Holiday Decorating:

for people who don’t like holiday decorating

Ready for some EASY, SOPHISTICATED yet INEXPENSIVE holiday decorating ideas that will LAST from October to January?

If you’re reading this far, the answer is probably ‘yes’.

I love decorating! I love taking a completely blank space and turning it into a beautiful, warm, welcoming place.

You know what I don’t love? Trying to figure out how I’m going to make my front porch and home look like I like decorating for the holidays when I secretly don’t. Is that weird? Am I the only one??

Eh. Bah humbug.

But here’s the thing - I LOVE having people over! I love celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. I love making made-from-scratch pies and warm soups to share with friends that stop by. For goodness sake, both my children are CHRISTMAS BABIES!

So I really have to decorate.

But I’m also picky.

I know I could run to the craft store and buy some plywood, spray painted glitter pumpkin signs to put on my porch. Or get a blow-up Santa to stick in my yard but I don’t want those. I want sophisticated decorations. I want it to look impressive. Like I cared. Which I guess I kinda do.

But every year, around the time Halloween candy starts showing up in stores (and my grocery cart), the stress and questions start to roll in…

How am I going to decorate? What do I still need to buy? Will I eat this entire bag of ghost shaped Snickers before I get home??

Luckily I think I’ve finally started to find my rhythm.

I have some tricks up my sleeve now! I have things that I do that are EASY. That are INEXPENSIVE but look EXPENSIVE. And that LAST from October til January with relatively little work once its set up.

And I’m going to share these with you!!!

Let’s start with THE PORCH

PUMPKIN STACKS: 2 stacks of 3 pumpkins - small, medium and large -placed on top of each other like a snowman. The Cinderella pumpkins work best for this since they tend to be flatter than regular pumpkins, but if you can find 3 orange ones that work, more power to ya!

Stack yo’ pumpkins, friends!

They don’t look overly cluttered in and around an old, wooden box!

I let them stay their pretty fall colors until right after Thanksgiving. Then I move those puppies onto a drop cloth and spray paint them whatever Christmas colors my heart desires. Let them dry for a few hours, then stack them right back up on the porch. I’d say there are usually one or two that don’t make it through Christmas because they are real pumpkins, but most of them do - thank goodness because this is where I usually spend most of my holiday decorating money.

WOODEN BOXES AND WALL HANGINGS

One year I splurged on a big, vintage wooden box and it’s still one of my best purchases. It stays (upright) on my porch all year and I just change out what goes in the cubby with the seasons. I’ll put some mini pumpkins or a pretty bouquet of Chrysanthemumsons on the top of the box for Oct/Nov then usually switch to a faux Poinsettia for Dec/Jan.

Everyone gets in on the pumpkin decorating action!

I also have a screw in the brick above the vintage block that I’ll hang a fall wreath on, then change it out to my handmade “Happy Holidays” antique window sign after Halloween which stays up until Christmas decorations come down.

Easy-peasy.

**Pro tip - this is a good time of year to get a new door mat. A fresh door mat can do wonders for porch appeal!

TABLESCAPE

This is another place that needs holiday decor and if you have a formal(ish) dining space like me, it really feels unfinished if their’s not something festive going on.

Mini-pumpkins to the rescue! Preferably the all white ones. That’ll be your trick to making this a one-and-done holiday decor.

These are my go-to holiday decorations - mini pumpkins for the WIN!

You will need a long board or long, oval wooden bowl or really anything that is at least 8 inches and that you can stack pumpkins on.

You’ll also want some faux foliage leaves (at least 2 branches, preferably 3-4) to put on the bottom of the board or bowl before you stack the pumpkins.

**Pro tip - don’t put real pumpkins directly on your table for extended periods of time. If the pumpkin starts to rot from the bottom, it can damage the top of the table. And if you’re wondering, yup this absolutely happened to me. The smaller pumpkins tend to not last as long as their bigger counterparts I found.

Speaking of putting things under other things, don’t forget a table runner! It doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, I prefer simple material, like a long strip of burlap or piece of black and white stripe material with frayed edges to go between the table and decorations.

Table Runner Options

Add a few different sized white candles around the sides of the board and you’re done!

BUT…

if you want to take it up a notch, add HEIGHT to your centerpiece.

I like tall vases that aren’t too wide or wooden carved candlesticks adorning both sides of the board. This is where a pair of something comes in handy - one for each side - otherwise it may feel unbalanced.

Looking festive already!

You can also add in branches of faux berries or beads between pumpkins to add a little more color if you prefer. In the vases, I’ll change out the tall dried wheat stalks for Thanksgiving and replace them with faux evergreen leaves and berry branches for Christmas. Not a lot of effort at all and it hits all the holiday high notes.

Now light a Christmas scented candle and sit back and feel a sense of accomplishment. You earned it!

Hopefully I don’t have to suggest decorating a Christmas tree or hanging stockings, as those bring a lot of that special holiday feel into a space.

But DO look for decorations that you like. That make you feel happy when you look that them or bring back a memory from your childhood. Those are the things that will make decorating for this season feel more exciting and less daunting. And remember, even Scrooge had his good qualities!

Happy Holidays, y’all!

The Perfect Thanksgiving Table Decor

A few tweaks and now it’s ready for CHRISTMAS too! Double duty means you’re DONE and DONE!