I've been trying to have fun with decorating this year...instead of just "puttin' stuff out." The kids have been really interested in helping getting things ready, and, to avoid fights, I've been letting them do just that. And they've actually been pretty helpful! Surprise, surprise...
Up until a few days ago, the only thing completely done in the house was our tree...
And then I was given a challenge...
Shop at Kmart for some holiday tabletop decorations...and don't spend more than $100.00. Oh, yes. This was EXACTLY what I needed to get my rear in gear!
Over the years, our tree has taken on a sort-of rustic, outdoorsy-but-still-pretty feel...a lot of red, plaid, gold, pinecones, etc. so I decided I really wanted to stick with this theme...at least throughout the living & dining rooms.
I was hoping Kmart would be able to accommodate my wishes...it had been a loooong time since I'd shopped there & I didn't know what to expect...and man, would $100 be enough? I grabbed the boys and decided to see what I could find...you can read all about our shopping trip here on Google +, but here are a couple of shots I got while we were there...
I'm really starting to dig these white trees...maybe next year? And look at those fun cookie & cupcake ornaments!!!
I had no idea Kmart had such a huge holiday decorating selection! I honestly thought I would have a hard time with this challenge, but no, just the opposite...I had a hard time not buying one of everything!
And lookie here...just colors I'm looking for...
The boys and I spent about an hour just taking in all of the choices before we made our decisions...and I think we ended up with some wonderful things...
Here's everything I bought...
Various ornaments, mini pine trees, some garland, a pine-scented candle, some LED candles, candy, a jar, fake snow, a 2' tree & some ribbon...whew...
you can see the ornaments a little more clearly here...
And guess what? With all of the amazing sales that are going on right now, I spent less than my alloted $100.00...woo hoo!
Wanna see what I did with all of my wonderful new decorations?
Let's start with that 2' tree & the wonderful yo-yo garland I bought...I wanted to dress up our kitchen just a bit this year...I didn't stick with the rustic look in here...the colors are a little brighter & a little more fun...
...and because this tree was for the kitchen, I thought the colander and the clementines were the perfect finishing touches...
I love the turquoise with the orange & red & pink...so festive!
OK...so let's move on upstairs to the bathroom...I don't have too many decorations up there usually, so I didn't want to go overboard for Christmas. We have a wonderful, oil-rubbed bronze chandelier that classes up the joint a bit, so I wanted to keep things low key...I grabbed one of the ornaments from our buy (from the Country Living Vintage Christmas line) & simply placed it into my great-grandmother's silver candy dish...
I think it's perfect...and it really adds just the right amount of Christmas...
a I have a little side table next to our couch...I already had the mini tree & the photo (purchased at a craft show years ago)...but I added the jar, faux snow & another one of our new ornaments...
I love how simple & clean this looks...and it fits right in...
Over on the other table in the living room I had a basket with a couple of little holiday pillows in it...I added all 3 of our new mercury-glass acorn ornaments here...
I really didn't realize this little basket was missing anything until I added the acorns...now it's perfect...
I took two more of our new ornaments (this one & this one) and just tucked them into the tops of the "trees"...
Aren't they so pretty?
Then I took the LED candles that we purchased, removed the bottoms from them & placed them into my vintage brass candlesticks...
These candles are awesome...you just turn them on once...they stay lit for 8 hours and then turn off for 16 hours...you never once need to turn them on or off again for the entire holiday season! Now that's my kind of candle...no worries at all...
You can see from the photo above that I took another ornament (just like the one in the jar on the side table) and dropped it into a silver wine glass...I love the way this turned out...
Doesn't that look neat?
I've seen little mini Christmas trees in ornaments all over blogland...I think they're so adorable. So I took a couple of the Lemax Village Collection mini pine trees that we bought and put them under glass...with some more of our "snow."
...one in a little mini-cloche on a candlestick...
...and a few on a cakestand...
I loved the little sweater-covered candle we purchased...but I wasn't jazzed about the ribbon that came around it...so I just took off that little ribbon & added a piece of jute. I pinned the jute together (with a straight pin) because I thought tying it would be too bulky...
And here is the whole table...all put together...what do you think?
For the dining room chairs, I took the garlands that we bought and fashioned little wreaths. I took some floral wire, formed some circles & wired the garland to the wire...super-easy...then I just took the ribbon that we got and attached the little wreaths to the backs of the chairs...
These little wreaths are my favorite things...I think I will do this every year...I love how festive they look - without being completely over the top and cutesy...
Finally...I mentioned that I had bought some candy with my Kmart money...I always like to have little treats around to offer guests that visit during the holidays...not just a piece, but a little box of something to take home...a little gift.
When I saw these little Whitman's & Russell Stover mini chocolate boxes ($1.00 each!) I knew just what I would do. I dressed them up a little with some ribbon & such and arranged them in a little metal box to set on the bench near our front door. Now guests can help themselves as they leave...
So there you have it...a little tour of my holiday decor...all thanks to Kmart and their Holiday Shop (oh, and two very patient little boys)...I have some wonderful decor that I can use year after year...and I found a new store to shop...definitely win-win...
What do you think? Have you finished decorating yet? Have you even started? Do you do a theme throughout your house? Or room by room? Or is everything just random? Do you change your decorations every year? Or stick with the same things? Can you believe Christmas is only 9 days away?
**This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias**
While I have been compensated for this post, all opinions are 100% mine.
