How We Decorate for the Holidays in 600 Square Feet

Let me preface this post with a confession: I don’t love decorating for the holidays. While I appreciate the twinkle of lights as much as the next person, I absolutely dread pulling out decorations only to put them away the next month. I try to make it a fun experience — pull out some eggnog and whatnot — but I can just think of so many better ways to get in a festive mood.

Okay, that aside, let’s move on to the real issue at hand here — how we decorate with minimal space.

FEELING FESTIVE

As you might have guessed from above, I’m not a traditional Christmas decor kind of girl. I can’t do red and green, I don’t want to deal with a real tree, and I certainly don’t want colored lights. So I’ve found a holiday decor scheme that works for me. White, gold, and silver, with pops of pink and blue. I probably would have taken the pink out this year given that it no longer goes with my apartment decor…but then I’d be running super low on ornaments. Maybe next year. Also on the maybe next year list, acquiring a white ceramic vintage Christmas tree.

DISPLAYING CARDS

Another confession: I’m the type of person that throws things out right after I look at them, so I tried to do the same with all the holiday cards and Adam stopped me. Whoops. So, I agreed to display the cards this year. We have a cute tray on our TV stand/bookshelf that seemed like the perfect spot — especially because it’s from The Jefferson in Richmond which is one of my favorite places to visit during the holidays.

MERGING TRADITIONS

In our home, we have both Christmas and Hanukkah. Adam is Jewish, and I grew up Catholic, and while I can cover plenty more on the journey we’re on during my wedding posts, for now we’re decorating for both holidays. I’m not one for super traditional decor no matter what the holiday is, and I found this modern menorah at Crate and Barrel last year. I absolutely love the simple, clean lines.

THE TREE

Again, a real Christmas tree sounds like way too much of a hassle for me, and I don’t particularly even like the idea of a green tree with my decor, so a pre-lit white Christmas tree was just the answer. I found this exact tree online — at Wal-Mart of all places — and I’ve been so happy with it for the past two years. It assembles super easily, all the lights work (knock on wood) and it’s small enough to fit in a tiny apartment. Plus, it’s under $30, you can’t beat that.

AND, OF COURSE, CANDLES

Without a real tree, we miss out on that evergreen scent filling the apartment, but don’t fret, just pick up a few Frasier Fir scented candles. I’m loving this candle I found at a home store in Frederick, MD, and you can buy it on Amazon. A warmly scented Voluspa candle is also a nice winter addition. Plus, lighting all these candles just adds to that hygge life.

I also switch out my usual home for matchbooks for a more festive version. I love the holiday line that Crate and Barrel comes out with each winter and this particular bowl is from a nesting set a few years back.

AND WHERE DO I PUT ALL THIS…

You may be wondering…okay, I clearly am going for minimal decorating here and it’s not taking up much room, but where do I store it the other 11 months out of the year? Our Ikea sofa flips up to reveal storage and somehow all of our seasonal items fit in there, Christmas tree, picnic blankets, beach towel included. It’s seriously a miracle.