How to Make Home Cozy for the Holidays

I love decorating my home for the holidays but it goes beyond decorating for me. It means opening up my home for others to enjoy for a cup of coffee or a Christmas caroling gathering. I truly believe our homes don’t need to be perfect. They need to be shared with those you love. So how do you create a home that you love being in and want to share with others?

I am all about creating a beautiful home on budget and am drawn to neutral, organic and modern decor. I try to mix in old items like thrifted gold bulb ornaments, free items from my yard (like dried hydrangeas) with new ceramic and wooden trees. Here are some tips on how to deck your halls this Christmas season on a budget.

Christmas Trees: Pick a Theme

The Christmas tree is the staple of Christmas decor. This year, we have three Christmas trees in our home: an 8′ King Noble Fir tree from King of Christmas, a 7.5′ Queen Slim Flocked Tree by King of Christmas and a tree we bought from Home Depot 3 years ago linked here. Each tree is unique and has a different theme. Which theme is your tree or which one are you drawn to?

Our kids put ALL of their ornaments on the tree in the basement (middle picture below). It is a beautiful mess filled with ornaments that they have collected over the years. I buy them an ornament each year significant to their hobbies or stage in life. The theme for this tree is the nostalgic tree.

Our living room tree (far right) is elegant and flocked, filled with woodsy and metallic ornaments and topped with a gold tree star topper linked here. It fits with the furnishings in this room and I love the soft glow it gives from our front window at night. The theme for this tree is woodsy elegant.

Our family room 8′ tree is the show stopper. I love how it makes our 9′ ceilings look so tall and the tree is so realistic. I DIY’d some textured metallic ornaments for it, and you can read all of the DIY instructions here. I found the galvanized tree collar at Hobby Lobby and put a wooden star tree topper I bought at Target last year. The theme for this tree is simple organic.

Fireplace Christmas Decor

Our early mornings and evenings are spent in front of the fireplace reading or watching a movie. This year, I found a gorgeous flowing garland at Hobby Lobby for $23 and bought two of them. I combined a spruce garland with the new garland to swoop on toggle command hooks I placed strategically on my fireplace mantel. You can find tutorials on my IG feed here. I used two wooden trees I bought at Target, a large vintage bell, stockings from Hobby Lobby and gift tags from the Target Dollar Spot. I added a garland of dried oranges to complete it. Shop this look here .

Creating a Woodsy and Natural Feel

In our dining room, I wanted to add in some Christmas decor to go along my vintage glassware and ceramic pitchers. I added wooden and metal houses, faux flocked trees, pine cones and a variety of greenery with a lot of texture. If you want to create a woodsy theme, think of what grows naturally outdoors and bring in a variety of sizes and shapes of these natural looking elements in your decor. Shop my dining room here.

Christmas Entryway and Staircase

I always try to make our entryway feel warm and inviting so I added in some festive pillows and garland with gold ribbon on the staircase linked here. I also love bringing in elements from nature so I cut some red twiggy branches from our yard. I added in a eucalyptus garland with a garland of vintage bells and added in some houses that bring a cozy glow at night. Shop my entryway console table and decor here.

Kitchen and Coffee Bar: Creating a Cozy Space to Gather

I often entertain and the coffee bar and kitchen is typically where people grab a drink and then stand to hang out while mingling. I kept it simple in both of these areas and added greenery, black and brass items linked here. Put some thrifted bulbs in a wooden bowl and hang some Norfolk Pine Garland above the slider door. I added a thrifted lamp and shade to my kitchen corner which brings such warmth in the dark mornings and long winter evenings.

Hopefully, this inspired you to find inexpensive and creative ways to decorate your home this year. How do you want to make your home warm and inviting and then who do you want to invite over? Cheers to a beautiful Christmas season to you and yours.