Making decorating for the holidays less stressful and enjoyable with new ideas using old and new items throughout the home.

The holiday season is a time of joy, warmth, and celebration, but it can also be so overwhelming when it comes to decorating.

For the past few years, the excitement of transforming my home into a festive wonderland has often caused me to stress by untangling lights, setting up the 9′ tree, adding 11 strands of lights to that tree, and bringing down all those boxes from the attic. It was getting harder and harder as Mr. G and I got older. Getting up in the attic was starting to be a struggle and dangerous. It was time to make a change. A big change.

Last year, I decided to not use the beautiful slim 9′ tree I’ve been using since we moved into our home 20 years ago. So, I decided to go with smaller trees. As you can see in the picture above, that tree was full of lights and ornaments. Standing on a ladder to reach the top was not fun anymore. I have so many beautiful vintage ornaments and decided that I was going to display them in a different way.

I was able to sell the 9′ tree on the Facebook marketplace for a really good price. I also gave her all the lights and the bag the tree was stored in. That bag with everything in it was like carrying a body bag. It was huge! I was sad to see it go because it was such a beautiful tree but I knew it was going to a good home and someone else would love it now.

Now on to something new!

the main tree

Normally we have to move the record player/radio piece Mr. G had refurbished somewhere else in the house. Old furniture with old electronics is made of solid wood and metal and moving it around wasn’t fun. No more moving heavy furniture around. I love all the vintage Christmas records in the stand sitting next to it. We find our vintage records mainly at Goodwill now for a better price.

I looked for a 3-foot tree and found the perfect one to stand on that piece of furniture. I placed it in a woven square basket and added fairy lights. I didn’t want a pre-lit tree with lights because the fairy lights are so easy to put on the tree and I only needed 1 strand. No more adding 11 strands like I did with my 9′ tree. All the fairy lights I used are the plug-in type and not battery-operated and I have the lights on a timer.

I added only vintage glass balls I had collected over the years with a cute rustic star on top. I placed the tree on a few stacked vintage Christmas albums. I put a vintage metal Christmas tray with a McCoy bowl full of some of my favorite ornaments I wanted to display. I replaced the picture in the wood frame with a new print from Etsy. I added a few other ornaments here and there to finish it off. The framed ornaments of our parents, my family, and Mr. G with his 8 grandchildren.

If you look closely at the bottom of the tree there is a styrofoam ornament I made when I was a little girl. My mom saved many of our art projects when we were kids. It’s supposed to be a sleigh with Santa’s bag in it. I can’t believe all the glitter is still on it. It’s one of my most cherished ornaments.

the dining room tree

I wanted a really small tree for the dining room to show off some of my mom’s Christmas items. Vintage brass bells were the main ornaments for that tree. It sits in the Spode Christmas tree pattern bowl wrapped in the same pattern napkin. I put a vintage star cookie cutter as the topper and wrapped it with a vintage mercury ball garland. I sat a few ornaments that were personal to us around the bottom. No lights on this little gem.

the lanai tree

Since I had a boatload of sports ornaments, I decided to get a 2′ tree for the lanai and that’s where I would display them. I used a strand of colored fairy lights, placed the tree in a galvanized bucket, and placed smaller vintage plain glass balls on it. The red sequin star on top I have had for many years that I got at the Dollar Store. I displayed all the sports ornaments next to it in a dough bowl on top of a vintage radio Mr. G restored. I love all those ornaments I have collected over the years.

But wait! I didn’t stop there. I added a small tree next to Mr. G’s display of his old fireman’s bunker gear to display all the fireman and military ornaments we collected over the years. I also added a red wooden ball garland around the tree. The personalized fireman shield ornament was a gift to him last year.

I displayed my other vintage items as I did in the past in the kitchen area, the bathroom, and around my garden bench. I display old seed packets and a couple of old crocks on my garden bench. I use a lot of pillow covers for color in other areas.

After I was finished decorating. I went over the items that were left in the 6 large plastic bins that I have collected over the past 40 years. I knew I needed to cut back on so many of them. I don’t have anyone to leave them to, so I donated a lot of them to Goodwill hoping someone else will enjoy them. I kept all the items that really meant the most to me.

After doing that, there was so much room in the bins to store all the smaller trees. What a relief. No more climbing into the attic on those skinny stairs. We made a space for the 6 large bins in the garage that was out of the way and that’s where all my Christmas decor will be now.

Mr. G and I both loved the new look. Reliving some memories with all the old ornaments and other vintage items. Looking at the old Christmas pictures on the wire tree we’ve had for a few years. Laughing and crying at stories of Christmas past and missing those who have left before us.

I hope my ideas have helped those trying to figure out how to have a less stressful time decorating your home for the holidays.

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