Christmas Vignettes (and My Kitchen and Laundry Room Trees)

Our family Christmas tree in my living room is not very glamorous, but that’s okay.  I let my kids decorate it every year, and it’s covered with homemade ornaments of every shape and color.  I love to look at other people’s beautifully coordinated and styled trees {take a look at my friend Andrea’s trees here and here}, and maybe one year I’ll have one, too, but for now, the point is that my kids enjoy our family Christmas tradition, even if that means we wind up with a Charlie Brown tree!

To compensate, I have a small tree in my kitchen and another one in my laundry room.  Why not?

I love my laundry room tree.  It sports a scrap of blue and white ticking stripe fabric around its base, jute twine as “roping”, tiny clothespins as ornaments, and bars of Fels Naptha soap as “presents” under the tree.  I also borrowed from my daughter’s doll house, and so you see the wash tub and board, sewing basket, scissors, and little washer and dryer as part of the decor.  Last year, I used a measuring tape as garland; this year, I kind of liked the twine.  Does anyone else have a tree in their laundry room, or is it just me?

The kitchen tree is nestled in an old Ritz cracker tin (I got that idea from Andrea–thanks, girl!).  I’ve collected kitchen-themed ornaments for several years–my favorites are my mixer, blender, and coffee pot, although my kids are fascinated with the tiny cheese grater and flour sifter!

I didn’t really go over the top with Christmas decorations this year {simplify!}, but I did jazz up our coffee area a bit.

I used one of my homemade banners/garlands over the open shelving in the dining room.  You can read about my “Merry” garland that I used in my outdoor decor {here}.

The vintage decanters always sit on top of my dining room buffet–for the holiday they just got jollied up with a little sign.

My thrift store silver candelabra is sporting festive red wreaths (I tried one on the Venus de Milo’s head, but it didn’t quite fit).

The vintage Santa mugs were my grandmother’s (that’s a picture of her as a little girl on the top shelf).

I decorated the dresser in my front entry for the holiday, using white and silver.

The powder room got a little touch of Christmas, too:

Did you do more or less than you usually do this year when it comes to decorating for the holidays?