Let’s get this out of the way up front: I dislike Christmas decor.
I mean, it’s fine in other people’s houses. I know plenty of people who love decorating for the holidays and their homes look wonderful.
But in my house? Ugh. It always feels cluttered and over-full during the month of December, once we’ve pulled out the lights and stockings and Santas and tinsel garlands ... and the giant wooden gingerbread man that seemed like a fun idea at the time. Then there’s the (special but admittedly gaudy) tree itself.
Basically, I’m taking deep breaths and looking forward to the lovely season of decluttering and organization — a.k.a. January. That’s my Christmas.
Of course, my children adore Christmas and all of the decorations that come with it. So I thought I’d make an effort to replace a few pieces with ones I liked better — specially, something simpler.
I decorated bedrooms for two tweens a few months ago and fell in love with the sweet pom-pom garlands I’d made for their rooms. So I picked up packages of red and white pom-poms and made a few to swag over the windows in our living room.
These are so easy to make! You thread a needle and just plunge it through the middle of each pom-pom to add it to your thread. If you think it might get messed with — and you’re particular about having the poms evenly spaced — you can stitch in and out a few times to prevent it from moving on the thread. I didn’t bother with that this time, and that leaves you free to adjust the spacing once you hang it.
Once I felt I had strung enough poms, I tied a loop in one end of my thread and hung it from a curtain clip. Then I arranged the garland so it swagged nicely in the window, and tied off the other end at a good length. Because it’s hanging off the curtain clips — and the garland is light as a feather — I can easily reposition it when we go to close the curtains, which isn’t often.
I also toyed with adding a little Christmas touch to our sectional sofa with a cozy knit throw and a (fake) holiday pillow. I bought a metre of red and green plaid fleece — so snuggly — and wrapped it around a large throw pillow, pinning it at the back to keep it in place.
We don’t have the storage space (or the desire) to store holiday-specific pillows throughout the year, so I like I can unpin the fabric after Christmas and either save it for next year or use it for another project. Ooh, maybe a sweater for the dog!
Happy Christmas decorating! Or, if you’re like me, here’s to spending the next month remembering that you’ll have your house back to normal soon.
- Cost: $20-$30
- Effort: 1 out of 5
- Results: 5 out of 5
Heather Laura Clarke is a crafty maker who perpetually has paint smears on her hands, sawdust in her shoes and bits of thread stuck to her leggings. She lives in Truro with her husband, son, and daughter. Follow her adventures at HeathersHandmadeLife.com.
