A Simple Christmas

It’s coming up to mid December and I’m starting to get super excited for Christmas. I’ve always loved this time of year, the cooler weather, cosy fires, the anticipation of snow ( please let there be snow ) and of course mince pies!!!

One of my favourite things to do ( probably in the whole year ) is to go and get our Christmas tree and decorate the house. I thought I’d show you how things are looking so far and give you some ideas of how to bring nature inside at Christmas time.

This is my bedroom. I can’t help but add a bit of Christmas to every room, keeping it simple however, with greenery, candles, homemade garlands and the odd favourite decoration hanging off a cupboard door.

A closer look at our handmade garland - All you need to make this is a piece of brown string and some foraged greenery - we used fir. You simply cut little pieces of the greenery off the stem and tie them on the string leaving a small gap in between. It’s the simplest and quickest way to add just a little / no fuss decoration to your room and I love it. I’m going to share a few more ideas below.

Candle arrangements - We have made this one using a vintage galvanised chicken feeder. Simply add your candle and fill with greenery / fircones and it makes a beautiful addition to your table. You could use a box or a vintage tin, anything you can add a candle to makes an excellent decoration. ( We have some of these ones above available in our online shop ) .

A hanging branch - one of my favourites! All you need is a branch and anything you fancy hanging. We found this lovely one in the woods recently, and it’s barkless which makes me love it even more. We hung a mixture of fircones and fir on this one, all at differnt heights, just using brown string. The handiest thing to have at home! I’m going to make another one with just greenery soon. You could add battery - operated fairy lights around your branch if you want a bit more sparkle.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without wreaths! We made these ones using a base of wisteria branches that were cut after the summer. You could use willow, or any branches that are easy enough to bend. Then simply add foraged greenery etc by tying it on piece by piece with string or wire. I always use string as I don’t mind the rustic look, but you could use florist wire if you want to be neater.

And last but not least our Christmas trees! This year we have bought living trees. They come potted up so after Christmas you can put them outside, plant them in the garden or transfer them to a larger pot. I’m planning to take mine to the allotment!

I love the idea that they carry on after Christmas, it always makes me sad seeing trees piled up outside houses, so it’s lovely knowing that their life isn’t over.

We have gone super simple with the decorations, just adding fairy lights and leaving the tiny one completely bare. Although, I have my eye on some beautiful wooden decorations, but I think I’ll save them for next year.

Here they are… ( Oh and by the way the bigger one isn’t staying next to the bed, it was just the best place to photograph it! Although I do love it next to the pink! )

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading our second blog post and I’d love you to let us know how your preparations are going, have you decorated yet? And the bigger question… have you done your Christmas shopping? I’ve finally started mine, phew!

Emily.

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