Happy Thursday! I am so excited about today’s Cozy Holiday Home Tour!  I have been planning this tour with five other bloggers for a few months and I am so happy it is finally here. If you are new to the blog, thanks so much for popping by! Today, I am going to give a peek into a few spots around the house that are decked out for the holidays. Plus, I am sharing my ideas for keeping Christmas decor from taking over your house!

As always, I gravitate towards a cozy and warm theme for our home.  Our house is a 1950’s cape cod that we renovated several years ago. It still has a bit of the older feel and so I try to stay within that style. I love to decorate for holidays but I do not like dragging out a ton of bins and boxes with Christmas decor. So in the last few years, I’ve tried to simply our holiday decor while still making the house feel like Christmas!

Tips for Simple & Stylish Christmas Decor

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Designate Certain Spots for Holiday Decor

My first tip is to pick spots around the home that get updated for the holidays. Instead of trying to cover every surface in the home with decorations, designate a few areas! At Christmastime, I take away some of my everyday decor too. I used to just add Christmas decor to what I already had out and the house felt so cluttered! Now, I clear off some counter and shelf space.

Some of my favorite spots for holiday decor are in my kitchen. The coffee bar gets a makeover for most holidays and seasons. This Christmas, I went with a hot cocoa theme! I was inspired by the hot cocoa sign I found at Kirklands. Everything else I had on hand at home. I TRY not to buy too many holiday specific decorations. The hot cocoa theme can stay all winter long!

I change up my chalkboard for holidays and seasons. It’s another spot that doesn’t require a lot of decor …just a few little swaps goes a long way.

I update our kitchen sink area with seasonal items too.

Mix Old with New

It is so easy to want to buy all new decor every season…especially if you spend any time on Instagram or Pinterest. There is so much inspiration everywhere! But it is good to have a mix of old and new decor. I have memories of specific Christmas decorations that were in my home growing up. I want my kids to be able to count on some of the same holiday decorations too!

We have had these stocking holders since before we had kids. And while I might opt for something “new”, these holders are special because we got them when we were first married.

Same goes for the stockings…there are so many cute ideas. But I am too sentimental to ever change our stockings!

A few years ago, I found this ceramic tree at an antique store. It is such a classic Christmas item.

I love how this tree fits into our kitchen!

I use my bar cart to display some of our old and new items. We have had the nutcracker for several years and usually I put it in the kids space. But this year I displayed in our living room and he fits right in:) I put old Christmas cards and Santa pictures in the basket.

My nine year old was in charge of updating our light box and letter board and I think he did an awesome job!

I also love mixing homemade items with store bought decor. One of the kids made this mini gnome at school last year. He fits perfectly with the large gnome I got from Homegoods.

Use consumable items as decor

It’s nice to mix in things like flowers, greenery and even food as part of the seasonal decor! These are items that can be thrown away or eaten by the end of the holiday!! Candy inside clear bowls or jars adds a nice pop of color. Just be sure you have plenty of candy to restock as you might always be replenishing! We just swapped out the remaining candy corns in this gumball machine for holiday colored M & Ms!

Even cute holiday themed soaps are a great way to add a festive touch!

Invest in decor pieces that can be used for all the holidays

My favorite decor pieces include trays, cake stands and lanterns! These are pieces that you can work with for every occasion! We are always moving these pieces around the house for a different look. The lanterns and trays get filled with different items. Frequently,  I update what is on the cake stands depending on the season.

This fall, I picked up this wood tray and galvanized house from the Hearth and Hand Collection at Target. These are versatile items that can be used with any seasonal decor.

Instead of setting the table with Christmas plates like I sometimes do, I stacked them in the tray. The table feels less cluttered without the dishes all out. If I’m being honest, it’s a pain to move the place settings when we eat at the table. (like we did for a few weeks around Thanksgiving).

Recently, I purchased this glass domed cake stand (similar). I filled it with a pumpkin and some greenery for Thanksgiving. Now, the dome is filled with white houses and snow (and the same greenery).

I always love tiered trays for displaying seasonal items. I find that when I have nice, versatile decor pieces, I don’t need a ton of knick knacks and smaller accessories. It makes it easy to coral little decor pieces into these bigger decor items.

Group similar Christmas decor items together

If you have any cute collections like snowman, Santas, etc, minimize the clutter feel by grouping these items together. This year, I put all of my snowmen together on my tiered tray.

My mom has given these Lori Mitchell figurines to the kids over the years. I displayed them all on our piano this year.

Use colors and textures instead of holiday specific decor pieces

In the last few years, I have figured out that I can change up the colors and textures in our house to get a seasonal look.

One way I I do this  is by swapping out pillows and blankets. This year I bought a few new pillows and pillow covers! I plan to keep both the plaid and gray pillows out after Christmas.

Gnome Pillow Cover (on clearance)

Gray Embroidered Pillow Covers (on clearance too!)

Gray Plaid Pillows

I swapped out my pillows and blanket on our pew bench too.

Another way to change up holiday decor is to use color!  We went with a neutral/silver color scheme for the dining room mantle. Most of these items I already had on my mantle including the candle sticks, window and white picture. So it was easy to add a few more neutral items and take away a few things. This mantle will carry us through the winter months.

Our dining room table got a little Christmas update. I decided not to put out a full place setting (since we use the table frequently) and opted for some chargers and my favorite napkins. Buffalo check is another decor item that can be used throughout the seasons.

Thanks for stopping by to view my Cozy Holiday Home Tour!  I didn’t get a chance to share all of my home including our Christmas trees.  But I’ll be back with this same group of ladies in a few weeks for a Holiday Lights Tour on Tuesday, December 11th!

Make sure to visit the rest of the tour stops. I can’t wait to check them out myself!

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