I am so excited to decorate for the holidays!  Personally I love to savor these moments and decorate intentionally one room at a time.  Armed with a few new beautiful festive decorations from Garnet Hill and some oldies-but-goodies of my own, I had everything I needed to get the living room looking holiday-ready in no time!

One thing I do every year is I incorporate fresh cedar greenery into my home.  The combination of the lovely aroma and it’s rich green tone truly create a wonderfully festive atmosphere. Garnet Hill has beautiful 4ft Cedar & Pinecone Garlands as well as Cedar & Pinecone Wreaths  that will add the perfect touch of fresh festive greenery to your home this holiday season.

The first festive touches of the holiday season:

First things first, I love to start the season by decorating my mantle!  This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the holidays since my family and I spend so much time in this room.  I strive to create a living room that brings us comfort and joy as we spend more time indoors with the inevitably cooler holiday season approaching.  I want to create a space where we can get cozy and make memories that we’ll look back on fondly in the years ahead.  So with that in mind, I added my first touches of Christmas to our living room:

 I’ve found that one of the most effective decorating techniques for making a statement is to group similar items together.  This year, I decided I wanted to incorporate a little forest of bottle brush Christmas trees for the holidays!  I got these Natural Sisal Bottle-Brush Trees in both green and white, and then added in some of these Felted Wood Holiday Trees as well.  I love the mixture and variety that these offer.  Not to mention, I’ve never seen felted wool holiday trees like this anywhere else before and I was immediately drawn to the texture and softness that they added to the mantle.  Now I’ve got my own little forest of trees to enjoy tucked in amongst my garland!

Add a little magic and joy:

One of my goals this year is to infuse more magic and whimsy into our home this holiday season.  As my kids grow, I’m realizing more and more how crucial it is to make the holidays a really magical time for them, before they’re too old and too cool to be interested anymore!  The moment I laid eyes on this set of Felt Holiday Gnomes with their colorful hats (available exclusively at Garnet Hill)  I knew that they had to be part of our Christmas décor this season.  And I’m so glad I got them because my daughter will not put them down.  She even took one to bed and snuggled it like a stuffed animal as she slept.    Too cute, and worth every penny for the memories that she’ll have with them.  

And (nerd alert!) the former teacher in me can never resist an opportunity to squeeze in a learning experience during the holidays!  So I got these wooden “Chatterblocks” letter blocks so that my kids can have fun leaving holiday related messages, while also brushing up on their spelling skills. Even better yet, they are handmade from solid wood in Vermont, so they’ll last for years to come and will become a holiday staple around here I’m sure.

Adding an Heirloom Piece:

While there are some holiday items that come and go with the trends, I like to invest in heirloom-quality pieces from time to time. My husband studied wood-working in college and truly has an appreciation for fine craftsmanship so I decided this year that we’d add Farmhouse Pottery Turned-Wood Candlesticks, which were hand turned in Pennsylvania and finished in Vermont. Both those states have a special place in Mr. Harper’s heart so I’m excited to add these candlesticks this holiday season. And the best part is that these are versatile and neutral enough to use all year long, so there’s no need to pack them away in a month. I adore classic pieces like this!

I am so grateful for these festive additions to our home from Garnet Hill which have helped us to increase the comfort, joy, and wonder of our home this Christmas. And may each of YOU create a home this holiday season that sparks joy, and keeps us twirling all season long, like my little girl here in what may be my favorite capture of the year!

This post was sponsored by Garnet Hill but all product selections and opinions are 100% my own! I appreciate your support of the brands I partner with, which make this blog possible!