A Prelude to Christmas

It's not too early to prepare for the Christmas season. And for me and you, here at Nesting Place, that means prepare your home and any Christmas decor. Every year I try to mix up my decor just a little so it feels fresh and new and fun. Here are my guidelines:

Last year I had a feather boa, feathers, a birdcage, an urn and beautiful wings that broke off an angel.

Use what you have.

Trust me, I bet you have some fantastic items around your house that can be used to decorate your home. Shop the house and don't just look for the traditional red and green decorations. Maybe that means getting out some old keepsakes that you love. I've hung everything from letter initials, my grandfather's baby booties, silver spoons, nests, framed photos, my boys baseballs, shells, bird houses... on my tree. You can tie a red ribbon around just about anything and it suddenly becomes a Christmas Decoration! And hey, if purple is your favorite color, you can make purple Christmasy too. Add in in some silver and white bows and greenery and you'll have a very regal Christmas.

Neutral, sparkly, silver, whites, creams, and natural stuff all worked together.

Aim for a Cohesive Look.

Even though your decorations may vary from delicate glass ornaments to the paper and Popsicle stick creations your children make, you can pull it all together. Some people are gifted at putting everything they have together in one room and making it work. For me, I try to group like things together in certain rooms or areas of my home.

I'm putting all my white, fur and neutral items in our front little sitting room. The traditional Christmas ornaments and red and green will be in our family room, and the boys like to have all of their hand made ornaments and brightly colored stuff on the little tree in the playroom. If I had a collection of angels I would group them all together and if I had a snow machine, that would go in my back yard.

Out with the old in with the New.

Every year I get rid of a few things that I'm done with. And every year, I budget a little money for a few new items. They don't have to cost much. Sometimes it may be a little ornament that catches my eye {one year it was a clip on bird} sometimes it's an antique white Christmas Tree that I found at a yard sale for $5. Tomorrow, I'll show you a few other items I've added to my ever changing Christmas arsenal.


Last year's fur wreath layered on my painted blue shutters hung with Christmas ribbon. And I put a little hot glue on the back of the starfish. He should pick right off at the end of the season. There's no red, and no green in my front room but it's looking quite festive. I'll show you more soon.

As you go through your Christmas decor--get rid of anything you haven't used in a few years. Group like things together. And see if you can incorporate something that is decidedly NOT Christmasy into your decor and make it work. It just might be your favorite Christmas Decoration.

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In Other News:

It's Design Dazzle's one year anniversary and they've got GIVEAWAYS {2 $500 prize packs today} and all sorts of fun stuff going on all week!

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My dear friend, Kimba has a new ebook out today: A Very Kimba Christmas. It's got 5 easy projects that you can do without a huge commitment. She says it's the next best thing to having her come make your Christmas decor for you. I've had a chance to look at it and it's so well put together, funny and easy to follow. You will be inspired. And, it's only $8!