Minimal Holiday Home Decor

It’s the last day of December and we’re already taking down all the Christmas decor. Christmas spirit was kind of lacking for us this year. We DID get the Christmas tree up the first weekend of December, though. While all the Halloween decorations were still out on the front porch…blasphemy, I know!

My mantra this year has been to “be gentle on myself”. I’ll admit, this mantra slipped from my mind often this month.

Baby Badau got sick three times, each time following a trip to an indoor playground. Hmmm…coincidence? I think not. In addition to attachment parenting a sick baby, I also fell ill, putting me out of commission for one week. Then, right before Christmas I tried to make a quick stop into Homesense and ended up tripping, falling, and cutting open my eye, all while holding baby! It was scary. Baby was shaken up. My clothes were soaking wet. I bled profusely. But fortunately did not require stitches and Baby Badau was 100% ok.

Between our entire household being very sick and right in the throes of prep for the holiday season, we knew we had to keep things super simple this year.

The tree was left purposely unadorned except for white twinkle lights because I didn’t feel like dealing with managing baby vs the glass ornaments. I actually LOVE the tree this way and will probably keep with this naked tree thing for at least next season as well! I didn’t even bother to haul out the boxes of tree ornaments and there was something so freeing about that.

Like the majority of North Americans, we used to own a fake pre-lit tree. We switched to a real tree a couple years ago and have never looked back! The husband loves the smell of pine that fills our home. I love the slightly imperfect shape of the tree – it reminds me that all things in life are beautiful in their way.

What I REALLY love is the fact that a real tree gives back in so many ways. Once our tree is up, I do a trim of the branches to make room for gifts along the bottom and create a bit more shape overall. From the clippings, I usually make a wreath for the front door and adorn my gifts and baking. This year, I DIYed white felt stockings for the mantel and used clippings from the tree to spruce them up ever so slightly.

I’ve been wrapping gifts in brown kraft paper for the past few years, and this year was no different! I still have one roll left, so guess what next year’s wrapping theme is going to be?

One simple hack I love to employ every Christmas is to download free gift tag printables. There are just too many cute and chic designs available!

Our front porch is not usually decorated for Christmas aside from a wreath and a planter. There’s no planter this year because I did not participate in the annual planter-making event at my workplace. I could have just left it at a simple wreath, but I came across some adorable lanterns at Homesense.

Although I’m in the process of paring down the things I possess in attempts at a more streamlined and simple lifestyle, I think these lanterns can serve multiple purposes outside of the holiday season. Therefore, a justified purchase!

So, the house did not end up getting decked out in usual full holiday regale and none of the Christmas baking got done. Admittedly, this stressed me out a lot at first. But I took a breath and remembered to be gentle on myself and enjoy the little moments. Now I’m kind of feeling this minimal vibe, so expect to see this again next year! As Baby Badau gets older and gets into the magic of Christmas, we’ll take our decor up a level or two for his enjoyment. The things we do for our kids 🙂

xoxo

Minh