I said in my post "Things I am not doing in December" that I wasn't going to over do the Christmas decorations this year. Over the last few years our decorations have got more and more, streamers on the ceiling, every wall filled with some sort of hanging decoration and every surface covered, it looked like Christmas had exploded in our house This year I said no, we were keeping it simple and only decorating the living room and I have stuck to it and I must say it looks pretty darn good!
I did get a few new bits but not loads and they all came from Temu. Temu is dangerous, you go on there just for a look and suddenly your basket has 27 items in it and somehow it's all still under £20. I have found them to be really good for decorations, they are so cheap, cheerful and surprisingly well made! I expected things to fall apart in my hands but everything I bought feels like it’s going to last a good few years and if it doesn’t it was so cheap that it's not a great loss. They have now been mixed in the our old faithful's, decorations that we've had for years which I will never part with.
This year I fancied something different for the tree, something very sweet shop at Christmas so I went with a candy cane and red bauble theme and the whole thing cost me about £15.
I already had the red tinsel tucked away but considering I once paid £15 for one set of Harry Potter baubles, I’m calling this a win! It all matches without being too grown up and screams Christmas! The tree doesn’t have lights and before anyone gasps, listen to me. Lights look lovely but I cannot deal with them flashing and blinking, they give me migraines and the way they flicker in the corner of my eye gives me a headache so this year it’s no lights. Just tinsel, baubles, sweets and candy cane.
This snowman has been with us forever. I got him when Becky was a baby so he’s about 21 years old now. He’s lived in three houses with us, survived the moves, Christmas clear outs and curious toddlers. I can’t even remember where he originally came from. I think my dad gave him to us but who knows. He just sort of appeared one year and has stuck around like part of the family. I can’t imagine decorating without him.
At the top of this post you’ll have seen the new Merry Christmas sign it was one of my Temu finds. It’s made of felt so it will last years without fraying or turning weird like cheap plastic sometimes does. I’m quite proud of that one and then I got two wooden Christmas tree ornaments. Again about £2 each. When I ordered them I fully expected them to arrive the size of a postage stamp because some things always look bigger online but they turned up a really good size! They’re simple but lovely and exactly what I wanted.
The shelves are a bit of a mish-mash of things, some old and some new. I don’t do that fancy thing where everything matches. My shelves look like Christmas walked past, sneezed and left a sprinkle of memories behind.
The gingerbread man is a good few years old, we did have two but one went missing. I think Ellie took it when she was younger as she loved them so much. I do love a Christmas gonk, they’re like the unofficial mascots of Christmas now. Every year they multiply and before you know it you have a whole gonk family watching you. The glass looking ornament in the middle is one of the last things that my great Aunty Jean gave me, the last time I saw her. She was one of my favourite people ever so it is something that I treasure. I always think of her when I put it up and it brings a nice sort of happiness. The pretty, wooden things at the front are new and I think they are so cute! The other shelf is even more mish-mashed but I love these little things, the gonks and of course the snow globe, that is Becky's. She is The Grinch mad!
This felt Christmas tree has been part of our family since the girls were little. One morning, many Christmases ago the Elf on the Shelf magically made it appear. The girls were tiny and the look on their little faces could have lit the whole house up. We still laugh about it now. The decorations on it attach with Velcro, so every time someone walks past, they end up rearranging them, even now! The “Santa OMG I Know Him” sign is another Temu buy and it’s one of my favourites this year. I did have to explain it to my dad though because he’s never seen Elf. Eesh!
There is the garland right along the fireplace, a couple of Jack Skellington ornaments which I don't know how we ended up with two. I think Becky bought one thinking Ellie would love it without realising that I had already bought one and then there are more gonks, I told you I love gonks. hehehe
So that's the grand tour of my little festive living room this year. It might not be as over the top as past Decembers but it feels cosy and us which is all I ever really want at Christmas anyway.
Have you got any new Christmas decorations this year?
