Our Christmas decorations: vintage, thrifted + new

Hello friends,

With less than a week to go before Christmas, I hope you haven't yet had your fill of Christmas interior shots. Decking out my home in all sorts of trinkets at this time of the year is something I've always enjoyed. Even when I was single and living alone, I would lug a tree up to my second floor condo, so it's perhaps no surprise to those who know me that I go a little crazy with the Christmas decor now that I have kids.

The one thing that has changed is that I now rely heavily on vintage and thrifted items mixed with my newer items to create a unique look. I've bought dozens of new ornaments for years, but it gives me special pleasure to be able to add some ornaments with a little more character and patina that usually comes with buying vintage and thrifted.

I recall being so excited last year when I chanced upon vintage crocheted ornaments at the thrift store, thinking fondly about the person who took the time to crochet around an ornament. You can see one of those crocheted ornaments on our tree in the top photo above of our living room (look closely on the lower right corner).

Our tree and the vintage-inspired Christmas village that I wrote about last year are now mainstays of our holiday decor, but I have fun putting together new vignettes with many of our ornaments. In the tablescape below, I used a Santa that my mom gave me a few years ago, a thrifted Restoration Hardware vase to house a couple of tree branches I salvaged from the ground while getting our Christmas tree, a tiny thrifted birdcage, and a rummage sale find of vintage red books that I bought for 25 cents each.

I don't recall whether I've shown you our chalkboard wall before, but it ended up forming the perfect backdrop for a little vignette I created on a red shelf with Anthropologie ornaments, a thrifted Pyrex glass, and twigs collected during our family nature outings during the summer.

The character ornaments are, of course, for my kids since this wall is in their play kitchen area.

I have a special fondness for miniatures so I was thankful that this wall became an excuse to indulge my inner child. The black chalkboard allows the colorful objects to stand out more and forms a nice focal point.

My mom always has poinsettias at this time of the year so I decided to get one this year to continue the tradition.

Here is where I perhaps start to go a little overboard with the holiday decor because I also add a few Christmas touches in our bedrooms. My son's room gets a toy Santa, who was quite appropriately visited by all the family members in my daughter's dollhouse. The toy dolls had the opportunity to tell Santa what they want for Christmas, while his snowman helper took notes.

My beloved pink vintage ornaments go into my office and my daughter's room.

There is more that I could show you, including our collection of snowglobes, but I fear being labeled the crazy Christmas lady! Like most everyone, I do so enjoy everything about this season and having children is a great opportunity not only to continue old traditions but also to start new ones. We have spent the past week crafting, drinking hot chocolate and practicing our favorite Christmas carols.

What do you have in the works in these last few days before Christmas? Do you prefer to spend time at home indulging in holiday activities, or do you prefer the hustle and bustle of last-minute shopping and holiday carousing? Perhaps a little bit of both? Whatever you're doing, I hope you're enjoying much time with loved ones while enjoying holiday activities that make this season so memorable.

Warmly,