Christmas decorating
in a downsized space
Christmas is my favorite holiday! I love it all, the decorations, the lights, the food, and the traditions. Every year I have gone all out with decorating and in my last house topped out at 7 trees! Ridiculous right? So in my new downsized space, I was faced with a challenge. What I discovered is with a little creativity, I can bring the merriment of Christmas into even the tiniest of corners!
What's your decorating style?
The first thing I discovered is that in a small space you only have room for one decorating style and your colors need to be consistent. My style has always been “whimsical”. Something about Christmas brings out my inner child and my collection of Santas only backs that up. Even my Christmas village has a whimsical feel. The Christmas decorations tell stories and remind me of different memories. My colors are classic red and green, but otherwise I have no rules! Click below to discover your style.
The Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is the center of Christmas decorating and this year I only have ONE! That means every ornament hung has purpose. Each year since Garret and I were married, I have purchased a hand painted glass globe ornament with the year on it. Those go on first. After that I fill in with my Santa collection and ornaments from every trip we take. I love unpacking them and remembering all the stories. This year I incorporated a couple of the frame ornaments from my “scrapbook tree” that no longer exists. Surprisingly losing 6 trees has not really been that big of a deal!
What happened to all the other trees?
Losing 6 trees sounds like a lot, so I thought it would be fun to revisit the trees from Christmas past.
- Tree # 1- The Main Tree- that is the one that still exists but has had a major overhaul on which decorations made the cut.
- Tree # 2- The Top of the Stairs Tree- this one was easy to get rid of. It’s purpose was to tie in the stair garland and really only had fluff decorations.
- Tree # 3- The Scrapbook Tree- this one was a little more tough. It stood in my kitchen and had framed ornaments of the boys from every year. I kept my favorites and incorporated them into my main tree this year.
- Tree # 4 & 5- The Boy’s Trees- each year they received an ornament representing that time from lacrosse to graduation. The trees are gone but the ornaments and their memories are packed away and ready to be passed on as soon as they have their own homes.
- Tree # 6- The Playroom Tree- another tree that represented a different chapter in our lives and was mostly just for decoration.
- Tree # 7- The Bar Tree- this had it’s place in the basement and although I have kept the ornaments and the fun wine cork garland, there just isn’t enough room in our new home. Maybe next year it will come back as a mini tree.
The Christmas Greenery
Layer two after the tree is the greenery. I incorporate this everywhere. Sometimes its a miniature tree or just branches tucked in around all my Santas layered with ornaments. It ties everything together and if lights can go on it, they do! Using small wood boxes or trays is a fun way to display them without them looking like you just threw them down. My big challenge this year was losing my fireplace mantle. I incorporated my garland with lights across a hutch instead and hung those stockings on the stair rail. I guess Santa will have to come through the door this year!
Greenery I said goodbye to
The garland running down the stairs found a new home. That had to be almost 40 feet! I also said goodbye to the dining room chandelier décor. I do not miss the amount of time it took to hang those bulbs!
The Front door decorations
The front door has always been one of my favorite places to decorate. It’s what welcomes your guests and makes the first impression. This was easy this year because I just transitioned from fall to Christmas. The doormat changed but the layering rug stayed the same. The wreath was replaced. The lantern was filled with ornaments instead of pumpkins. The table now has a gnome on it instead of pumpkins and the big ceramic pumpkin is replaced by Santa’s boots. I did miss the lights in the garland over the door, but I was afraid that might be too much. Instead, I decorated an outdoor tree with lights and added lights in the lantern. I said goodbye to the 30 feet of outdoor garland and to the additional wreath I used to decorate the mailbox.
The kitchen decorations
The kitchen is the center of my main living area now, so although my counter space is sparse, it needed to have some Christmas cheer. The coffee station transitioned from fall to Christmas and my Santa plate was added. I also kept my island tray but added a gnome instead of a pumpkin and of course changed the candy to Santas! I finished with a garland across the top of my cabinets, but gone are the days of decorating the shelf above the range hood.
The Nutcrackers
I actually stayed awake at night fretting about where my collection of nutcrakers would find a home. In my last house Garret built temporary shelves that came off each stair and they looked amazing. He came to the rescue again and built a temporary shelf that fit into a niche in the wall. Now I get to see them even while I cook!
So as you can see, even in my downsized life, I have found a way to put Christmas in every corner! When it comes time to pack up, I will reassess if anything needs to be weeded out. Same rule as in my closet… if I buy something new, something old must go! Right now I am just going to enjoy all my twinkling lights surrounded by all my Santas and nutcrackers! Merry Christmas!