I’m a girl that loves the glitz and glam and bling of the holidays as much as the next person, but this year, I’ve been really drawn to more cozy, toned down Christmas decor. I’m happy this year choosing to incorporate photos I’ve taken throughout the year in our day to day life instead of stressing about posed family portraits and I’m loving more neutral tones with pops of plaid and linen in lieu of the metallic and gilded of Christmases past.
Some of my favorite photos of my family have been taken during the holiday season. It seemed like a natural fit to incorporate those treasured memories into my cozy Christmas decor and to make them take center stage. To set a base for my table, I used this Whimsical Wreath table runner. Not only did it match the theme I was shooting for, but it let my family be the shining star of the table.
I also incorporated a personalized plate for each of our family members at the table instead of using place cards. Luke and Reagan are already so excited to eat from their very own plates! Also, because I used chalkboard and gingham designs, we can use these year round. I put a sheet of coordinating 12×12 card stock underneath each plate to add an extra pop of design and serve as a place mat for my messier eaters.
And can we chat about cups? I love that these bad boys are plastic so my kids can enjoy them and not have to worry about breaking anything.
I can’t think of anything more cozy than pillows and blankets so those HAD to be a part of what I chose to incorporate into our home. With a little bit of plaid, monograms, and a pop of bright red, we are set!
I love having lots of pillow options, mostly because I’m a firm believer that you can never really have too many throw pillows. This pillow was a really important one for me: it showcases our first Christmas photo as a family of five. I’ll be able to pull this pillow out for all of our Christmases to come and remember how special that holiday was for us.
We also have a tradition in our family of creating new ornaments each year for each of our kidlets. These metal ones have the appearance of chalkboard without all of the real chalky mess.
I’m know I’m completely partial, but isn’t she just the cutest?!
Because we have less people to be seated at our table than we have chairs, I took the opportunity to do something more decorative at the empty end. A little tree and some of our smaller gifts combine for a sweet vignette.
I love giving gifts like this sweet plaque because it’s a bit sturdier than the usual frame.
Here’s another fun pillow idea: decorative phrases on one side and a picture with Santa on the other side. Easy and adorable and the kids are getting such a kick out of seeing their photo from last year.
The final component to our cozy Christmas theme: our Christmas cards! Even though we didn’t have the formal family portraits as we’ve had in the past, I was able to use a picture of what we look like day in and day out and you know what? It’s us in all of our everyday glory.
Like I said in the beginning, I love some metallics and as much as I tried to avoid using them this year, I couldn’t escape them completely. The gold foil Merry Christmas on our cards made my heart happy.
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This post was sponsored by Shutterfly, but as always, all opinions and ideas are 100% my own.
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