I should probably start by saying that my Christmas decorations can be, for some, reputed a bit minimal - despite loving the more decadent and traditional look I have a home that doesn't suit that look so I make do with a more paired back look. This to say my Christmas home might not be to everyone's taste especially if you like yours a little more dramatic! Nevertheless, here are some of the things I've done this year, some of which you can do to rather cheaply and shop from the shopping page below (everything you can buy is listed below).
Happy WIT Mama Friday with a Christmas spin to it!
This is the first thing I see when I walk into my home - I always have the same little vase but I change the flowers accordingly to the season so right now I have some Holly leaves that I tore out of bigger branches that I have in a vase in my sitting room. I also have a gorgeously pine smelling Diptyque candle that I light up as soon as I get home (the smell is divinely Christmassy!!) and a Jo Malone room spray that I use to top up (it's pricey but I've had it for three years so it's really worth the investment).
I was given this monochrome vase by a friend and I have to say it goes with every flower at every time of the year: peonies in spring and even red berry branches in December. I hung up some glass monogram decorations with my family's name - I love the little personalisation touch and it makes me smile to think that I will be adding letters to this set up in the years to come. I set this up in the entrance corridor and it definitely screams out Christmas to my guests and it makes me happy every time I look at it!
Setting up a Christmas table is my favourite thing to do! The table cloth was a present from my grandmother and you can't buy it in the UK. Again, I keep things minimal and love staying true to my home's normal colour palette of greys and black and whites whilst adding a touch or festive red.
I bought this garland from Paperchase but can;t find it on the website so I've recommended another one from the shopping list below. It's super cute and glittery and festive, and I just put it up with a little bit of glitter tape. I love the blank wall behind my table because I can dress it up for lots of different occasions - from friend's birthdays to kids parties and even boys night-ins ;-)
I love sending and receiving Christmas cards, it;s a family tradition we've had all my life. I love looking at them so I hang them up with mini wooden pegs on a festive sparkly twine. When the Christmas season is over I change the twine for a bit of string and I use it to display Greta's art work and for party invitations.
I wish I could have a huge tree but my flat is not big enough so I cheat a little bit and buy a smaller one which I put on a stand - that way I get the impression of height without the bulkiness underneath. I then cover the floor with presents so you can't see the stand. Oh, and I love garden lights too so we put little ones on the trees in the garden!
I have a strict gold, red and white colour policy for my tree ;-) There are baubles I've had for years and I add new ones every year. My favourite place to get them are John Lewis for the more basic ones and Liberty for the more spacial ones. This year I ought quite a few from Anthropology too.
I'm Italian so my festive "forte" is Panettone (which sadly I can't eat anymore...). I like to cut it up in thick slices and then off set every slice a little bit. I sprinkle icing sugar over it, put a few Christmassy decorations on top and serve it my mother's Mascarpone cream sauce (delicious!)
Happy shopping everyone!
x
