#MamaChristmas | Christmas Decorating
Last year I wrote a post about decorating my house at Christmas, but looking back at it I can’t believe how basic it was, considering the fact that our house turns into an ultimate Christmas grotto every year.
This year during a conversation with some online friends who couldn’t believe how much I do, I decided to go again! This post is for them (and the rest of you!) to show the true extent of my slightly insane and totally awesome decorating at Christmas time.
N.B. To make it easier I have split the decorations up by room, and some of the photos are looped into automatic slideshows; be sure to have a watch through or you might miss something!
The Living Room
Our living room may not be the biggest you have ever seen, but it is still the heart of our home. Complete with our (rather large) flat screen TV, fire place and kid’s toy corner it is where we tend to spend most of our time, so it has to look good at Christmas.
We have plenty of places in the living room that can be decorated and not a surface remains untouched when it comes to our December decorating from door stops to ceiling decorations. This year we have done more than ever before, including decorations over decorations (like the tinsel over our light up Christmas cottage scene) and even king size Christmas throws over our sofas to add to the Christmas cheer. We have the light up and singing mountain scene I bought for John last year sitting in one corner; and who can miss my favourite extendable leg Santa and snowman which I have wanted for years sitting either side of our electric fire.
I have even bought coasters, tissue box covers and cushion covers this year (all at bargain prices of course!) Instead of buying new cushions for the sofas as I already use some during the course of the year, I bought a selection of covers for them including four silver snowflake cushion covers, one large red and white snowflake cushion cover for ‘my’ sofa and a reindeer cushion cover for the middle of ‘John’s’ sofa. My favourite ones though have to be the amazing star shape reindeer and Santa cushions I bought from eBay. They also do a snowman version which I haven't yet bought; but that is not to say I won't next year!
Our Christmas Tree
Our tree is the one thing I would love to be perfect but is always likely to be a perfectly imperfect as Squidgy "helps" me decorate it. We used to have a blue, silver and white tree; but since having handmade decorations from our daughter hanging on it we do a rainbow one instead. I love all the special decorations we have, from the glass angel bauble for our angel babies; to the beautiful finger print tree Squidgy made for her daddy last year.
We finish off the tree with a star every year, which for the past few years has been the job that Squidgy does with her daddy. She loves it and it tends to be the sign that our decorating is finished!
My latest addition to our tree is my musical Christmas express train which runs around the bottom. I had to fold our handmade Christmas tree skirt in to be able to put the track down but it was so worth it. I've been trying to convince John that we need one since we put our first Christmas tree up eight years ago and finally we found one that was a price he was happy with. Not that it matters as I treated myself to it anyway!
Our Kitchen
Our kitchen has to be the second most used room in our home, especially at Christmas time when I tend to get a whole lot of baking and Christmas cooking in for the parties we host and other Christmas events.
My kitchen is full of bargains, including:
Spending less than £3 on Christmas tea spoons on eBay
60p per glass for our six new Christmas hiball glasses in Asda
68p for our new Santa sugar pot in Quality Discounts
99p for our snowflake napkin holder in The Range
Of course you know that it doesn’t stop there. I have hanging decorations on every spare bit of wall; mugs, plates, bowls and an awesome snowman card holder; my Gingersnap light box has Merry Christmas written on it, and even my wine bottle (yes that wine is mine...) has a Christmas jumper to sit alongside our Mr & Mrs Christmas wine glasses.
I found a reindeer candy jar on eBay that we are using to hold tea bags, I have a flashing rope light strung around the tops of my cupboards and even bought a Snowman handwash from Amazon which smells like vanilla. You can’t have a Christmas kitchen without oven gloves, tea towels and hand towels to boot, and the window and window sill include a foil star, my poinsettia, and our multicoloured snowflake light and multicoloured star light. I certainly will never so things by halves! To be fair I even have a Christmas apron which I wear whilst doing all my baking (especially if Squidgy is involved!) and a Christmas Yankee candle for times that the Christmas baking isn’t making my house smell amazing.
The Hallway
Our house is split into two parts, as at some point the previous owners added on an extension. That means we have a hallway that joins our kitchen to the dining room in the new part of the house.
As you can see, even the light bulb is Christmas... It projects Christmas shapes onto the floor and walls and provides endless entertainment for my girls. More lights including our new snowman LED rope light (a bargain at just £7.99) and the gorgeous handmade advent calendars adorn the wall, along with some cute hanging decorations and of course we can’t forget the snowman door stop!
Our Dining Room
Our dining room has a dual purpose, especially at this time of year when we have friends and family come to visit and stay. We use the room as a dining room (obvs) but also have a fold out sofa bed which can be used when we have guests.
This year I bought John the Church book light up and singing Christmas decoration he asked for last year (better late than never right?) and he treated himself to the reindeer lantern that sings and creates a snowstorm but they are not the only lights and decorations we have (I know, shock right?) as we have everything from a miniature Christmas tree to candle holders (bought in Poundland but you would never know!)
The girls’ favourite thing about heading down to “the other end” as Squidgy calls it, is the fact that we have a light projector that spins Christmas coloured lights around the room. Pop on some music and it will keep them both occupied and out of my hair for ages! My favourite is the fact that when we throw our annual Christmas eve party and of course have Christmas dinner on the day itself, I have the most amazing selection of platters and serving dishes in every Christmas shape you can think of. Even my serving spoons, salt and pepper shakers, place mats and coasters have some kind of Christmas theme on them.
W/Cs and Bathroom
In case you have yet to realise this, no part of my home is left untouched when it comes to decorating at Christmas, and that includes our toilets and bathroom.
Our downstairs loo features another Christmas handwash, this one is slightly different to the kitchen though as it is shaped like Santa and smells of peppermint. With everything including bathmats, toilet covers, pedestal mats from Matalan, shower curtains bought on Amazon and Primark’s gorgeous Christmas handtowels included it is a surprise I haven’t gone as far as Christmas loo roll. There’s no excuse really though as these nine Renova rolls are just a fiver on Amazon. Maybe I should order them on Prime to arrive tomorrow!
Our Bedroom
Our bedroom is probably the least Christmas-y room in the house. The only thing I have in there is our bed linen (I have two sets so when one is in the wash it is still Christmas themed!) and of course our Christmas clothing along with piles of presents, cards, wrapping paper and tags ready for wrapping. Most of that is gone now though as they have travelled to the various homes of family and friends. So little time is spent in there once we are dressed and no guests or children go in there... It seems kind of pointless to decorate it!
Our Girl's Bedroom
Being the girls’ room it has to be Christmas-y as they both love it as much as me! They have bed linen, cushions, soft toys, tinsel and even wall stickers to boot.
Other Areas
Stairwell
Our stairs have got tinsel, lights and even a free standing reindeer finished off with a reed diffuser Christmas tree inside the window alcove at the bottom. I can't help but laugh at this point in the post... considering how much Christmas is in my house didn't really eve seem so crazy as when you combine it all together.
Doorways
I'm sure it will not surprise you at this point that we have Christmas door mats and draught excluders on both our front door and back door. I even have a "Santa Stop Here" one which I swap over our front door one for on Christmas Eve. #crazylady To be fair though at least these are practical items. The winter months bring some nasty wet weather and I do not want people tramping wet shoes into my house, and no one likes a cold draught blowing through their house!
Outside the House
For obvious reasons I'm not going to show you a picture of the front of my house but that doesn't mean I can't tell you about it. From lights in windows to icicles around the top there is plenty to look at when it comes to the decorations on the outside of our home. It is pretty amazing as many who visit will attest to... and if you don't believe me then maybe the fact that we have people slow down to look as they drive by, and parents walking past stopping to show their children, will give you a rough idea of how awesome it is!
I love the fact that we have so much Christmas in our home; I mean, we have so much Christmas that we were even able to donate some to my brother for his new flat! As much as I would love to say that it is because we have children I am fully aware that it is all down to John and me loving Christmas the way we do.
For more posts about Christmas, visit the Christmas category page. If you have any ideas for upcoming content or things you would like to see on my blog, feel free to share in the comments section below.
[AD] Discover my top ten tips for preparing your house (and self!) to decorate for Christmas.