Jingle bells! Batman Smells! Robin laid an egg. Batmobile lost a wheel and Joker did ballet.
What? You didn’t sing that song at camp while wearing culottes and a tie-dyed shirt? Well I did. Anyway, the point is that I hung the stockings and did a little extra Christmas decorating beyond putting up the tree (just in time to put it all away in about a week when we start packing for the big move in mid December). Gotta celebrate Clara’s first Christmas, even if it’s only for a hot second. Out came the ol’ feather trees (from Target and a local store called Buford Road Pharmacy a few years back) along with the same ol’ Target stockings that we’ve been enjoying for the past few Christmases:
Since the stockings and the feather trees were from a few years past, I decided I wanted to do something new to spice things up – but I didn’t want to spend much money. So piggybacking off of our pink and silver tree, I picked up two pretty sheets of wrapping paper from a local gift shop (Mongrel) and grabbed a roll of silver wrapping paper while I was at it. Then I raided our gift closet for boxes and ribbon. I ended up having a ton of empty gift boxes and even had my fair share of pink and silver ribbon thanks to welcoming a baby girl six months ago (I’m totally that cheap-o who saves all the ribbon along with the boxes /bags from gifts that we receive over the years).
So my little stacks of eleven faux-gifts (since they’re just empty boxes that I wrapped for effect) were accomplished for the cost of the gift wrap (around $7 or so). I think they’re sweet and kind of vintage-ish, plus the fact that there’s a touch of yellow in some of the paper really works with our yellow rug in there. They’re so cute I’m thinking that I might save them and work them into the decor every year somehow…
And of course Mr. Concrete Greyhound now has his Christmas best on (read: I tied a gold ribbon that I already had around his neck, but don’t tell him that).
I also made little card stock tags for each stocking (John and I shared one labeled “Mom & Dad” so both Clara and Burger would have their own). Then I tied some extra ribbon around them so they relate to my little stacks of faux gifts. Took two minutes.
With the candles in the fireplace burning and the tree all plugged in it’s more festive than ever. I’m so glad we took the time to put things out, even if it’s only going to be enjoyed for a short time.
Are you guys decorating yet? It’s officially December so I feel a lot less odd about breaking out the holiday cheer. Is there anyone else who’s moving but still putting some stuff up to enjoy it just for a little while?
Psst- Check out a ton of holiday decorating and gifting ideas in this section of our Projects page. Ho, ho, ho.
Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!
Emily says
We’re moving December 15th – but we put all our decorations and tree up last week for a Christmas get together – it’s coming down this weekend and up again in the new house!
I don’t care however, I love Christmas and decorating and I can’t wait to decorate my new house!
All the best with your new house and your move!!
At least you won’t have mounds of snow to contend to like we do!
Sara says
Lol, I always heard the song as “And Joker got away”, but your version is more funny!
Everything looks beautiful!
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
We’ve completely decked the halls already. Our stockings are up, the tree is up and we have Christmas cheer all around the house.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas/
Brigid says
Love the decorations, but love the reference to culottes even more! Ahhh the memories…
Lucy says
The wrapped boxes look fantastic in that beautiful paper. Great idea!
Leslie says
Speaking of Clara, I had a dream that I babysat her last night. She was a very sweet baby. :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! I wonder if she dreamed about you…
xo,
s
Laura says
Love the little stocking tags! Our stockings are a Target special too:)
Zoe says
I will never forget moving the day after Christmas. We were opening up our gifts Christmas Day, and as soon as we opened them, we put them back into boxes and took them over to our new house. Luckily enough, the previous owners had vacated the house months earlier, so we were able to move things over at a leisurely pace until we closed on our old house. But still, the fact of moving around the holidays is crazy enough!
Good luck with the move!
Emily says
What a great way to use up random boxes! We still have a ton of boxes from wedding gifts! I’m sure it’d be fun to wrap them up and use them for decoration around the house :)
sara says
Hi guys-
I’ve been lusting after your yellow rug for a while now and now that I found the blog Ten June and read about how Michelle stole your rug I don’t mind doing it either! Can you tell me where you got it, or a brand or style name so I can hunt it down? I think it would look really sweet in my living room with my blue tufted couch (similar to the first couch in your scans post) and teak wood. Do you think it works well in a high traffic area?
Thanks guys and good luck with the move!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sara,
It’s the moorish tile rug from Pottery Barn (no longer available but we see it on ebay all the time). It works great with a dog and a baby in our highly trafficked living room. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
liz @ bon temps beignet says
I love the pink & grey… maybe I’m partial because they were our wedding colors.
Allison says
I looooove what you’ve done! And of course I love the color pink as well :). We’re planning on decorating our tree tonight and really get our home sparkling with other Christmas decorations around the house. I love this time of year! Best of luck with your move…and I think it’s great you’re not depriving yourself of one last holiday celebration in your current home before you get all of your things packed up.
BTW I totally have jingle bells in my head – love it!
Amy says
Ha ha! I was singing that version my son this morning.
This is technically not his first Christmas, but he was less than a month old last Christmas. We’re really looking forward to getting the house all decked out!
Jamie says
I would be so afraid that my ceramic pear was going to fall off that stack! You are brave. Lovely decorations!
DemMom says
I would not be putting up Xmas stuff in your situation, but would have the boxes easily accessible so they’re the first thing unpacked in the new house. But that’s why this is your job and not mine. Anyway, I like the faux packages. I have been known to wrap the (huge) boxes that I store ornaments in and decorate with those. Saves me a couple trips up and down the attic steps and adds to the look!
Leah @ L4L says
We are decorating this weekend. I’m not really excited about it though b/c my husband and I just have a bunch of hand-me-down decorations, Goodwill finds, and dollar store ornaments to go along with our childhood ornaments. Can’t really afford to get new fun decorations that are really *us*. Oh well, there will be many more Christmases when we can.
Liz says
I don’t have anything out at my place yet :(
When in December are you moving?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
We’re moving in mid-December if all goes well. Ahhh- so excited!
xo,
s
Mandi says
I always heard it, “…joker got away!” but I am a decade older than you, and raised on the opposite coast.
I *love* the ribbon around the dog statue! Everything looks great, but that made me bust out in a grin!
Alicia says
I thought Joker got away in that song. LOL
Amy says
are you guys planning on decorating the new house for Christmas once you move? It seems like it would be sad not to decorate there!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amy,
We’re not sure how we’ll be feeling with all that unpacking, but we definitely plan to hang our stockings and put out the feather trees. Who knows how much steam we’ll have for the real tree…
xo,
s
Alli says
I love the candles you have in your fireplace. Are they real or battery-powered? where did you pick them up and how did you get the varied elevations?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Alli,
They’re real (from Target). I just burned some of them longer than the others to get the varied heights.
xo,
s
Lili says
We always said joker ran away, but I think your version is better… I’m teaching that one to my kids! Lol.
Heather says
I also cover some books with pretty paper ala, high school and paper grocery bags. It looks pretty and easy!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
I wondered if you guys were going to put up a tree!
Lauren says
I am loving your Christmas decorations. I have never been a fan of the super traditional red & green Christmas stuff so I am totally digging your pink & silver.
We put up our first Christmas tree ever on Monday and I am in love! It’s all gold & light blue with white lights. We got the prettiest gold capiz star tree topper that looks a little like the Kurt Adler one you have on your “We’re Digging…” list.
http://www.target.com/Seasonal-Specialties-Gold-10Lt-Capiz/dp/B003QS3BPE/ref=br_1_90?ie=UTF8&id=Seasonal%20Specialties%20Gold%2010Lt%20Capiz&node=2478631011&searchView=grid5&searchSize=90&searchPage=4&searchNodeID=2478631011&sr=1-90&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=pmrank&frombrowse=1&qid=1291302850
Suzie @ cupcake monkey says
I don’t know why, but the word “culottes” always makes me laugh!! Anyway, everything looks beautiful!!
We are finished with most of our decorating. I still have a few things to finish making, but for the most part we are done. I would still have to decorate even if we were moving. It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas without a tree and all the trimmings!
Lili says
Oh, and yes… me and the kiddos decorated last night. This is so lame, but this year is the first year that we have had a tree (and my kids are 6 & 7)… well, we had one when they were toddlers, but it was a VERY old hand me down, and the needles just kept falling off everywhere. Our holiday decor is a lot less streamlined than yours, it’s more like a mishmash of my great-great grandmothers glass ornaments, and hand made ornaments, several sentimental ornaments (similar to your NY one, we have a Cracker Barrel ornament because we met while working at Cracker Barrel). We also have a few years worth of random kid-made-at-school ornaments. Our tree is just a symbol of our family, a big un-matching mess that somehow just makes sense : )
Vonda says
Ahh, it looks great! I think you should pack a special box that’s easy to grab and at least put these things up on the mantel in your new place (if you have one!).
Ami @ beyondpeasandcarrots says
so pretty, my mom used to wrap “fake” presents to put under the extra trees in other rooms lol… so they didn’t look bare. Hers were never as pretty or color coordinated as yours though ;)
Jennifer says
Love the little present idea. My girls love to wrap up their own version of gifts to put under the tree. Maybe I can put them to work wrapping some tiny boxes for our mantel.
Question – I usually put all of our Christmas cards on the mantel, but it can start to look rather cluttered. Any ideas for cute, organized ways to display cards? I’ve seen them paper-clipped to tinsel and draped over a mirror. Would love to get your ideas:)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jennifer,
We usually just toss our holiday cards in a pretty bowl and leaf through them from time to time (and read them all again at the end of the season). But we’ve seen thick ribbon hung on the back of a door with cards clipped all along the ribbon and that’s really a pretty solution!
xo,
s
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says
You decor, as always, is beautiful! Love the color scheme. We started decorating (I usually go with a red and white theme!) and we are getting our tree this weekend – I cannot wait! I’m already plotting our Christmas soundtrack/movie viewing for while decorating!
Keeley says
I love the idea of using pink for Christmas! I also like to put candles in our fireplace. We’ve actually never had a real fire in it, always candles. Do I see a mirror in the fireplace? If so, that’s a great idea and I want to copy!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Keeley,
Yup, that’s our old bathroom mirror in there. I love how it makes the candles seem to be glowing so much brighter by reflecting the light!
xo,
s
Andrea says
We have sooo not decorated for christmas yet. We are moving soon-ish (whenever we can find a renter for our current home, we’re renting it until the market improves and we can sell it) into a verrry fixer upper. We can’t decide if we want to put up the tree there or here or at all :(
Wendy @ A Southern Accent says
Love the little packages. You are so darn creative. Gets me every time!
Mike @HA says
Ours ended with “And joker got away.” Must be a regional thing :)
sara says
I LOVE your decorations! We just bought a 6 1/2 pre-lit xmas tree off craigslist for $25! We are going to put it up tonight. I need to take some tips from you guys because my xmas decorations are so mismatched. I need some of those feather tree. I’m OBSESSED with them now! I’ll have to go check Target :) Thanks for the ideas! Hope you have a good move! I know how you feel, we did it too last year Mid-December.
Amy E. says
an idea for those who don’t want to go out and buy more gift wrap: use scraps of fabric!
i know you two at YHL have TONS from Clara’s weekly photo shoots. you could have grabbed a few of those and wrapped your “gifts” in something just as colorful, but already owned!
Rhonda says
Love your decorations and your fireplace. We’ve got some ugly brass fireplace surrounds and would love to paint them. Is that what you guys did? Any tipes/advice? I also LOVE the candles in the fireplace. How did you put that display together? I’d love to do something similar since I’m terrified of burning down our 1892 Victorian home with a real fire in the fireplace!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rhonda,
Yup, we used regular white paint while we were painting the brick fireplace and it has held up for 4+ years! You can also remove your brass screen and spray paint it (even using high-heat paint from the hardware store). Good luck!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Love it! Especially the idea of wrapped gifts! So cute and inexpensive. We haven’t decorated yet, but plan on doing it this weekend. I’m still trying to find a place for the x-mas tree in our small apt.
Laney says
I am a relative newbie to you fun Blog.
I know that you are trying to be as “GREEN” as possible (compost, rain barrels, cloth diapers, etc.) so I was wondering why you chose to go with an artificial Christmas tree over a fresh cut tree?
Thanks for all the fun ideas.
Good luck on your upcoming move.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laney,
We got our faux tree about four years ago (before we realized how un-biodegradable they were) but we figure the green thing to do is to use it over and over again until it’s no longer usable instead of sending it off to a landfill!
xoxo,
s
Ashlee says
Funny! I wrapped empty boxes last year & stacked on my mantle. More of a whimsical feel with apple green and barber shop red/white striped paper…but still! Same concept.
Kimberly says
Nah, I’m from MD and we always sang ” . . . the joker got away . . . ” too! ;)
We’re planning on kicking off the season with a visit to a Christmas Market this weekend, and then getting the tree on Sunday — before football of course!
sonya says
It’s so pretty! It’s a shame you can’t enjoy it longer. I like seeing how you did the Christmas stocking name tags… I ordered stockings online this year but skipped the monogramming to save $$ (and partly b/c it feels like monogramming is so overdone sometimes) and I was envisioning doing something like what you did, but worried it would look odd. Well, it’s doesn’t, so I’m going to make cute lil’ tags for my stockings too! :)
j says
I commend you for decorating in the midst of a move. I spent most of the weekend trying to get the house decorated…whew, so much work. Here’s our decorations. http://jandjhome.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
It’s worth all the work!
kathleen says
We sang that song too, except we said the “joker got away” instead of did ballet. Your home looks lovely, going to miss it :(
Jenn from Much to My Delight says
You guys always have the prettiest Christmas decorations. I think I’m drawn to them because they’re not red and green with big Santa faces everywhere. They’re always kind of offbeat and glamorous. Lovely!
TG says
I love your Christmas decor. Are you going to do any pre-move work on the new house?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey TG,
Nope, we’re big believers in moving in and living with a house for a while before doing anything major, just to see if our initial “instincts” about a certain project shifts. A lot of times it changes for the better after we get our bearings and live with things for a while- which is the reason we ended up with an extra bedroom and an extra wall full of cabinetry in the kitchen along with a dishwasher. We never would have thought of that specific floor plan possibility when we moved in, so we’re so glad we took our time to come up with the best plan of attack!
xo,
s
Katie says
I’m curious about the stocking holders that are used on your mantel. Do you remember where you purchased those. I’m looking for something simple like that. I am annoyed at the high prices of decorative ones. We used “removable” hooks last year and wouldn’t you know it – though easily removable, they removed some of our 80 year old varnish.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Target. So cheap. And they sell them this year too. By the pair. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Chloé says
Your rug looks so chic under your tree! I long for hardwood floors….next place. :)
Stephanie says
I love the idea of wrapping the little boxes! I have a picture ledge on the wall and I wrap the picture frames for the holidays so it looks like little presents on the ledge now! Good Luck with the move!