Den Decor | Holidays

‘Tis the Season: How to Deck Your Table & Not Break the Bank

By on 15 December, 2017

This year for Christmas, we offered to host Daniel’s office dinner potluck and then went on an amazing Tacky Light Tour! We both had to work that day, so I went ahead and got the table set the evening before.

(Vicky is inspecting the table settings)

I found some beautiful placemats at The Dollar Tree and found some affordable chargers at Michael’s craft store, where I also found these adorable snowman baskets!

I made a few floral arrangements earlier in the week and put in these baskets (plus a couple more for the neighbors). I was so excited when I was at Aldi and they had perfect winter bouquets to create these!

Floral Arrangement for my Neighbors (Dollar Tree Elf Basket)

When it came time for dinner, I placed some wooden coasters (cut from that giant tree that fell this spring), added my white Corelle plates, and plain white napkins with a simple fold. I moved the flowers off of the table to make room for the food and because I didn’t want their scent to detract from the meal. Each guest’s place setting was marked by writing their name on a sprig of holly from the garden.

Cost Breakdown:

ItemStoreCost
PlacematsDollar Tree$8
ChargersMichael’s$8
Snowman BasketsMichael’s$4
4 Bunches Winter FlowersAldi$16
Elf BasketDollar Tree$1
Floral FoamDollar Tree$3
Total $40

I didn’t include the taxes in the total above, plus I included our floral basket gift for the neighbors, but all-in $40 was a fantastic budget. I used additionally found items I already had; Sparkle berries, leaf cuttings from my own Holly, etc. to keep the costs down as well. Additionally, I know I will be able to use the Placemats, Chargers, and Snowman Baskets for years to come!!

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Den Decor | Holidays

‘Tis the Season! Trimming all the Christmas Trees

By on 26 November, 2017

With Thanksgiving behind me, I am jumping with joy because it is time to decorate the Den for Christmas!

I like to start off by putting up the trees (yes, I mean multiple trees) the day after Thanksgiving, or certainly later that weekend.

A little history on how I came to have SO many trees

When I was in the army and stationed in Germany, I bought a small, 4′ tall Christmas tree for my barracks room. The whole time I lived in Germany, this was my tree, even when I moved into a house, I put up my petite tree. Now I still decorate it and fill it with all of our sentimental ornaments and more fragile pieces.

When I got married, I didn’t want a traditional guest book. I didn’t understand the point of it to be perfectly honest, but as a traditionalist, I knew I needed to do something. While I was on a trip to Dijon, France I found a bunch of clear, fillable ornaments and thought they would be the perfect guest book. Each guest could write a note, draw a picture, and fill it with wishes and ribbons. We were married a few days after Christmas, so I felt it was a perfect idea! When we moved back to The States, we found a really small tree in Daniel’s grandmother’s attic. I immediately knew it was just the right size for our “Anniversary Tree.” Each year as I decorate the tree, I laugh at the jokes and silly sentiments as well feeling the love that was shared with us on that special day.

Finally, last but not least, we bought a normal size Christmas tree. The largest one that would fit under our 8ft ceilings. Daniel adores a big Christmas tree, and it took quite a lot of persuasion to convince him we could only have a 7.5′ tree to leave some room for the tree topper.

Two Kitties Getting Acquianted
Sweet Purrl pretending to be on the “Nice List”

I shouldn’t forget our outside Christmas Tree! We affectionately call him Charlie Brown because when we moved in, he wasn’t in the best shape. I had to trim a bunch of dead branches, and there hasn’t been a lot of growth on the bottom portion of the tree. However, it is a large tree that is thrilling terrifying to decorate with lots of colored lights!

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