Tag Archives: holiday home

My Christmas Mantel 2014

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Julie

My kids are soooo happy!

They have been asking and asking and asking WHEN am I going to start Christmas decorating?!

Well, the wait it over!

Yep.

I decorated my mantel for Christmas.

One space down, several more to go!

I have to say, I think this is my favorite Christmas mantel I’ve decorated in this house.

It’s a little bit rustic and a little bit traditional.

I adore green and red at Christmas. I think it will always be my style.

You’ll notice, the decor is pretty simple.

I think it’s my mantra this year — “Simple, simple!”

In year’s past, I’ve had a lot more garland and more “stuff.”

This year, I didn’t want to fuss or have the mantel compete with the tree that will eventually sit right next to the fireplace.

Did you notice I got a wild hair and exchanged my usual chippy arched window for a new chalkboard I made?

I made it the same way I made the one in my dining room. I used an open-back frame, some hard board cut to measure from Lowe’s and some chalkboard paint. So easy!

(By the way, I did the chalkboard writing free-hand, but if you just want to buy one already made I fashioned mine after one found in Dear Lillie’s online shop. If you browse the site you’ll notice that they offer different sizes including a 24 x 36 size which is just a tad smaller than mine which measures 30″ x 40″)

The nutcrackers are a new find from Target. I couldn’t resist them.

I love their traditional, yet rustic appeal.

The kids helped me pick them out.

I think we may have started a new tradition — collecting nut crackers each year.

I think it would be cute to line them all up on the mantel, each having it’s own story of how and where we bought him.

I love traditions like that.

Maybe that’s why I love red and green so much.

It’s tradition.

Full disclosure — I will probably tweak this space once the tree is up and/or all the Christmas boxes are hauled out of the attic, but right now I love it. Bring on the holiday season!

Looking for more Christmas inspiration?

Be sure to visit all the other blogs on the Christmas Mantel Tour this week.

Thank you to Sonya and Melissa for inviting me to take part in this tour!