Take Photo

Howdy friends!  How was your Christmas?  I hope that it was completely magical and full of blessings.

I know that some of you are already ahead of the game, and have moved on from Christmas and packed up your things.  I, however, have not.  I can't help but want to hold on to that sparkle for a few extra days after Christmas is over, so I wait until New Year's day to put away the pretty lights and holiday bling and return to our version of normal.

That said, I am really in the organizing mood!  And this year found so many great ideas, some old and some new, which I wanted to put together in one giant Christmas organization post for you.  So I apologize if I am too late, just pretend that I am really ahead of the game for next year as some of these ideas were just too great to wait!  And for those of you who are still looking to organize the remainder of your Christmas gear, hopefully you can snag a few ideas to still implement this year.  Suddenly, I am feeling like Dr. Seuss.... 



First, let's chat about gift giving, since that is really a huge part of the season.  One thing that I have loved year after year is my Gift Giving Tracker.



However, something new that helped me when it came time to wrap all of those happy little packages was our new gift wrap station!



For those looking for other great wrapping stations, I am still gaga for this over-the-door awesomeness created by my gal pal Cassie!

{via}

If you are looking to tote around your gift wrapping essentials, you must check out this amazing DIY caddy created from a fast food cardboard drink carrier.

{via}

When you have the space, it is great if you can carve out a little nook of your home for gift wrapping away from the kitchen table.  I love this happy office corner, which can be used all month long for last minute gift wrapping sessions.

{via}

If you are at all like me and use your ribbon year round, check out this smart solution which pairs dowels and a plastic basket for rockin' ribbon storage!

{via}

And once the gifts for the kiddos are all wrapped and pretty, organize hide them inside a storage trunk until Christmas Eve.

{via}

But how about organizing all of those decorations?  Many of us sprinkle Christmas throughout our entire home, and even trim a tree.  So many things to store away nice and neat!

Tip number one is to always add a sleeve or clear pocket to each bin, so that you can easily tuck a contents list inside.  This will prevent rummaging next year!



Tip number two is to fall in love with Ziploc bags and Gladware containers!  I try to reduce my use of them in my day to day life, but when it comes to storing itty bits and even those shatterproof ornaments, they are my go to organizers!



Tip number three is to wrap the rest around cardboard!  The cardboard wrap method prevents items from tangling and works for everything from lights to garland; and is a simple and free solution!

{via}

Tension rods work great as well!

{via}

I am also simply smitten with this alternative solution to cords and strands, which is to wrap them with Velcro strips.  Easy peasy!

{via}

Other free storage solutions include empty apple containers...

{via}

Or maybe egg cartons tickle your fancy?

{via}

I am sure you have seen it 100 times, but the plastic cup glued to cardboard stacking trick is pure genius!

{via}

Tip number four is to pack things up as if you were unpacking them!  Place less used items at the bottom, frequently used or the first items use decorate with, at the top.  Make things as simple as you can for next year.  Also, keep original packaging and even use gift boxes to provide storage inside of storage for those ornaments and special decor pieces.

Last but not least, tip number five is to store all Christmas decor in similar style and colored bins for easy identification.  This will ensure you are only grabbing at bins that matter most during the holidays, and not left searching amongst bins of memorabilia and auntie May's fine china.

I am head over heels for these stackable divided bins used by Katrina of the Organized Housewife!  They are so wonderful for dividing ornaments by category and separating decor types.

{via}

When it comes to storing a Christmas wreath, I have tried those hard sided bins and they only work well if you have a wreath small enough to fit inside.  So happy I stumbled upon this idea to use a hanger paired with a dry cleaning bag for my additional storage-less wreaths!

{via}

Do you display the lovely faces of friends and family that grace your mailbox in the form of greetings throughout the month of December?  How freakin' adorable is this card display crafted from an old window shutter?

{via}

But what do you do with those cards once the year has come and gone?  I don't keep them all, but the ones with family photos get stored away in a special greeting card binder.



You can't go wrong by just paper punching them and placing them on a ring by year.  Simple.  Adorable.  And memorable!




Last but not least, this little holiday binder didn't leave my side this season.  It worked out great, and I look forward to adding to it for years to come!  Even my guys used it a few times, which of course, made me warm and fuzzy inside.



So who is geared up to do a little extra organizing this year, to ensure next year goes off without a hitch?  What are your favorite Christmas and holiday storage and organizing tips?  Anything work particularly well for you this year?


 Image used for header graphic found here.

I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday week!  And if it is not holiday time in your neck of the woods, I appreciate you sticking with me as I recover from my turkey coma and play with my kiddos who are home on holiday break.

I know that many of you are list makers (I mean seriously, who doesn't love to make lists?), especially around the holidays with all of the fabulous hustling we have going on.  Therefore, today I am popping in quick to remind you of my freebie holiday printable set that will make you smile as you jot things down, and even as you check things twice.  Enjoy!

Helloooo friends!  I love this time of year as I feel I have endless reasons to be grateful and thankful.  Not to mention, we are about to fill our home with family, and that is what it is all about.  Home.  Family.  Fun.

We haven't hosted Thanksgiving for a few years, so I feel a little nervous, but heck, family loves you unconditionally right?  I just keep picturing that Christmas Vacation moment when Clark Griswold cuts into the turkey...

I have been wanting to create a special table this year, to really celebrate coming together.  My grandmother, who is in her 90's, is coming!  She is pretty much one of my most favorite people in the whole world, so having her at my table this year means more to me than words can express.


This table is for the adults.  I will be setting up a separate table for the kiddos nearby, which I am looking forward to doing maybe even more since it is less fussy and typically filled with activities and crayons.


Not that this table is really that fussy.  As many of you know, I don't always stick with uber traditional anything, and love to inject my spaces with color.


My favorite part of the whole process was playing off of our newly painted hutch.  Gold and teal was going to be the theme on the table as well.


Everything used to create the table setting, were items we already had floating around, paired with a few quick DIY projects.

First up, the runner.  I already had the natural runner, but wanted to create layers and inject a little black to ground things.  I took some already owned fabric and because I don't sew, I "no sewed" the runner with some hem tape.


Using my Silhouette, I cut some letters out of chipboard and gold foil, and attached the two to give myself a sturdy Thanksgiving banner.


For the place card holders, I went straight to the laundry room and scooped up a handful of clothespins.  Which of course received a gorgeous coat of gold spray paint.


And as an added bonus for when we gaze at the place cards across the way, I embellished the backs with a "Thank You" stamp.


My father-in-law is the best.  He helps us with so many things and one day he overheard Bryan and I chatting about heading out to the woods to find a dead tree to chop up to create some chargers.  A few days later, he showed up at our door with a stack in hand.  He really has a heart of gold.


The centerpiece is one of those tree trunk chargers, topped with a glass cloche.  Inside is a jar filled with rustic pencils {found at World Market}...


...along with some Thankful cards I created.


These cards could be used in a variety of ways, however, we plan to make a fun game out of it.  We will all take a small stack of cards, and fill in the blank with what we are personally thankful for.  Then all cards will be placed in a bowl, and drawn one by one and read out loud.  Then it is our job to guess who wrote that specific Thankful card, based on the answer.  Basically, a Thanksgiving version of Loaded Questions.  So fun that even the kids can play along!  {free printable at the end of the post}


Nearby, we hung up some artwork to correlate with the nearby table.  You must check out Nest of Posies blog for some amazing free printables!


And that my friends, is our happy little Thanksgiving table.



And here is the "Thankful For" freebie, because I am also very thankful for YOU!

{click HERE to download your free Thankful For cards}

The kiddos will be home from school for the next couple of days, and our home will begin filling up with our guests, so I am going to take the rest of the week to relax and cherish this heart filled home we work so hard on.  I will be stopping in on Thursday to give a special thank you shout out to those that sponsor all we do, as well as share a few Black Friday deals, so stay tuned for that goodness.

Cheers to a happy and safe Thanksgiving to all of you!  I hope that it is full of love, laughter, traditions, family and good eats... and that you get to take a little time off from work, house projects and even organizing, to enjoy what truly matters.

Hello friends!  I apologize for my light posting schedule this past few weeks.  Sometimes life hands you a few clues that it is time to slow down, savor the moment and focus on the bigger picture.  So that is what we have been doing.  This year we skipped our holiday countdown tradition and made our own memories with no agenda... and it was freeing.


And if I am being completely open and honest, after becoming a little overwhelmed with all of the endlessly beautiful and inspirational blog-land holiday home tours, I decided to take my time with our decor and piece together small updates and projects each day vs. binge decorating and causing myself to fall apart at the seams.

{Let it Snow project shared here}

So it may have taken me a little lot longer, but we LOVE how cozy and warm our holiday decor is and made sure to inject a lot of family touches that have meaning and intention.


Things were a bit different for us this year as we have been rearranging everything on the upper level to prepare for kitchen/living room demolition day.  With that, we have completely taken over the entire lower level as our primary living space while also adding a few touches of the holiday season.  It was a bit chaotic for awhile there, but so very worth it!  And I am not the type to pack things up two days after Christmas, our decor will most likely stay out until the first or second week in January.


Any of the decorating that has taken place, was done with a lot of hands.  Little hands in fact!  The boys owned majority of their playroom decorating, they insisted on having a special tree for all of our family favorite ornaments.  How could I say no to that?  I always feel a tear form when we pull out our "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments, especially ones that date back to over thirty years ago. #sappy


I made the skirt for their new tree out of some inexpensive fabric and hot glued pom trim around the edge.  Ten minutes and no sewing required is a win in my holiday decorating book!


Across the way I hung the print I ordered last year from the Caravan shop and paired it with a paper chain the boy's made.

Above the entertainment center, I updated the previous "o" with our faux berry wreath.  It was the wreath we used on the front door last year, however, a dear friend gifted us a fresh boxwood wreath  for our door this year, while the berry wreath looks right at home in the playroom.


Let's chat cocoa stations.  We made one last year and loved it so much, that we added one to the play room this year.



It is the first place the kids head to after school each day and this has been by far the biggest hit of the entire holiday season.  They are old enough to make everything on their own, but my middle guy declared himself the cocoa barista.  He even told me he wants to open a cocoa shop when he grows older.  Ambitious fella!  The kids are not the only fans of this little setup, I love that I have quick access to a cup of hot cider mid-day.  I don't see this hot spot going away any time soon.  {free cocoa printable source here}


Just like everything else, the setup was easy peasy and consists of a Keurig, mugs, packets and pods, jars of toppings and straws cut to size.


Adorable mugs found at Caribou Coffee here and here.


Rounding the corner is our family room.  Our over-sized brown leather sectional was moved up to the garage and swapped out for our smaller version from upstairs.  The rug and table were moved down as well.  The switch gave us enough room for our fresh cut Christmas tree!



We also brought down a handful of the frames that were previously hung in our living area upstairs.  I am going to blame my camera lens on their crooked appearance... I am sure it has nothing to do with our measuring or the two younger boys that love to jump on the sofa.


The frames were filled with the two gold foil pieces I made last week, along with holiday photo prints taken over the past few years.


For the pillows, I selected the softest, coziest covers I had on hand.  We do a lot of snuggling during winter months, and comfort is far more important than pretty.  The pretty came in via the florals.  Y'all know my winter sanity saver is to keep a small bundle of fresh flowers in the home, once again I went with super long lasting carnations and paired them with a bundle of holiday greens.  The remainder of the greens landed on top of one of the photo frames and in a vase with some artificial holiday stems.


Of course, the tree is the star of the show!  Each year we head to the same nursery to select a fresh cut tree, and I can never get enough of the aroma that fills our entire home!

Again, simple was the theme throughout, and the tree was no exception.  Just a variety of gold and colored bulbs to compliment the colors used throughout the rest of the lower level.  I did break down and purchase a few new frosted bulbs as they added a really pretty softness while also balancing out the bolder glitter and glossy options.



The mantle is covered in more freshly cut garland, lights and white poinsettias.



I stayed up and wrapped ALL of the gifts for friends and family last night!  Whew!  Feels SO much better to have it all done!

The tree may be the star of the show, but my wrapping counter is my absolute favorite spot in the entire house right now!


Right inside the closet is where majority of the magic is stored year round....


This year I dug out my favorite tags, a roll of tape and extra rolls of ribbon to keep on the counter throughout the month of December.  This keeps the kidlets out of my wrapping closet, as this year they were in charge of wrapping the items they picked out for others.


I already have pens, markers and scissors stored on the hanging rods full time, so the addition of a tiered basket (which I already owned), gave me the handiest (and most festive) wrapping space around!


The moment I spotted Lindsay Letter's new Christmas line, I knew that her Peppermint Moss canvas would feel right at home in my studio.


Every time that I round the corner to my space, my heart does a little dance.  You can bet your booty that this Christmas art will stay up year round!  I couldn't love it more, it completely compliments my style.


Both cabinet doors received a little wreath treatment, and a cloche was filled to the brim with mini-ornaments.


Feeling inspired by the pretty glass box on Grace's desk, I borrowed ours (which was previously holding sunglasses in our now non-existent entryway) and simplified the items being stored on my desk.


Also, my desk faces the Christmas tree and mantle, making it the best seat in the house!

The gorgeous gold garland I made last year for our dining room storage hutch, was strung over our built-in bench this year.


Wrapping things up with another garland project; this one was hung over the stairs to our lower level.  With the help of mini clothespins, it holds pictures of my most favorite people!  Another stack of cards came in today that I can't wait to clip up!


Another project that might stay around for a few extra weeks...

Whew!  I guess we know what happens when I don't post for a few days!  Post overload! 

And don't be fooled by any of the pretty you spot in these photos... I have piles of laundry that are starting to smell, stacks of papers to be filed and I just can't seem to stay caught up on dishes and dust.... but we are making the most of the holiday magic and I hope you all are able to find time to do the same.  With the chaos that is taking place on our main floor, creating a holiday ready haven in our lower level has been well worth the efforts. 

My kid's will be home from school for the next two weeks and we have some holiday traveling planned (minimal hosting for us this year), but I still plan on popping in with a few quick posts.

Merry Christmas everyone!



If you would like to see many of the same decor items used in different ways, check out my 2013 holiday home tour here.