“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, and my house is feeling it for sure. I love decorating for the holiday season but have only really ever been able to fully go for it a few times. Now that we have all of our decorations in one spot, we know we’re not moving and all that fun jazz, let’s do the darn thing! Garlands, candles, wreaths, oh my! My favorite spots to work with are stair railings, fireplace mantels and front porches. These are really easy spots to be able to add a little kick of holiday cheer. And our fireplace in our new place is ssssoooo much better than our old house so I knew I had to do right by her. But first? The ribbon…

STOCKINGS  |  RIBBON  |  CANDLESTICKS (small, medium, large)  |  DOG BED  |  LOG HOLDER  | GARLAND

If you think that ribbon makes things too frilly or girly, I have three words for you: frayed, vintage, velvet. My goodness there is some gorgeous finds out there but the kind I’m using this year I think might be my favorite. I went with what is labeled as “brown” but to be honest it’s more of a beautiful rust color. I thought it would pair well with the new ornaments I got from Brooke & Lou that oooohhh my goodness you’re gonna die when you see them! I knew they were large, but these are the largest Christmas balls I’ve ever seen 😀 Right, back to the ribbon… and you can use it anywhere and you don’t have to tie it into bows if you don’t want to. It adds more texture and color without any frilliness (can you believe that’s actually a word?). It’s also a great way to decoratively hang your wreaths inside your house. If you don’t like command hooks or not sure how to hang them, I think that this is a great way to do it because it also adds a pop of color and ties the decor/rooms together.

I have to say, our mantel is my favorite. Our fireplace as a whole is kind of amazing and now that we have some decor around it and get to use it with the colder temps? Just makes me love it that much more. I didn’t want to do much with any height on the mantel because of the TV as well as the speaker, which, is unfortunately used a lot :-/, but thought that by adding some candlesticks to the opposite side of the stockings that would be a good contrast. I mixed in some standard pillar candles to give it a little more substance. The log holder is here all the time, but it fits perfectly with holiday decor. There are some fun festive finds that you could get to be creative if you’d rather. But I like the classic look of this one to anchor the space.

STOCKINGS  |  RIBBON  |  CANDLESTICKS (small, medium, large)  |  DOG BED  |  LOG HOLDER  | GARLAND  | BELLS

If you want to make sure your mantel garland is full, double up! I used the 9 foot and the 6 foot together. The 9 foot provided length so that I could drape it over the side, and after I layered it with the 6 foot and fluffed the greenery a bit, it was perfect. Fake garlands can be tough because most of the time they aren’t super full. Really good ones can be, but then they’re like $200 or more. I thought that these were affordable enough and I liked the cypress so thought that doubling up would do. And don’t get discouraged when you first lay out your garland! It’s going to take fluffing and playing with. And even when you think you’re done and it settles, you’ll have to fluff some more.

Now for the front porch! We haven’t gone all out yet since it is still only November, but added the slightest little changes to make it feel al little more festive. The best and easiest way to make a change? The bottom layer outdoor rug. I love this one because it has a subtle holiday vibe to it. I have used these planters all year long and was able to pop these outdoor trees from Target right into it! The coal bin is an old style from McGee & Co but I t think it adds a little charm, especially with the bundle of logs in it! Can’t beat it. I think the key to any good front porch is finding items that you can use several seasons throughout the year like this vintage crock and the planter. there isn’t anything particularly trendy or overdone about this set up and I think will work all November long! Might get a little more festive as the weeks go on, but for now I think understated is the way to go.

Check out the entire Holiday Shop to see tons more holiday decorations to add that finishing touch to your home. Still to come at our house? Putting the tree up and using our new tree skirt as well as putting up these wreaths in our kitchen. One for each 😀 and maybe even adding some garland to the beams outside. Stay tuned!