Can you believe we have less than two weeks until Christmas? This time of year is always full of beautiful things; And in honor of that, I’ve teamed up with some amazing fellow bloggers. We’re inviting you into our homes to share our Christmas decor and hopefully give some inspiration!  At the end of this post, I’ve linked to everyone’s posts so you can ‘hop’ on over and check out their homes. We hope you have fun!

Want to see how I have decorated our home for Christmas this year? I’m excited to share!

First, a bit of a disclaimer: We are living in a rental home as we prepare to build Arrow Hill Cottage. Though our rental is a pretty good fit for our family, it is difficult for this design oriented lady to accept some of the finishes. Yes, we have painted paneling. Yes, we have popcorn ceilings. No, the furniture isn’t optimally positioned. No, we can not remove walls. Ha Ha!

I worked with what I had. This is our family’s moment in time. Christmas 2017  – in the rental house.

We have five young children. They range in age from four to eleven. Old enough to understand the true meaning of Christmas, and young enough to still be excited about festive decorations and wrapped presents under the tree.

This is our daughter {K}’s first Christmas home (you can read about her adoption journey here). I really wanted her first experience of Christmas to be one of happiness, anticipation, and fun – and full of family togetherness. As such, I was sure to include the kids in the decorating festivities. I chose to keep the bulk of the decorating in the main living space, which you will see today.

I started with an amazing feed/flour sack that I found at a local antique store. Isn’t this just the most perfect fabric for the season? The bright colors and bold, fun patterns on this fabric were just right for what I was trying to achieve. I turned that one feed sack into two amazing throw pillow covers, complete with wooden buttons.

I layered in more texture on the furniture with cozy throw blankets, home made sweater pillows and a sweet DIY fleece knot pillow. Be looking for a tutorial on that coming soon!

I scored some comfy club chairs + ottomans recently for an absolute steal of a price. The bad news is that they will need to be reupholstered with something a bit less boisterous. The good news is that the fabric is red and I was able to blend it into the Christmas decor. Ha!

We don’t have a beautiful fireplace or mantle here. I chose instead to decorate our entertainment center. I covered the electronics, besides our massive TV, with burlap linen. I then put together a super colorful rag garland and draped it in front. For this craft, our boys got in on the action of ripping fabric and pretending they were the Incredible Hulk. Ha!

Perched on top of the cabinet are my Willow Tree figurines. I love the simple sentiment of this Nativity display.

Another simple garland that I created includes DIY pom poms. I had never made them before; but found this well written tutorial that showed me step by step how easy they are to create! The kids joined in the fun of creating these fluffy ‘snowballs’.

Our Christmas tree is the ultimate of hand-me-downs. Though I love the look (and smell) of a freshly cut evergreen, it is special to me that the tree which now sits in our living room is the same that my Christmas presents were placed under as a child. That’s right. This tree is as old as I am! I’d say she has aged pretty well!

The ornament and light positions were decided by the kids. I had thought of maybe moving them around to balance things a bit, but decided to embrace the quirkiness. They are so proud of their masterpiece.

I love taking photos of day to day life – sometimes though, those pictures tend to be stuffed into yet another computer file. Lately, I have been putting forth more of an effort to showcase the pictures I take. In fact, I started a YouTube channel just for that purpose! Our weekly photo vlogs have been so fun to create. At the end of the year, we plan to sit down with a big batch of popcorn and watch them together.

I decided to take one photo from each month and showcase them as part of the Christmas decor. A bit of a yearly time capsule. Each black and white photo is accented by a Popsicle stick frame. The kids helped to paint the sticks a whimsical shade of green and I assembled them.

It is a treat to be able to glance at the tree and be instantly transported back to that moment in time. We really have been through a lot this year! From traveling to China in April, as part of {K}’s adoption trip, to Craig’s knee surgery in August. What a year!

I’m not sure how I did it – but I somehow have managed to finish this year’s Christmas shopping already! I have wrapped the gifts in patterned paper that matches the colors in the rest of the room.

A little red birdie lives on top of the piano – nestled near a small painted wood sign of one of my favorite Bible passages, Psalm 127. I purchased the sign during a friend’s adoption fundraiser. It is a very special piece.

The red and green color scheme continues on the piano top, where a trio of ‘mini trees’ reside. This was another DIY project. The containers were covered in fabric and the trees were made out of a wired garland I had laying around.

Other whimsical items are spread throughout the room. This gallery of vintage frames adorned with fabric, pom poms and a pine cone was a favorite when I first put it up.

There’s that amazing fabric inspiration again. I was sure to use every last scrap. I love it so much!

I threw in a few more vintage finds for good measure.

I hope that you will gain a bit of inspiration from the decor our family is enjoying on these cold wintry days. I invite you now to visit these other amazing blogs to be further inspired!

HOLIDAY HOME TOUR

Bless Mama

Slice of Style

Babb Farm Life