I can’t believe this is our 3rd Christmas at 2433!  The day before Thanksgiving I put away our fall decor and pulled out the Christmas boxes.  You’ll notice some same decor I’ve brought out or made in previous years, but I also added to my collection too!

This was the first year we opted for an artificial tree.  I’ve enjoyed having a real tree the last two years, but it really isn’t cost effective, so we went artificial this year and found one at Hobby Lobby.  The best part about it: it’s prelit, so I didn’t spend hours adding lights around the middle and then the outer branches of the tree. That alone was a huge win in my book.

One of my favorite traditions is collecting ornaments from different trips.  We did add a few new ornaments this year: Lobster boat from Kennebunkport and a beach one from our honeymoon in Jamaica.The mercury glass ornaments & sea glass ornaments are still fixtures on our tree.  We didn’t do a rope garland this year, but went for burlap trailing from the top instead.

The other night I made a simple tree topper for the new tree.  The tree was definitely missing it, and that was my 5 minute craft version of one for this year.This spring I brought our shelves into the living room, so I had another area to decorate this year, which was wonderful!  Highlights are a framed Santa postcard from my Great-grandmother, Mama, a pelican from Raleigh, 1 burlap wrapped tree, and a little red bird with hat & scarf from Pine Mountain.

The living room has all the normal decorations – our DIY stocking holders from 2014, coastal burlap stockings, some decoupaged Christmas trees from last year,  another burlap wrapped tree, and a driftwood reindeer on the mantle.  And yes, that’s Elf on tv – I’ve maybe watched it 5 times so far this year ?.

I added small silver & blue ornaments to my Grandmom’s silver bowl for a festive touch on the coffee table.  Plus I had to swap out my Charleston books for my Christmas ones…

Our entry is all older items too – my driftwood angel, NOEL letters from last year, more driftwood reindeer and the normal coastal decor with some added lights.I picked up a ‘Merry Christmas’ banner during one of my several trips to Michael’s this year and hung it above our bar.  I also have my cranberry & rosemary centerpiece over there as well.

My wine cork Christmas tree was back out and the centerpiece of our dining table.  This year I added some fresh rosemary around it, and I like it even more!

My Grinch quote went in the kitchen, behind the sink – which seemed like a great place for a little Christmas reminder. And my lil Coca Cola bear is in the window!

I also added a light up star I found at Michael’s last week to the counter by the fridge to add a little something (at this point it was really the only place that didn’t have any decor).

The pantry door is now covered with all of the holiday cards we’ve received.  I love seeing everyone’s faces!

Our friend Holly gave us a cute hand towel last year, so I put it in our guest bathroom.  The ‘Sanda Claus’ theme fits in perfectly with everything else 🙂

Outdoors was pretty standard from the last few years – I wrapped the front porch with the pre-lit garland, added candles to the front windows & put out my ‘Seas and Greetings’ sign with a poinsettia out front.It was fun to look back and see what’s changed and what’s the same from our first Christmas at the house.  I still can’t get over how much difference a rug in the living room made!

Hope you enjoyed the little holiday tour!