Our Home for the Holidays

 So, I've been meaning to do a post all month long about our "home for the holidays". Not that I think it's really anything special--in fact-- this year our goal was to keep things as simple as we could. However, this Christmas we also decided to switch things up a bit and had fun changing out some of our "older" decorations to create a more updated look. You may or may not remember, but the walls in our home used to be painted a Kermit the frog green. And even though we re-painted it over a year ago in a much more subdued color, most of our Christmas decorations still went with our BRIGHT green walls. 

The first thing we tackled was our tree. I chatted with Shane a bit about how I visioned it looking, and he (bless his heart) went to the store and picked up the decorations we needed to make my vision a reality.  

Our tree has always been a modge-podge of bright and colorful ornaments-with most of those ornaments being made by the kids. 

This year, I decided to go with a little more "formal" look. 

And, please don't worry--- all those beloved hand-made ornaments are proudly displayed on the little tree upstairs.

Our mantle really isn't that much different this year. The only change I made was that I did not add my green garland, but made this pom-pom coffee filter garland instead.

I saw this idea in a Country Living magazine and fell in love with it!

Easy, simple, and different.

Oh, and while we're talking about "Country Living"...

this was another idea I came across while perusing the magazine.

A simple, but CUTE way to wrap gifts...

I monogrammed scarves for all the kids teachers this year, and thought this was a fun way to wrap their gifts. 

All you do is cut the shape you desire out of kraft paper, sew the shape together on the machine, leave a small opening to insert the gift, and then stitch it shut. 

Easy-peasy, right!?!

 Another fun change we made this year was the way we display our Christmas cards. I used to tape them up on the pantry door, but this year my running partner, Stacy, suggested hanging them on twine with clothes pins instead.

I'm loving it. 

My friend, Melanie, mentioned in her family Christmas letter this year just how special receiving  cards can be. I couldn't agree with her more. We LOVE going to the mail box all month long and look forward to opening our cards each day.

I enjoy seeing my kids walk up to this display at random times during the day and catch them staring at the faces of friends and family both near and far.

 My front porch this Christmas has been a work in progress. I've not paid too much attention to it in years past, but this year I decided I wanted to dress it up a little for the season. I looked up "Christmas porches" on pinterest and started getting ideas.

This was my main inspiration.

 

My goal was not to purchase anything new, but only use what I already had on hand!
With a little paint and a little patience, my porch has come to life.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

It's fun, festive and looks welcoming.

And as the old saying goes...there really is no place like HOME for the holidays!