Christmas in July

Searching for ideas on how to decorate for Christmas?  We are happy to share our Christmas in July ideas from last Christmas.  

Too early to chat about Christmas?  Never!  We are huge Christmas lovers here!  Typically, we take the last week in October off from work and we decorate our home for the holidays.  We get all of our trees, ornaments, wreaths, holiday knick knacks, and garland out.  It is quite an ordeal around here.

We thought we would spread some early holiday cheer for Christmas in July.  We love getting ideas early so we can plan for October.  Yes, we begin planning for Christmas in July!  We watch all of the shopping channels looking at holiday decorations.

Searching for tree skirt ideas?  We have several if you check out this post.  

Love to decorate your porch?  We made these planters last year for our front porch.  We had everything on hand which made life so much easier during the covid Christmas.  Last year involved a lot of reusing what we had, getting creative and just making the most of it.  We did enjoy our holiday season last year, did you?  Interested in the how to?  Click to read Winter Planters.

We put together this winter vase last year for after Christmas, but you could also have this out during Christmas too!  It was super easy to put together.  You can click the how to here if you would like to see how to make this simple decor piece. 

 

I am one of those people who have a hard time letting go of Christmas so things get changed up for winter so I can keep the coziness out a while longer.  Do you have a hard time taking down the decorations?  

One year, when we were house hunting, we decided we would not take the tree down until we found a house.  It got pretty ridiculous and we decided we had to take the tree down in May since we had not found our perfect home for us yet.  I told you, things are a little different around here... 

  

When the garland and lights were removed from the banister I felt like the hallway was pretty dark at night.  We have a nightlight at the bottom of the steps, but I still wanted something more... so we made this winter night light last year as well.  We really loved how it came together, and it was nice to have the foyer and hallway lit up.  We also have a how to for this one as well.  

We love to decorate with lanterns around our cottage.  This old one was a barn find and I love the chippy paint too.  Here is the post about this Christmas decorated lantern.  

This lantern was a mess to clean up, very dirty, and the inside?  I am not even sure what it had in there, but I put the shop vac to good use that day when it got it's make over.  

Do you enjoy having candles sprinkled all over your home?  We love the scent of them and just the way the light plays on the walls.  Sometimes we light several candles and just enjoy sitting in the dark to relax after a long day... especially during the holidays with the holiday scents.  Mr. Vintage went overboard last year... I think Santa brought me 12 candles for Christmas last year! 

Above is how we decorated our dining room table, full garland, ornaments, candles, pine cones, trees… anything missing?  

We love the mercury glass trees and have had them in many different rooms over the years, they always make an appearance every year somewhere.  Click to read the post about our Christmas dining room.  

We use a lot of the same decor year round in our home, but dress items up a little differently for the holidays.  Our storage is pretty limited... well, let's just say our attic is stuffed to the gills with Christmas decorations... that would be a more accurate description of our attic.   

Do you know we have not found anything we "had to have" yet for Christmas in July this year.  The plan for this year is to use what we already have and push our creativity to the limit.  That's not to say we may not find something between now and then though.  Do you get into Christmas in July and find it makes your step a lighter?  When we think of Christmas it always makes us smile and lessens the load of the day, whatever may be happening.  

We also listen to Christmas music year round, just whenever we are in the mood for it.  Mr. Vintage drives his staff nuts when he listens to it in June, or any other summer month.  I used to do the same thing to my coworkers... and send out Christmas reminder emails... 10 months to Christmas... they loved it!  Well, more like groaned about it, but have you not noticed when you listen to Christmas music, it really improves your mood?  Suddenly, that terrible day isn't so terrible.  

 

We made these simple small winter arrangements last year, I guess we were busy bees. We really love those silver accents here, there, and everywhere throughout our home. You can read about how to put these together here.  

Decorating for Christmas doesn't have to cost a lot, we tend to add a piece here and there every year.  Do you know the thrift stores are a really good place to find Christmas decor after Christmas?  

The after Christmas sales are hard to pass up too.  I have found some pieces that I use in our home for everyday that have come from those sales.  Do you see the silver decorative pieces below?  Yep, Christmas ornaments turned upside down in candlesticks!  I tend to see things differently when I am in creative mode.  

Need some ideas for your coffee table?  We pulled out all of the stops last year on our coffee table.  We had ornaments, lights, pine... can you tell we really do enjoy decorating for the holidays around here?  You can read more about our coffee table.  

The pine picks on our table were used at our wedding reception.  When I pull them out every year, I think about that rainy day in December several years ago and it always brings a smile to my face.  The day was full of unexpected surprises, and not all in a good way, but we made the most of the day and were truly happy to finally be married to each other.  

One more for the road... yes, Mr. Vintage had to have the leg lamp!  Last Christmas was the first year for it in our living room window, front and center.  The tree was moved out so this lamp could make it's presence known on our street.  Mr. Vintage loves A Christmas Story, he actually wanted to reenact the scene when it arrived.  I replied, "oh goodie, it may get broken too"!  

Of course, I did not break it... my mom laughed when she saw it.  She asked if he could have found a larger one.  I replied, nope, it is the biggest one they have!  Do you know he has the nightlight, the desktop, and this one?  

Well, that concludes our post today of Christmas in July.  Before the month is up, we plan to share some other ideas with you.  We have so many ideas for Christmas this year, we are getting super excited.  We may need to start earlier this year than any other year!  When do you decorate for the holidays?  Where do you search for holiday decorating ideas?  

Can you believe I started making unique one of a kind ornaments to give as gifts this year?  I will share them with you once I get them all worked out.  Isn't it funny when you have a vision, and then you have to make it happen?  Sometimes what the mind sees and how it actually turns out are two different things. We will see how they turn out this weekend.  Happy Friday!  Hope you enjoy your weekend!