Christmas Decorating Must Haves for Me

I know that some people don’t even think about decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. That’s the way it used to be, but since I’ve been blogging, I enjoy getting my house holiday ready earlier in the month, so I’ve started pulling mine out and have already finished a few areas. I decorate 6 main areas of our downstairs so that the house is aglow with Christmas lights and cheer: the front porch, the foyer staircase and foyer table, the living room with the Christmas tree, the dining room, the mantel, and the antique cabinet off the kitchen. When all of these areas are done, I pronounce our house Christmas ready. I’m about halfway there now, so I thought I’d share some new items I just found and some older items that I love to use. I don’t buy much new for Christmas, I already have so much, but I did add a really clever piece that’s going to help my front porch come together better this year.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission (at no charge to you) if you purchase from my links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy. I was gifted these pieces from Lintico, but all opinions are my own. 

I haven’t done the porch yet, but I did just buy this really cool garland hanger. I’ve been eyeing these for a few years and decided to just go for it this year and I’m so glad I did. See those tiny cup hooks below the new hanger? Those were left up by the previous owner and that’s what I’ve been hanging my garland on. They are wobbly and I think they are going to give out at any moment. It’s about time for a replacement and this one is so nice and sturdy. I did get the largest size for our door and sidelights and it went together really fast. Just read the instructions on getting it hung up if you’re interested in trying one. I’m so pleased with this one!

I bought this Norfolk pine garland a couple years ago and the prices are even better now. I use four 9′ pieces on my stairs for a swagged look. I don’t have these, but I’m going to buy a set of these bannister ties for next year. They look like they would work really well on stairs. These cow bells are very similar to my set that I’ve had for years. The cedar garland is also very popular and I love it too. I’ve seen some girls I trust link a few of them and they look great, like this cedar garland and this one looks great too. If I hadn’t already bought mine, I would be tempted by these garlands and prices!

If you love warm candlelight, these little votives have been great for me. I reuse them every year. They have a remote with timer and they use button batteries, which aren’t that expensive. I just buy a new set of batteries every year and have some left over for the next year. If I had remembered to turn all of these off, the batteries may have still been working this year. My mercury glass candle holders are mixed sets, but this set of candle holders from Amazon are a great deal for all of these. I love having warm candlelight around the house during the holidays, but don’t like to burn real candles anymore.

I got this beautiful ceramic blue and white Christmas tree for a present one year and love it. I think my brand is Two’s Company and I can’t find it online now, but this tree looks almost identical. It fits right in with my blue and white during Christmas. Belk has one that’s really pretty too.

I love using my plaid placemats for Christmas, along with my blue and white transferware, so I was looking for a new Christmas table runner and this one popped up, so I bought it and love it! This picture is a little blurry, I took it from a video, but it looks crisp in person. It’s a white background, with blue and white pots and ornaments, greenery, mixed with red and says Merry Christmas on either end. It’s perfect for my blue and white table setting. It’s not super high quality, but looks great on the table setting. These Spode placemats from JC Penney are a great deal now too, if you’re looking for classic placemats.

I was gifted this Christmas rug from an Amazon seller and I’m using it inside the front door for the holidays. It’s not expensive or super high quality, but it’s cute so I’ll use it and if you have a spot for one, you might like it too. Daisy likes it! This is a 3×5′ size.

I wanted to share these items with you before Christmas, in case you want to try some of these ideas too! Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great week.