A minimalist Christmas

It seems like as time goes by our Christmas celebrations have been getting more and more simple and this year was the simplest yet.

Decorating
I just didn't feel much like decorating this year and the cats would have destroyed a Christmas tree anyway, but I do enjoy having some extra lights around during this time of year. So in the end I decorated the mantle with lights and silver garland, put two electric candles in the front windows (which looks surprisingly festive for very little effort), and added a string of paper star lights around the doorway. For comparison purposes, here's a glimpse at past Christmas decor.

The giving of gifts
Gift-giving was also simplified this year. After the boyfriend and I discussed it, we realized that neither one of us had anything we really needed or wanted for Christmas so instead we exchanged small gifts worth no more than $25. We've done this before and it allows us to celebrate a bit without the stress of having to find the perfect gift. The boyfriend got Trinidad scorpion hot sauce (he likes freakishly hot stuff), hair goop, body wash and a Google play gift card. I got the one thing I asked for and am pretty excited about:

See it? Probably not, let me zoom in.

Sticking with the theme of this post, you could call this minimalist bedside storage --it's a felt pocket with a flap that hides between the mattress and box springs and has plenty of room for the remote, my ipad and phone. There's no room for nightstands in the bedroom, and I really don't miss them much anyway, but it is nice to have a place to put these things so they don't end up flung on the floor or plastered to my face in the middle of the night. And as you can see above, it's pretty unobtrusive.

Beyond the boyfriend, my mom and I agreed not to exchange gifts this year, so that only left my grandma (who loves her annual gift of an Amazon giftcard which she uses to buy ebooks), and presents for the kids (I went with cash this year and hope they'll spend it on doing something fun). So shopping was pretty minimal.

It's not Christmas without sugar cookies
I'm kind of known for my Christmas cookies, and I enjoy eating them as well, so I still made those. But I stuck to the basics: peanut butter blossoms and iced cutout sugar cookies. And they are delish.

The big day
My mom decided she wanted to keep things simple on Christmas day so she came to our house. We made a fairly low-key lunch of steak, baked potato, salad and rolls, played games and watched a movie. There was no drama and little stress -- a definite win!

It was good to experience for myself that even without a bunch of preparation, buildup and effort, Christmas can be fun and festive.

How was your holiday? Do you prefer action-packed holidays and big gatherings or something more low key?

Christmas 2009: The Better Late Than Never Edition

So it's January. You're tired of Christmas, I'm tired of Christmas, but some lazy pants around here never posted any Christmas photos. For shame. Anyway, for posterity sake, and so that I can look back next year, here's what Christmas 2009 looked like around min hus.


Last year I changed up the decorations quite a bit with the addition of the blue tree, which I still love, so this year only some minor tweaking was done. And in my effort to simplify and not make unnecessary purchases, I didn't even buy any clearance after Christmas decorations for next year, because I have enough as it is.

Snowflake Curtain: A Craft Project Even I Can Do

photo by Laura (aka Lupin) of Bugs and Fishes by Lupin

I've always enjoyed making paper snowflakes around the holidays, but I never found a really great way to display them, until now. Last week was stressful, to put it mildly, and spending an hour working on the beginnings of my own snowflake curtain was a great way to chill out. I'm sure mine won't look as great as my original inspiration from Bugs and Fishes, but this is a cheap, easy holiday craft anyone can do.

Wreath Update

Christmas may be over, but another of my favorite seasons has just begun -- the after Christmas sale season. Since I got some ornaments for 50% off, I decided it was time to update the old Christmas wreath.

This old standby was fine back in the days when any cheap Christmas decor worked for me, but since I updated the interior Christmas decor this year, I wanted the front door wreath to match as well.

The boy found a plain white lighted wreath for just $5.99 weeks ago, but it sat in its box, waiting for a little lovin'. Today, with the cats' help, I jazzed up the white wreath a bit with ornaments and a little fake silvery greenery.

This little helper contributes to my not wanting to do craft projects.
He's a little too helpful.

Ta da, instant front door improvement. Plus, since I am keeping the ornaments in place with wire, instead of glue, it will be easy to update the wreath next time.

Now if I can just figure out how people manage to plug these things in and shut the storm doors...

God Jul ~ Merry Christmas

The Christmas decorating is officially done now that the presents have been wrapped and placed under the tree. I'm still quite pleased with our new holiday decor. We even opened a few presents tonight, that Moomin book in the shadow box is one of my presents from the boyfriend. He received a new drill which will come in handy for hanging all the pictures that need to go up

Unfortunately it doesn't look we'll be having a white Christmas this year. After several days of arctic-like temperatures, we're back to rain. Still, 40F feels down right balmy after experiencing a few 0F nights and mornings.

As it's officially Christmas Day, I'd like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, God Jul and Hyvää Joulua from everyone here a min hus. And to all a good night!

The Decorating is Done!

For once I'm not sick of Christmas before it even begins. Instead of skipping the posts and articles about holiday decor I've been seeking them out. Since the fireplace is white and doesn't make me cringe to look at it now, I wanted Christmas decor that would further enhance the room. I'm so please with how it all turned out. The blue, white and silver colors I ended up with fit the style of the room so much better than the traditional pine green and red I've used in the past.

The tree is definitely kitty approved, Alex loves looking at it and rubbing his face on it. Yes, cats are weird. Luckily all three kitties have been leaving the ornaments alone for the most part.

Bonus question for Hanna: How many gifts from Finland do you spot in this pic? ;)

Oh Christmas Tree!

I'm not done with the Christmas decorating, but my new tree is up! I've been living with the same 2.5 foot Christmas tree since I was a kid. But this year I was ready for something new and different. Something that doesn't fit on the top of the entertainment center.

I originally wanted a white tree, even though that trend is probably on the way out, but after I painted the fireplace white I thought a white tree might blend in too much. Then we spotted this beauty, which looks blue from a distance, but up close has a blend of teal, blue and purple. It sounds hideous, I know, but looks good in my living room with the blue curtains and pillows. The boyfriend convinced me it was too hideous to bring home, then he went out and brought it home. Now he thinks it looks love-er-ly.

I considered getting new silver and white ornaments to decorate the new tree with, but I'd miss all my old ornaments. Some of them were made by my mom, others were made by special people who are long gone, and many were given to me as gifts over the years. And what would Christmas be without fond memories anyway?

Too bad the boyfriend had to add his own fond memories to the tree too, in the form of super hero ornaments. Luckily they blend in pretty well with all the other bright colors.