Merry & Bright: Our 2012 Christmas Decor

Welcome to our cheery home! This battery-operated wreath and reindeer hanger, both from Target and embellished with Target finds as well, greets you as you come in.

To your left, you'll see our entry bookshelf, which is decorated in icy blue, maroon, and gold, with a few other accents thrown in.

I popped a few sparkly trees into some mason jars and my Michael's lantern for a snowglobe-ish vibe. Most of the items on this bookshelf are from Target, Michael's, or Goodwill.

Looking into the living room, you'll see our tree, entertainment center, coffee table, and console table all decked out!

The console features a thrifted window with a cheery holiday print, some Christmas-y frames, an angel & champagne sparkly tree gifted from my uncle, a glittered Ho Ho Ho sign from Target's dollar spot, and some berries, candles, & bowl also from Target. The velvet monogram stockings were gifts from my Mother. The print hanging above says "May your days be Merry & Bright," from my favorite song, White Christmas :)

Oh, and I made the bunting myself with some Christmas scrapbook paper! There's also some hanging over the window (which you can see reflected in the frame).

The Christmas-colored book were thrifted.

Right next to the console is our tree! It was a Black Friday purchase our first year in Missoula, since our vaulted ceilings made our little 4.5 foot tree look pitiful.

My ornaments are from Hallmark (I love the ones that play songs!), Pier1, and Target, with some vintage ornaments.

Here's the tree all lit up with our presents under it:

I love hanging out in the living room to be around the cheer!

The "Star of Wonder, Star of Night" print hangs next to our regular stars. (Clever placement, eh?)

Our entertainment center is right next to that print. I draped an old poinsettia garland across the front and a "Merry Christmas" plaque on the shelf.

To the right of the TV I placed some sparkly pinecones in a large apothecary jar, both past purchase from Ross. The Santa art is vintage from my grandma's, and the print block letters signify our wedding date as shared here.

To the left I placed some Walmart sprigs in a blue and broze vase from Ross, more glittery cones in an amber hurricane from Target, and a thrifted glitter deer and green ink pot.

To the left of the media center is an end table. I kept it fairly uncluttered since it's not too large. It features another holiday print, a gold letter N from last year's antique fair, a bronze platter from Target many moons ago, a thrifted champagne-colored candle holder, and two red mercury glass hobnail votives from Target (two of my only new purchases amongst all these decorations!)

And in the center of the living room is our coffee table! I added some red and green balls to my bamboo oval bowl, along with a large jingle bell. Most of the filler in the bowl is from Pier1, Target, or Ross. The snowflake platter was from Target last year, along with the red berries and gray vase (a clearance find!). The small star was displaced when I hung the 'Star of Wonder' print shared earlier. The bird was thrifted for $0.69!

Next let's take a peek into our dining room, shall we?

First up is our bookcase. While the entry one is a little more sophisticated in moodier colors, this one is full of spunk and traditional Christmas flair!

I printed the Santa Claus art from here. I thought it looked fun taped to the front of the frame featuring my existing art (plus that was easier than changing out the photo). I popped a quote from Elf (get it here) in my faux-wood frame and accessorized the top with old Target acquisitions, color-coordinated cookbooks, an advent calendar, and some candles. The lace votive was thrifted along with that little "Merry Christmas" plate ($0.25 and $0.69, respectively). The cheeky little gnome was a Target "splurge" at $6.

Keeping with the fun vibe of the bookcase, I strung up a banner (Target, $4) and lined the window sill with some of my Christmas tsotchkes (most gifted or from Hallmark on clearance in the past). The cats surprisingly do not knock over these items!

You can see one of my dumpster diving finds peeking out in the left of the photo above. That's right, I saw a neighbor hefting this large corner shelf into the garbage earlier this year, so I rescued it and cleaned it up! It usually holds a bunch of my vintage kitchenware (I will share a picture later) but for the holidays I changed it up to only feature Christmas-y vintage items.

I popped my Chinese checkers board on top ($8, shared here). It's propped against some shelf supports so that my Dandelion divided dish (acquired during a recent Pyrex swap) could sit pretty. The snowglobes were past gifts from my mom. Below that, I placed some red baubles in my star of David coldander (woah, just realized that the checker board and colander kinda double as Hannukah decor! Sweet!) A red and green milk carton rests to the right and an angel perches on the left (it was a gift from my uncle!)

Just below that I placed a Christmas frame, an empty gift card tin, and two festive Pyrex pieces--a Friendship casserole shared previously, and a new light green casserole I found at Goodwill for $2.99! You can see its friend, a larger dark green casserole, two shelves below (it was $3.99). I also included some other vintage kitchen items that fit in with the red and green scheme (cheese grater, potato masher, pretzel and nuts bowls) and some Christmas stuff gifted to me by my mom (elf, sparkly present).

Immediately to the left of the corner shelf is our yellow table, featuring a tabletop tree, and my map. I made a tiny bunting for the map which reads "Joy to the World." I placed a few decorations under the tree, too!

I kept our tablescape simple. I used brown, ivory, and blue dishes with golf leaf picks from Target placed across the plates. The centerpiece is similar to our Thanksgiving one, with faux snow instead of the acorns & mini pumpkins (the wood coins are still there).

The island is also decked out from head to toe. I removed some of our milk glass so that I could place holiday items above the cabinets. Like last year, I strung up some garland and hung oversize ornaments from there.

Here is our little food-themed tree. It used to stay near our sliding door, but with the addition of a bookcase last year, it was displaced here, right beside the island. Can you see my mustard ornament from Brin peeking out?

So that's it--Christmas 2012 in our little apartment!

I hope all your days are merry and bright and full of love and family fun!