Affordable & Natural Christmas Decor

I’m so excited to share this blog post all about how we decorated for our first Christmas in our house! I’ve been really excited about decorating this house ever since we put a contract on it last October so I couldn’t wait to get started. We haven’t put up a Christmas Tree yet, though, because I wanted to get a real tree after Thanksgiving.

My Inspiration

I wanted to go for a pretty natural Christmas vibe with lots of greenery, wood, dried oranges, pinecones, and touches of gold. Most of what we used I already owned, with the exception of a few pieces I got second hand and a few things I picked up at Michael’s and Target. I want our house to feel cozy and festive without feeling too cluttered. I also wanted to get pieces I would use again and again or make things that I can dispose of so we don’t have to store them. I shared how I made this DIY Dried Orange Garland – watch the video here.

Mantle

My mantle was my favorite thing to decorate. I used some garland that I got second hand, along with two of these wood bead garland from Michaels. I made a homemade dried orange garland which I feel really finishes the look. I secured everything with these little command hooks I had. I kept the top of the mantle pretty simple with the photos and prints we normally have up there. I took off everything else and added two sets of bottle brush trees. They are both from Homegoods but here are a few similar options. I love the mix of glittery with the dark green trees. I also added some twinkle lights for when it is dark. I got our stockings from the Studio McGee line at Target and hand-embroidered them. If you want to see a little video on how to embroider stockings like this, let me know! It was pretty easy and a really affordable way to get personalized stockings.

Kitchen

In our Kitchen, we have a large bay window. I added two pieces of garland from Michaels. I liked this one because it had some red and white berries, along with eucalyptus and pine cones mixed in. Compared to the rest, I felt like it looked the most realistic. I also think I could add more fresh greenery or eucalyptus into it to make it a fuller garland. I added another string of dried oranges and they look so pretty with the light shining through them.

On the table, I put a small fresh wreath from Trader Joe’s. I added a gold bowl with pinecones to the center! I think this would also be really pretty with some pillar candles. If I have time I think I’ll go back to Trader Joe’s for another fresh wreath – it smells SO good!

Rest of The House

I kept the rest of the house pretty simple. I put my grandmother’s nativity set on a console in the living room and added a wreath to the mirror in the dining room. On our second-hand dining room table, I put some leftover flowers and pinecones with these pretty gold candlesticks from Target. I added this wreath to the front door. The bells on this one are fun and I love the look of it on our blue door.

Christmas Tree

For our Christmas tree, I want to use similar textures and touches to make it cohesive with the rest of the house. I plan to use another dried orange garland and more of the raw wood bead garland. I also grabbed a few sets of these ornaments from Target. I got these lights, this tree collar, and this star for the top!

I’m really happy with how our Christmas decorations came out this year! I feel like there is a bit of festive cheer in each room, which is exactly what I need during this season! So tell me, are you team decorate before Thanksgiving or wait until after?