Decorating The House For Christmas
I’m so happy to be able to blog again - I really missed it whilst my website was under construction. The last one I published was about my Summer break in Yorkshire, and now it Christmas - how time flies!
This past week I’ve been busy decorating my house for the festive season. The tradition in my family was to decorate the tree on the 13th of December - my sisters birthday. It was always such an exciting time where we would all help to place the decorations whilst listening to Christmas music and enjoying some tasty treats. Even now when I hear one of those songs on the radio I’m immediately transported back to that time and I just remember being so happy.
Now that I’m all grown up and have my own place, I’m starting to make my own traditions. Although I would prefer to put up and decorate my tree on the 13th, I simply have to do it much earlier so that I can film festive content for YouTube in advance, so now I do it on the 1st of December.
My family all live 400 miles away in England, so sadly they are unable to help me decorate my tree. Instead I entice my friends over to help with the promise of mince pies and alcohol - funnily enough they all seem to free for this particular occasion. For me, decorating the tree signals the start of Christmas, and although I am quite particular about how I want my tree to look, I would much rather be doing it with friends than on my own.
Over the years I’ve had both real and faux Christmas trees and I always change my mind about which I prefer. With a faux tree there is a lot less mess, it always looks more full and uniform, and it won’t start to droop after a few weeks of being inside a warm house. A real tree smells wonderful, and I just love the natural, irregular shapes and looks that they provide.
This year the allure of the scent of pine drove me to get a real tree. I headed on down to my local tree farm and picked the perfect one within minutes - a 9ft beauty with full branches and lots of character. It was delivered to my door three hours later and placed into position in its new home.
Before decorating the tree, I like to let it sit overnight so that the branches can fall and open out. It’s always a good idea to do this, despite the temptation to get started right away. The next evening I had two friends over for drinks and they kept me company whilst I decorated the tree.
I like to make my own garland for the fireplace using winter foliage. I have a good friend who has a huge garden - luckily she lets me forage every year for bits of evergreen, holly, and anything else I can find.
It is much easier than you imagine to make your own garland. I don’t bother attaching it all together with floral wire. Instead I just place the foliage on the fireplace and stick bits here and there in a symmetrical fashion until it starts to look good. This way you can keep standing back adjusting. I’m very happy with how it has turned out.
One of my favourite things to do at Christmas is to set the table. It is even more exciting this year as I have a dining room!
I had been looking for some festive tableware for quite some time but never really found anything I liked. Finally I discovered this Toys Delight collection by Villeroy & Boch and I think it is perfect. My new dining room is quite plain as I’ve yet to wallpaper or decorate it fully, so this tableware will add a little whimsy and colour.
It also brings out my inner child - the little boy who would excitedly decorate the Christmas Tree with his parents and siblings on the 13th of December each year - and for me, that is what this time is all about!
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