). When you burn incense inside of them, the smoke comes out the chimneys!
In the kitchen and dining area, I took frames and covered them with Dollar Tree gift bags! Simple, easy and inexpensive DIY for the season that's easily put back to normal later on.
For a simple table centerpiece, I flipped over a wooden tray, and made this little Christmas Tree Lot snow scene featuring Ed's little Red and Green trucks. We like to display the trucks year round, and now they get to take center stage! This is probably my favorite thing for this year.
Continuing the Little Red Truck theme, this little display sits atop the video cabinet in the living room:
Our 7 year old granddaughter visited us last week because she had Fall Break from school. She loves how I set up the Christmas Village in the china cabinet! Papa lifted her up to see the top shelf of buildings.
Here is the final version of the tree! I had originally put a matching burlap ribbon bow on the top, but I changed my mind after I made this Burlap & Twine star, using supplies from the Dollar Tree and Walmart. Cost: just $5
The Burlap and Twine Star Christmas tree topper was an easy project and I'm adding a photo tutorial to my YouTube channel, so please look for that here.
Easy DIY twig stars use jute twine in keeping with the theme!
Another cute and easy DIY project was this Jingle Bell Garland. It's SO simple, you won't need a tutorial! Just get thin twine, large and small jingle bells, and hot glue. I strung the large bells on, and hot glued the smaller bells in between the large bells. That was it! You can use it on your tree, or as a garland on your fireplace. Cost was just $4 because I had the twine and hot glue on hand.
(I also made a garland using mini pinecones for my daughter's tree. Just twine, hot glue and mini pinecones!)
This is the project below that started it all for me this year: I found this plant stake at Walmart, but it was just brass color all over. I grabbed my paint stash and gave it more life!
So, that's most of my decor for this year! We kept things simple and stress-free, and now we are ready for the Holiday Season!
Wishing you many blessings during the coming Holy Season: Time with family & friends; time to relax and rest; and time for celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
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