Christmas Around the Corner

When I was a child, there was a house around the corner from us, that always decorated their house and yard with enough Christmas lights that they could have charged admission and given tours. One year my family was talking about how Christmas was “just around the corner” as we were passing by that house, and so we instantly dubbed it the “Christmas Around the Corner” house. Now, whenever we see a brightly decorated property we say to each other, “there’s Christmas around the corner!”
I do love decorating for the season, (or basically every season!) so I admire and enjoy how much effort some people go to with their decorations- I certainly don’t go to those lengths myself! This year, however, is my first year working at a decorating store during the Christmas season, and so I get to go all out and “decorate for Christmas” pretty much every shift. Needless to say, it’s been a lot of fun!

I never decorate until December (on whichever weekend is the first of the month) and this year I got my decorations up on December 3rd. It just seems too early to me, to start decorating in November. To be honest, I’m always switching things around, and so I would get bored with the Christmas stuff if I had it up for two whole months. Also, considering that we always have a real tree, and this year I have real evergreen boughs, it would be pretty dried up if we put it up too soon!
I was planning on investing in some nice faux evergreens this year, but didn’t see any that I liked, and so I actually ended up getting real boughs from my parents place. I love them so much that (until they one day move away and no longer have wooded areas for me to pillage) I will continue to do that every year! I don’t do a tree at my place, since I spend Christmas at my parent’s house, so in lieu of a tree, I did an evergreen and branch bouquet and hung some of my vintage ornaments on it.

The main crux of my decorating involves my vintage ornament collection- this year my sister and I found six boxes of vintage ornaments at the thrift store- we couldn’t grab them fast enough! We also hung some of the vintage ornaments in the fig tree, which looks very pretty in real life, but didn’t really show up well in the pictures, so you’ll just have to believe me 🙂 I also got these new reproduction mercury glass ornaments this year at the store I work at- I absolutely LOVE mercury glass and I love how they paired with the pink vintage ornaments. This tray looks very “millennial” doesn’t it? (Millennial pink anyone?)

This wood burned garland by Kluane National Workshop is also new this year. I picked it up at a craft fair, but if you’d like to check them out, they have a shop right here.

Well, this is a fairly heavy picture post, but I guess I’m making up for all the posts I haven’t written this past month 🙂
When do you put up your Christmas decor and what are some of your Christmas decorating traditions?












As an extra bonus- here is the mantle I did at my parent’s place. It turned out very pretty with the fairy lights, greenery and nativity, so I couldn’t leave it out!


December 17, 2018 @ 6:30 am
I love the idea of just getting a few boughs from your parents place. It is so much more environmentally friendly than having a real tree but you still manage to get all the benefits.
Your wonderful vintage ornaments remind me of my Grandmother’s tree. They just don’t make them like that anymore do they?
I had my husband home to help decorate this year which was a real treat. Experiences shared are so much more meaningful.
Suzanne
http://www.suzannecarillo.com
December 17, 2018 @ 12:29 pm
The environmentally UN-friendliness of faux greenery was another reason I was hesitating to buy any- real greenery is definitely a much better choice! That’s one of the reasons why I wouldn’t do a fake tree either. . . but that’s a whole other story 🙂
That’s great that your husband was able to help decorate for Christmas this year- I agree that the fun part of traditions is doing them together! We always decorate our family tree together too!
I hope you have a lovely Christmas Suzanne!
December 17, 2018 @ 12:38 pm
Thank you for sharing these lovely photos. We always have a live tree. We do not decorate until December. We have a lot of vintage ornaments,too. Wishing you and yours a Blessed Christmas and a Happy,Healthy and Peaceful 2019.
Marion and Marilyn
December 24, 2018 @ 5:34 pm
Thank-you so much for your Christmas well wishes and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas too!
December 17, 2018 @ 6:08 pm
I love how refreshingly crisp and chic your decor is! It’s so different, which is always a breath of fresh air!
xoxo
-Janey
December 24, 2018 @ 5:34 pm
Thank-you so much Janey! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
December 22, 2018 @ 6:35 am
Your decorations look lovely. I especially like the idea of putting a few ornaments in a bowl wreathed in greenery—like a fruit still life, but festive. The colors of the vintage ornaments are so subtle.
Our decorations are very simple. We have a small fake tree that we found at the thrift store last year and most of the ornaments on it are ones I’ve made: paper cranes folded from beautiful Japanese origami papers, and stuffed rabbits playing musical instruments sewn from a piece of decorating fabric that my friend gave to me. We also have a small assortment of animals and musical instruments that we’ve thrifted or been given. I think ornaments should be personal to be meaningful, and I look forward to finding and making ornaments gradually over time. This year my sister gave me a fair-trade Frida Kahlo ornament sewn out of felt! She has the best yarn hair.
December 24, 2018 @ 5:42 pm
I love collected tree decorations- I definitely think that ornaments should be personal too! Your Frida Kahlo ornament sounds adorable!
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!