A Simple Christmas – Trimmings

Latent Beauty, Winter Landscape Photography

I’m not really into doing up our home for Christmas specifically, but I do like to breathe some winter charm into our decor. Mostly we just decorate with nature, bowls of pinecones and pomegranates, mistletoe to ramp up the smooching, evergreen boughs, and candles to add warmth to chilly evenings. Simple, natural, and without an expiry date of December 25th. Our home is where we unwind, and I just can’t do that fully with six bright red Santa decorations staring at me.

My friend Jessica over at Wild Craft Permaculture is proposing a magical new Christmas tradition:

I love traditions and rituals but sometimes they are not sustainable and need to change. With a new family we’ve decided it’s an opportunity to create some new traditions that are our own and, in the spirit of permaculture, a boon to the earth, not a burden on her. So I’ve been thinking about what our new traditions should be…

We spend a lot of time in a natural area a couple of blocks from our home. I like the idea of adopting a conifer there for the holidays. We could go on the Solstice or on Christmas Eve and drape it with strings of popcorn and cranberries, suet and birdseed ornaments, bright red apples, pine cones coated in peanut butter and rolled in birdseed and maybe even a few hardy ornaments that would just be there for that night. Obviously tinsel is a no-no as is anything else that would last more then a few weeks on the tree.

We could invite some friends to join us with candles and snacks while we give thanks to the Tree and the Earth and take in the beauty of a starlit wintery night. Maybe we’ll sing some carols. This seems like a fitting way to celebrate the season.

Sounds like a magical evening! I’d love to do something like that one year.

The Result – There’s no rush to get the decorations up because they have to come down by January 1st and our house is filled with natural materials which tend to help us relax.

Make it Your Own – Get out all your Christmas and winter themed home accents and divide them into two piles – things that are definitely Christmasy and things that can stay out long after the celebrations have ended. Focus more on decorating with the latter – things like red plaid cushions, wool blankets, and ceramic woodland animals.

Do you decorate for the holidays? How do you keep it simple? Is your home your sanctuary during the holiday season or is it the hub of celebrations?

ALL SIMPLE CHRISTMAS POSTS

• A Simple Christmas – Getting Festive
• A Simple Christmas – Christmas Parties
• A Simple Christmas – Trimmings
• A Simple Christmas – Feasting
• A Simple Christmas – Family
• A Simple Christmas – Gifts
• A Simple Christmas – How to Simplify Your Christmas