Christmas is absolutely my most favorite holiday! I know it’s early but I’m getting really anxious waiting for December to creep around. The anticipation of getting my Christmas decorations out is really getting to me!
I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do different this year with my outdoor decorating and for one thing, I’m going with a more traditional look. Some say the way you decorate for Christmas says as much about you as your signature does, but I say not true. I’ve went through many moods of Christmas decorating over the years. For several years I went with retro 70’s – bubble lights, C7’s, tinsel, retro ornaments, then came the Victorian phase where everything had to match, the ‘I must have two trees’ phase, and nowadays, it’s the free-for-all phase. LOL, I load my tree down with anything and everything. And I mean everything… from the Star Ship Enterprise to the jingle bell ornament my husband made in pre-school. My Christmas tree is just a big old time capsule in my eyes, and isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Nostalgia, family, memories?
Well, no matter if you like your holidays plain, flashy, or fancy, how about a traditional look for this year’s outdoor decorating? Since I have a bright white doorway, I’m going to decorate with thick evergreen garlands around the entryway. Of course, hanging a nice evergreen wreath on the door to symbolize welcome to all who enter, is a must. Some extra-wide, deep red velvet ribbons to go on the wreath and corners of the doorway, tied in bows will look nice. I may even use some pine comes and nuts to accent the wreath. I think the look of natural elements complements any Christmas decor. For the lamp post, a swirl of greenery around it looks really nice, adding colored light bulbs, and a big red bow will complete the look.
I found some really nice multi colored twinkling mini lights on-line last year that I’m going to string through my evergreen garland for a fun sparkly effect. Australian readers might want to check oo.com.au‘s Christmas decorations section.
While I like the traditional look for outdoors, it’s more fun to add a little flash with Christmas lights to any decor! So on my Christmas decor list for this year, I’m looking for more greenery, and some fun lights. I’m thinking I may even go to LED Christmas lights this year, since you get more bang for your buck using them. You can have way more lights, and use much less electricity. I read that LED’s last years and years, versus traditional mini-lights.
When LED’s first came out I didn’t care for the electric blue and blind you brightness of the white ones either, but recently I’ve seen LED’s that are toned down and look more like the colorful traditional lights of my childhood.
I’ll also be hitting up the local antique shops and even eBay looking for more antique Christmas ornaments to add to my tree, it’s my weakness. So what about you? What are you doing different this year?