Holiday House Tour

For the first time since we moved into The Judkins House, we'll be home for the holidays. It's a bittersweet moment for sure, as we'll miss the time with extended family, but it has given me the excuse to expand our Christmas decor this year. Since I'm sure many of you will also be spending the holidays at home, I wanted to share a quick house tour in the hopes that it inspires you to bring a little of this season's sparkle into your home.

One of my favorite seasonal activities is decking out our front entryway. This year I reused a faux evergreen wreath I purchased last year (similar here) adorned with a big red bow, and I wrapped fresh garland on the handrail with these super easy-to-use LED fairy lights for a little twinkle.

On the other side of our landing I decked out our existing planter with fresh greens I cut from outside. This is an awesome trick if you're looking for a no-cost solution. Just leave the dirt in the pot from your previous arrangement and stick the branches down into the soil. If you're worried about browning, try spraying the greens with Wilt Stop. In front of the planter, I have a set of birch logs I picked up pre-made a few years back from the grocery store.

Just inside, I've adorned our staircase with a faux garland. These can sometimes look a little sad on their own, so my trick is to use dried eucalyptus, red ribbon, faux berries, and more of the LED fairy lights to beef it up. This creates an interesting, natural texture that I think is so pretty. Curious about the eucalyptus? I bought it fresh as part of my Thanksgiving tablescape and repurposed it once it dried for our Christmas decorating! Check out my original post about this here on Instagram.

I don't like to go overboard with the decorating, but I did pop these sweet iron reindeer (similar here) on our sideboard along with an evergreen pick. The perfect little something!

I am, and always will be, a "real tree" person. That said, since we're home this year and wanted to be able to enjoy the tree for some time, we broke down and got a 7' pre-lit faux tree. I have no regrets. This easy-to-assemble option fits perfectly in our narrow space and, I'll be honest, it's nice not to need to water or vacuum up needles every other day. To keep everything feeling cohesive, I used the same red ribbon that's in the entryway garland to beef up the tree. Classic red and gold ornaments got sprinkled in, too, along with laser-cut wood snowflake ornaments. The final touch was a few of our favorite (mostly animal-themed) ornaments to bring in some character. To the right of the tree I added in these cable knit stockings using stocking hangers. Makes for the coziest spot in the house!

I couldn't leave the dining table bare, so, using some of the dried eucalyptus, collected pinecones, red berries, and a few evergreen picks (similar here), I built a natural-looking centerpiece. You can, of course, purchase something pre-made to keep things simple, but I love to use the same pieces and parts year after year in different ways to create a fresh look.

We all spend so much time in our kitchens during the holidays, so I love to do a little something in there as well. We're lucky enough to have an original brick fireplace as a kitchen centerpiece, so I opted for garland on the mantle. I once again wove in dried eucalyptus and white lights. I then topped it off with my favorite tiny stocking garland. It feels sweet and playful, making it the perfect way to deck out the hub of the home.

Last, but certainly not least, is our favorite little gnome. He was a gift a number of years ago from my mother-in-law and was quickly dubbed our "gnome in the home," our version of Elf on the Shelf. He watches over us all and brings a smile to everyone's face, all while reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously. That feels like an even more important sentiment this year.

Cheers to you and your family this holiday season. I wish you joy, peace, and lots of laughs!

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