Decorating for Christmas

Red, white and silver!

Welcome.

Tis the season! And I am loving it !!

Have you been busy with Christmas shopping and decorating?  I know I have been plugging at it for a few days now! Well the holiday season has descended upon us with full force and the countdown to Christmas is truly on! Today, I will show you around my house and all the little touches I have added to make this a memorable holiday for my family. 

Since my very first Christmas in this country, 13 years ago(time sure flies!), I have always looked forward to the holidays with much enthusiasm. I embraced the infectious cheeriness of the North American holiday culture with open arms and brought it home and haven’t looked back since.  However, this year is special! We are in a new home in a new state.  After 12 years in Texas, we moved to Ohio at the end of last year. Much of 2012 found us navigating through the inconveniences of a big cross-country move and enduring the heartache of leaving beloved friends and our dear old home behind. Slowly but surely we made it through the year. New beginnings and new bonds kept us going and we moved to a home last month – yes, just in time for the holidays too! So, it’s our first Christmas in our new residence and we feel blessed. Memories of Christmas’ past, the laughter and the good times shared with old friends and the holiday nostalgia of our Texas years lingers. However, it is time to make new memories and so, I look forward to decking the halls again! 

It’s only been 3 weeks since the move. The décor and design is still largely a work in progress. However, I wouldn’t let that or anything else stop me from decorating for the holidays. Of course, I had to scale back and give up on a few ideas. I completely ignored the outside of the house this year. I know! A lot of our stuff is still in boxes and in the interest of time and effort I chose to decorate inside the house.

So dear readers, join me on a tour...

Let’s start with my holiday tablescape. 

Get creative- use materials that you already have!

For the centerpiece, I picked a few dry twigs and branches from my yard (inspired by Supriya’s ideaof bringing the outdoors in) and hung mini-red ornaments on it. I then placed them in my antique silver vase and paired it with a couple of snowflake tea light holders and a table-top mini tree. 

Notice how I added  drama and color with a red bead string at the base of the mini tree. I then layered the whole arrangement on a holiday platter to complete the look! I stuck to traditional red for my table linen but strayed away from regular holiday prints and instead added a twist with “desi” ikat pattern which is all the rage currently. The end result - a tablescape with a global appeal!

The holiday touch. Image credits :Uj

So, the table is set for two and I am looking forward to a quiet dinner at home. After all, it is the end of the year and a great time to unwind!

Next stop  - my kitchen!

Group 'em together!

 Burlap is IN and I knew I had to have it in my décor this year. I picked this mini tree with a burlap base and paired it with a miniature wreath, a bowl of red and green ornaments and voila! I have a pretty Christmas vignette that now sits merrily on my kitchen island. My green sleepy Santa is the perfect little addition to this vignette! The kitchen is truly the heart of our home and as we gather around the island, this vignette fills our heart with the holiday spirit.

When it comes to Holiday decor- More is less!

Ornaments!

Each year, I buy a few new ornaments to mark the year. As we look back, these ornaments serve as fond reminders of vacations, hobbies, places, people, cherished moments and more! This year, I found this adorable little village ornament shop a few blocks from home and sourced our annual ornaments from there. We look forward to this yearly ritual of picking our custom ornaments eagerly. Do you have a holiday ritual of your own?

My li'l one's craze for FCBarcelona captured in an ornament!

  Now for that extra dose of color and fun this holiday season – here’s a few options. 

A holly-jolly wreath hangs in our entryway!

Add a wreath! Nothing spells holiday quite like wreaths do. Mine is made out of jingle bells in brilliant hues and hangs over my foyer table. The wreath and a few other Christmas décor items in matching colors greet visitors at the entryway.

Santa enjoys a little break ahead of the busy holiday season!

Give your existing furniture a holiday makeover! A bright red wool Santa rests lazily on my teal chair and at the foot sits a lantern filled with sparkly silver ornaments. A warm fire and twinkly lights on the tree makes it picture perfect! An easy way to transform a quiet corner into a happening holiday zone!

Color is key!

 And lastly, my fabulous find for this season – this ornate chalkboard! You can imagine my sheer joy as I unearthed this beautiful chalkboard somewhere in the back aisles of World Market. I could've very well won the powerball :)  My little one and I have already been fighting over who gets to draw and leave signs on it. What fun! Add an element of fun and whimsy to your décor with a chalkboard. 

Have a little fun!

  A friend commented on this picture and here is what she said...

"That picture evokes a picture of a cozy winter evening by the fire, watching the snowflakes fall, excitement of presents to be opened, aroma of chocolate filling the room, the lingering warmth of the trickle down my throat, laughing at something silly...."

I love how well she articulated the Christmas spirit!
  
So there! Hope you had fun touring my holiday home? I sure had fun taking you around. How are you decorating this holiday season? Write to us. Supriya and I would love to hear from you.

And oh, be sure to join me again for yet another holiday post featuring my Christmas tree. Since the rest of my decor was so heavy on color I decided to balance it with white ornaments for the tree. You'll see - I am calling my tree - a wintry white dream! hint : Pottery barn meets West Elm!

Cheers!

Deepa

Image credits: My patient husband!