Of all of the blog posts I look forward to writing in a year, my Christmas decorations home tour has to be THE one!

Here are 2018, and 2019’s instalments for your perusal, in case you fancy a little archive read!

This year it feels like there’s something a little ‘extra’ in the air concerning festive decorations. Have you noticed it too?

It’s as if the darker moments of 2020 have paved the way for the very opposite. More light. More festive cheer. Extra twinkle.

And I’m on board. Bring on ALL the good vibes!

I’m Wearing

Dress: Laura Ashley (past season ~ similar) | Flats: L.K. Bennett (past season ~ similar in a low heel)

Earrings: Accessorize (past season ~ these are gorgeous)

Aside from the fact that the festive season is a time to celebrate and connect, for many people it’s also a time to rest. Especially this year.

Between the constant hum of virus-related stress, cancelled plans, worries about the future and, well, daily life, 2020 has been a LOT.

If you’re feeling at capacity right now, please know that you’re not alone. Everyone (literally, everyone) that I’ve spoken to of late is TIRED. On a deep level.

My hope is that the next few weeks can provide some respite for us all, and help us to reboot our energy reserves ahead of 2021.

Now for that Christmas decorations tour, the 2020 edition . . . !

Our 2020

Christmas Decorations Home Tour

When Oli and I started to talk about our Christmas decorations this year, we decided on a traditional colour palette of pine green, rich red and opulent gold.

I love the simplicity yet richness to these colours.

In past years we’ve gone more monochromatic with gold decorations only, but for 2020 all-out Christmas vibes felt right.

The Tree & Tree Decorations

Going to choose our Christmas tree is one of my favourite traditions of the whole season.

Over the past few years we’ve bought our tree from Burcot Farm Christmas Trees. We absolutely love it there! Everyone is so helpful, and there is a huge variety of Christmas trees. The quality is amazing, and the shape of the trees is always spot-on.

Still, we always spend time finding “the one” for us. 

This year we ended up honing in on our tree pretty quickly. Shape-wise it’s probably the most perfect tree we’ve bought for this flat. Last year I remember having to trim so many branches, but this year it slotted straight into place.  Yay!

Lights & Baubles

When it comes to Christmas tree decorations, I have a ‘layering’ formula which I think works pretty well.

I start with the lights, wrapping these from the base of the tree all the way to the top. We used three sets of lights this year, all in a warm white. I don’t really have a recommendation on where to buy good lights from since ours are from a hodge podge of places, but my friend Lucy Gough styles for Lights4Fun and their offerings look amazing.

As for the baubles . . .

We have a big stock of what I call “base baubles” in neutral colours: gold and red. I bought these baubles in big multipacks, they were inexpensive and they’re great for building up a strong decorative foundation.

I use the biggest baubles at the bottom of the tree, and use smaller-sized baubles as I work my way up, finishing with the most petite ones at the top.

Then when it comes to more special decorations, I like to scatter these throughout the tree. Oli and I have been building a collection of precious Christmas tree decorations over the years. Some have been gifts from friends and family, others we have picked up on trips. We tend to buy a few more each year. I love that the decorations create a little story amongst themselves. 

Some of my favourite decorations include the sledging polar bear and the llama, both from Sass & Belle (do you remember them from last year?!), as well as sweet tartan ice skates we bought this year. We also have some precious glass baubles which were gifts, as well as an embroidered “M” which is a treasured gift from my great Aunty Peggy.

Finally, Oli and I decided to pop candy canes up and down the tree. And, if it was up to me I’d probably put dried oranges all over it too! Ha, I love dried oranges this year!

Speaking of which . . .

Wreaths

Our current wreath total stands at 5 this year.

Like I said, we’re feeling extra!

In fact we’ll probably be adding another since we’ve just had our front door painted. I can’t wait to put a beautiful wreath up against the new paint.

Anyone else feel VERY satisfied by a great wreath/paint combo?

This year Oli and I bought most of our wreaths from Burcot Farm, as well as our tree. We found the wreaths to be great value and really good quality. You have the option to buy them pre-decorated, customise them at the farm or you can take them home and boujee them up yourself.

We did a bit of all of the above, going with some simple decorations at the farm, and bulking them out once we were home.

I used a pack of festive pot pourri from Long Barn this year and it has been a game. changer. One pack has stretched so far! I still have plenty left over for little bowls of scented goodness around the flat. It smells amazing and looks gorgeous too.

For now we have a wreath in our newly decked-out boot room (post on that coming soon!), one on our inner front door, two on our windows in the living room. And another wreath which kind of floats around the flat. It’s a moving prop! At the moment I am using it as a decor piece on our coffee table, and I love how it hugs our White Company Winter Candle.

A Stationery Note!

If you’re a stationery-lover like me, I think you’ll love Penelope Margot Design. Steph, the brand’s founder so kindly sent me a pack of cards and tags recently and I couldn’t love them more! The gold foil design, the soft colour palette and luxe velvet ribbons all made me swoon. You can buy from Penelope Margot on Etsy, and have a browse on Instagram too: @PenelopeMargotDesign.

Garland

Although I bought all of my foliage to make a eucalyptus garland (as I have done in previous years) in the end Oli and I went rogue and bought a faux garland this year.

And . . . I love it!

We wanted to invest in something that we can use in years to come. After much googling, and not much luck finding a faux garland we liked online, we stumbled on this one. Randomly when we were food-shopping at Waitrose! Such a lucky find!

To make it a little more realistic and full, I added branches of real evergreen foliage as a base. Side note: there’s a WHOLE world of “making fake foliage look real” – pop it into Pinterest!

I may still make my eucalyptus garland (I’d love to share a tutorial on IGTV!) but it will probably be when I wind down from work now.

Other Christmas Decor

Do you do your whole home when you decorate? I’m curious!

Oli and I have kept the bulk of our decorating to the living room. Including dried hydrangeas (which I had last year too – not planned!), and candles pretty much everywhere. I love Molton Brown’s scents this year, especially the Oudh Accord & Gold scent.

I’m planning on adding a few little trinkets to my office, and some nice styling set-ups around the flat.

I may even try some Christmas DIYs. Did you see Carries’ gorgeous homemade Christmas decorations?! Wow! And my friend Hayley just released an amazing e-book: 10 Festive Craft & Decor Ideas For Christmas.

I hope you enjoyed having a little peek at our Christmas decor this year!

More so than ever my home has been my sanctuary this year, and I’m excited to embrace that feeling even more so over the Christmas period.

Having the fire lit, the Christmas tree lights on and Oli at home is just the best. I am feeling very grateful for the smallest moments, which are really the biggest. 

How are you embracing the festive season in your home this Christmas?

Love, Monica x

Photography by Charlotte Bryer-Ash