I totally stole the term “fa-la-la friday” from the uber cool Bowerhaus blog, but it suits it so much – ’tis a post about Christmas!

I don’t usually DO Christmas, and have only put up a tree once or twice ever. But this year S and I are hosting his family at our place, so I decided some Christmas cheer was in order. The problem though, was that not only did the thought of a tree overwhelm me, but the usual Christmas decorations make me err… slightly nauseous. Fake snow? Blinking lights? Garish colours? OH NO.

So, as I do with everything else, I did some research, and found some nice ideas that were not only aesthetically pleasing, but also wallet-friendly (to honour my spending ban). Here are the results:

I started with some mini wreaths in the windows – I tied a couple of bauble ornaments in the middle of it, then looped it through the blinds pole with ribbon!

Next, I tied an array of Christmas tree baubles onto more ribbon, for the dining table centrepiece. I’d considered a vase of baubles, or simply scattering them around – but didn’t want anything ON the table to detract from the platters of food. I think these hanging shiny shiny things will provide some festivity without getting in the way!

I popped a couple of wreaths on top of the fireplace mantel. Took about 5 seconds (including flower fluffing!).

And well, I really couldn’t go past having some sort of Christmas tree like structure, so yes, I really did go there. And yes, I love the cheesy glitz of it!

so cute!

I love that it requires no care, and took 8 seconds to unfold and setup. I love that it’s gold, shiny shiny gold. I love that it’s tacky and dramatic all at the same time. I love that the bowl of baubles reflects all the colours of the room back at me.

So yes, I did end up decorating and it’s helped me get into the holiday spirit immensely, even if I didn’t go OTT (a neighbour has a 12 foot Santa in his garden!). Fun, cheap, glitzy, what’s not to love??

Have you done your Xmas decorations yet?