As I pulled out my eclectic Christmas decorations this year, I wondered what trends were hot this year. Of course, now distracted, I turned to Google to find out. Here’s what I discovered.
According to a Better Homes and Gardens article, (click here to read) this year’s all the rage color schemes are jewel tones, “Crisp” blue (whatever that is), pastels, and “wintery” white. (I’m always amazed that there are variations of white.) I love the idea of jewel colors. Deep maroon, emerald green, and deep purple with gold always say Christmas to me, but I’m not sure about the pastels. Another trend I saw multiple places was “natural” ornaments and “organic” greenery. Basically this is a fancy way of pinecones, oranges, cranberries, and real greenery or bringing the outside in.
Another article (click here to read) I found said to have a theme for a tree and decorations. It listed hot trends such as nutcracker, retro glam, pink Christmas Candyland (pastels again), gingerbread, and “mixed metals.” While they all look beautiful, and I would love to decorate with some of these (except for the pastels ?), two things keep me from doing so. One is the cost. Buying new decorations and ornaments is not in my Christmas budget. Plus, trends change so fast this year’s great décor becomes next year’s so over it trend. As to what’s out, I read mentioned ornate décor, tree skirts (we should replace them with a tree collar. See the picture below), traditional red and green. For me, that last one is never out of style.
The other reason I don’t want to replace my decorations and ornaments is because they mean something to me. It’s usually because of who gave the item to me and/or because of the event associated with it. I have “our first Christmas together” ornaments friends and family gave me and my husband. I gave my husband a little porcelain plane ornament. Every year when I see it, I envision him holding each of our sons as toddlers and them flying the plane around the living room before hanging the ornament on the tree. My bff Lori gave me a suitcase that says Australia ornament. That’s one of my favorites because when she or I have a bad day, we often joke about moving to Australia because of the children’s book Alex and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
One solution would be to have multiple trees. I started doing that a couple years ago, adding two table-top trees, but again, I went with ornaments that had an emotional connection. in the kitchen and family room. The one in the kitchen has Peanuts ornaments which I collected for years, but hadn’t put on the main tree for lack of space. The other tree has ornaments I’ve made to hold dog tags from our foster dogs.
So despite admiring all the wonderful magazine suggestions for decorations, this year I’ll stick with my eclectic-memory-filled items and save some cash.
To be entered in the random drawing for the long sleeve Merry Christmas T-shirt, leave a comment about your favorite Christmas decoration, ornament, trend, or what trend drives you crazy.
Julie Benson has written five novels for Harlequin American, and her Wishing, Texas series is available from Tule Publishing. Now that her three sons have left the nest in Dallas, when she isn't writing, Julie spends her time working on home improvement projects, rescuing dogs, and visiting Texas wineries with her husband. Visit her at www.juliebenson.net.
I try to just stick with what I have and maybe add an ornament or two or a few each year. My look is mine, somewhat traditional, but still a little eclectic.
My favorite ornament is an angel I’ve had for close to 30 years.
denise
Good morning, Denise! Thanks for starting out your morning with me, girl!
I love looking at the beautifully coordinated trees and decor, but I have a terrible time letting go of items to make room for new ones. Yes, I have hoarder tendencies. I work very hard to keep it in check. (My secret is to occasionally watch episodes of Hoarders.)
I do have a theme that’s evolved in my living room. One year in a gift wrap flyer for a fundraiser at my kids’ school, I discovered a candle holder. It was 3 different size snowmen standing around a campfire which was a tea light candle. Having 3 boys, I had to buy it. After that, I was amazed how many items I found with 3 snowmen on it. Between things I’ve purchased and gifts, I have enough items to decorate the living room with snowmen.
How wonderful that you have had an angel for 30 years, but you left out details. Why is it your favorite? Did someone give it to you? Is it a tree topper, ornament, or setting somewhere decoration?
Thanks for being here this morning. Take care and have a blessed holiday.
I went to an ornament exchange which turned nasty–white elephant style, but no real rules–this happened after I got my ornament, so I wasn’t a part of the fracas. Everyone wanted the delicate pink angel ornament. One woman got it back many times, and it was taken away just as many times. There were about thirty of us in the exchange. Finally, the president of the club spoke up and said it couldn’t be taken again.
In the end, the person who brought it mentioned where she bought it. Pier One. So I went there, and they had a few different angels, and I picked out the pink one. She’s hard to explain, but her gown is a dusty rose pink with a bit of a tea stain and made out of a heavy paper that was shaped and stiffened into a gown. Her wings and head are a resin or something. Prettier than it sounds. I’ve had to glue her wings back on, and I think something else may have fallen off and is misplaced. She’s usually near the top of my tree.
I won a Balsam Hill tree last year, so that tree has a lot of pink and gold ornaments, and I put her on it.
I, too, have a lot of snowmen in groups of three. I even have a reusable, hanging fabric advent calendar with three snowmen on it. each pocket can fit three Hershey kisses nicely. The boys loved it.
The pink, teal, & other pastel colors would drive me crazy! No thanks on that trend! I also decorate our tree with “family memories”, my favorite being a few of the first (& only) ornaments that my husband and I had to decorate our little tree branch that we had for our first Christmas as a married couple. We cut the “cups” out of an egg carton and covered them with foil and hung them with string. I think we also strung popcorn if I remember correctly, but we had no lights, no colored ornaments, and no fancy bling!
Ami, I love it. Your comment brings back memories of hubby’s and my first tree. We only had a few ornaments, too. Just reading what you wrote made me smile and took me back to my first Christmas after I got married.
Because we didn’t have anything for our tree, I gave my boys an ornament (or two) every year. I tried to find ones that commemorated something going on in their life or an interest. Each of my boys had a bin for their ornaments and every year they put their ornaments on the tree. When they moved out on their own they each had ornaments to take with them. Now they complain because they have too many for their tree!
Thank you for being here today and for the wonderful trip down memory lane. Wishing you and your family a blessed holiday season.
Yeah, I’m not liking the pastels.
We usually don’t put up a tree. We used to and when we did it was with some handmade ornaments from years ago and with Christmas season “fun-sized” candies that come silver, gold, green, or red foil wrapper. I’d just tape a hook on them and put them up. It made taking down the tree more fun. (Yes we were frequently replacing ornaments. Even though we had “extras” in a bowl nearby, friends would rather take them off the tree.)
Mary Ellen, what a fun idea! That’s definitely a great way to get help taking down the tree. I haven’t put up my tree yet this year. We have two hound mix foster pups. They’ve hit the “teenage” stage and have gotten a little rambunctious. Plus, they’re over 40 pounds (at 6 months!) and are tall enough to reach way too many things. We may have to put some kind of gate or something around the tree, but I’m not sure even that will keep them from getting into trouble. They’re good about listening to “no” but if I take my eye off them for more than 5 seconds…
Thank you for stopping by today to chat with me. Take care and enjoy every moment of the holiday season.
I don’t really follow/keep up with trends. My tree is not themed. It is sentimental with all the ornaments collected and passed down over the years. This is why it also makes it hard to pick a favorite.
Joannie, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who has a tree filled with eclectic ornaments with sentimental value. You’re right, when each ornament has a meaning and love attached, it’s almost impossible to pick a favorite. The only reason I sometimes know trends is because I spend time in the craft stores or research the issue for a book or an article. Thank you for stopping by to chat. Wishing you a blessed Christmas.
I don’t do a themed tree, except that everything has to be unbreakable (pets). I love the ornaments I have gotten over the years, some from my childhood. I have ornaments my Granny made that I love.
Connie, I hear you on the pets issue. This year I haven’t even put up a tree yet because we have two foster pups. They’re sweet but they’re hound mixes and at 6 months, they’re over 40 pounds! When they stand on their hind legs, their heads are at kitchen counter level. They are good about leaving things alone when I tell them no, but if I leave them alone for more than 5 seconds, it’s amazing how much trouble they can get into. But then if you have pets, you already know that! Thank you for being here today, and may your Christmas be filled with blessings.
Our ornaments have been collected over the years and each one holds a memory. We choose a family ornament each year, date it, and put everyone’s name on it. We had foster children for several years and it always helps us remember when they were with us. Other ornaments are from special vacations or events in our lives. We relive so many special memories when we unpack our ornaments!
Rhonda, how wonderful that you create a family ornament every year. I wish I’d thought of that. And thank you for fostering children. As a former social worker, I know that takes a huge heart and lots of patience. You’ve truly made a difference in the world. Thank you for being here today, and may you have a blessed Christmas.
No theme tree and don’t follow the trends.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful holiday season.
What an interesting post! I would never decorate to follow a trend because I’m a traditionalist at heart. I love anything handmade so have a lot of hand crafted ornaments on my tree. I love going to craft shows to see what creative things I can find for my tree each year. Thanks for the chance to win a prize. Merry Christmas!
Vickie, I have a lot of handmade ornaments on my tree, too. Some of my favorites are ones my boys made in school at holiday parties. For example, one year they took blank CDs, decorated them with stickers, and they glued a small school picture in the center. Other years they made a reindeer out of clothes pins and a snowman from a tongue depressor like stick. Each year when I put them on the tree, it’s like when you put the family ornament on. I immediately am transported back to that year with my boys. Thank you for taking me on a memory walk this morning. Wishing you a blessed Christmas.
If I had more house to decorate, I might follow a decorating trend. But I only have a small area to have decorated so I go with my curated from over 40 years tabletop and tree decorations.
I can’t even get the house I have decorate. I can’t imagine having a bigger one and the money to have trendy decorations. I’m with you, though. I’d much rather have my house decorated with items that mean something that I’ve had for years. Looking at my tree will definitely tell you a lot about who I am and about my family over the years.
Thank you for stopping by to chat, and may your Christmas be blessed.
I love to do themed trees and sometimes they have to do with places I’ve traveled. The Mexican one was especially fun with lights like red chili peppers.
Janice, now that’s cool when you have a theme that means something to you. Then when you look at your tree it reminds you of the your trip. That’s like my snowmen decorations which have 3 different sized snowmen. They remind me of my 3 boys. But I can’t imagine choosing decorations just because they’re the hottest trend. I’m way too sentimental. Bet that’s a surprise, that a romance author is sentimental. Lol!
Thank you for stopping by to chat with me today. Take care and have a blessed Christmas.
to each his own – but I agree NO to the pastels, too babyish IMHO!! I too prefer the kid made treasures that I have kept most with pictures on them!
Teresa, I had the same reaction to the pastels! It felt to me if it should be the main decoration at a baby shower! Give me my tree with ornaments my kids made or ones loved ones have given me any day. Thanks for being here today. Take care and have a blessed holiday season.
I do not prefer color coordinated trees where you can only have a certain color of balls and ribbon/beads. I love the way my family decorates our tree. It’s usually chock-full of ornaments–handmade, handed down from family, etc.–has colored lights, and we put red and gold bead strands around it. It’s probably not other people’s style, but we love it!
Elizabeth, thank you for being here today. Not only does creating a tree with one color or them cost big bucks, but what I like this year most likely will drive me crazy the next year. Your tree sounds lovely and what’s more important it has meaning for you.
You brought up another issue I hadn’t even thought to ask about–white lights or multi-colored. My husband is a it’s got to be multi-color guy. Then there’s the star/angel/tree topper debate. That’s the one item I’ve never found one that I like.
Have a blessed Christmas and enjoy that tree.
We don’t have room for a tree. Instead, we have a folding manger in which gifts are placed in and around. I string lights around the room and hang angels from them for the stars and “heavenly host” .
Emily, what a beautiful and meaningful idea. I may have to find a corner of some room to do that. It really puts the season in perspective and reminds me what it’s all about. Thank you for being here and sharing your wonderful decorating idea. Have a blessed Christmas.
My tree is all snowman decorations. My favorite is in little army snowman and a snowman that looks like Humpty Dumpty.
Cathy, I’m a snowman girl, too. I’m trying to envision one that looks like Humpty-Dumpty. I bet the army oes are cool. I have a little nativity scene that’s snowmen. What’s great about it is it’s small. So many nativity sets are huge.
I decorate my living room with snowmen. It started when I found a small candle holder. It was 3 different size snowmen standing around a campfire. (That’s where a tea light goes.) Because I have 3 boys that decoration meant a lot to me. I found quite a few other 3 snowman items and other people gave me snowmen. I haven’t gotten new ones in years because I’ve run out of space for them.
Take care and thank you for being here today. May your Christmas be blessed and white enough to make snowmen!
I have been buying metal ornaments with pictures of family each year. The kids get to pick up an ornament special to them for their tree and I keep all the rest. I love watching how they grow up from year to year. as I get older, I love building on the memories made from year to year. I even have ornaments made of our pets that are dear to our hearts. Merry Christmas, Julie. Thank you for all the rescues that you’ve taken in and helped over the years.
Kathy, I love that you have ornaments with pictures of your family from over the years. What fun to get them out every year and see how everyone has grown and changed. My favorite ornaments are ones my kids made or ones that have their pictures on them. For me, decorating the tree is always such a special trip down memory lane. And I have ornaments that remind me of my pets, too. After all, they’re family too.
Thank you for being here today. I wish you and your sweet hubby a Christmas filled with blessings and wonder.
I have never been a person that goes by the trends, I go by what I like. I have Christmas decorations I have had for over 40 yts, I don’t put a lot of them up now. But I still have them. My very first Christmas tree many years ago was done in blue and silver and instead of having a star or angel on top of the tree, I had this blue and silver Sphere. I don’t put up my big tree anymore, but I still have that item. It’s a reminder of many good Christmas’s I have had over the years.
Kathleen, I know what you mean about not putting up all the decorations anymore. I put out a lot more when my boys were home, and loved having them help me. I can’t believe we used to decorate outside and inside, including the tree, all in the weekend after Thanksgiving. Now I’m just about finished decorating (sometimes not) when Christmas arrives. Thank you for being here and have a blessed Christmas.
Julie – I’m with you when it comes to choosing sentiment over style. My kids give me a hard time for still getting out the little things they made in elementery school and putting them on display, but I love those memories and look forward to unpacking them every year. Last year, I did finally get rid of some of the decorations that had deteriorated over the last 20-30 years and bought a few new items. And this year I broke down and bought a new tree. There’s always room for new Christmas joys, but I cling to the old as well.
My favorite ornament is a boot one that I got from Linda Broday . I won it during a contest.
Now that’s a special one, for sure! Thanks for being here and sharing that. Have a blessed Christmas.
The “decorator trees,” as I call them, are beautiful (usually), but I prefer our tree. Every ornament means something special to us and we love reminiscing when we look at them. Besides, our kids would be so upset if their special ornaments weren’t on the tree every year.
Christy, I agree with you. It’s always such a special time each year remembering the stories associated with each ornament and talking about the person who gave it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Thank you for being here today, and may your Christmas be blessed.
Well, I guess traditional wins Julie! Well, after flocking my tree last year and making new ornaments, I decided not to put a tree up this year. I did a little bit of decorations this year inside. But, not much. Now, you mention outside and I’m all out! And decorating my front porch. I put lights out on out back patio too. I’m just not into doing a lot of decorating indoors.
Tracy, we always decorate outside no matter what. But, I’ve been you are this year with inside decorations. Some years I don’t have the energy, and I only put out a few items that mean the most to me.
Thank you for mentioning decorating the porch because it remind me I haven’t done that yet. We’ve gotten lights and our Dalmatian yard art, though. I also have been meaning to put lights on my back patio. Those I’d leave up year round.
Thank you for being here and reminding me of a couple tasks I need to add to my to do list. Take care and have a blessed Christmas season.
When I was a little girl, I bought my granny a red rocking chair Christmas ornament from Avon that said Grandma. She loved it and displayed it on her mantel year round. After she went in the nursing home, it disappeared, and I mourned the loss of it for years. When my oldest daughter was born, I found an identical ornament on Ebay for my mom, and it also came with a green rocking chair that said Grandpa. My mom still hangs them on her tree every year, and I love them so much.
Kim, how awful that the ornament went missing. I bet someone thought it would be a great gift for his/her grandmother and took it. Though I do t understand how a person could do that.
I think you finding that same ornament for your mom when you had your daughter was a gift from your grandmother. She knew how much you missed that tangible connection to her and she sent the ornament back to you to give your mom.
Thank you for being here and sharing that poignant memory. Have a blessed Christmas.
Hi Julie, Happy Christmas!
This year is different: I have decorated my office!
This is the first year that I have my own office. I started as pastor of First Christian Church in Bellingham, Washington this June. I have decorated my walls with meaningful pictures and saints and icons that I’ve collected over the years.
I have put up my Christmas decorations in the office. My tree is done up in balls of silver and gold with sparkly red snowflakes and red ribbons, candy canes and the eclectic collection of memories masquerading as ornaments collected from the past decades and stands behind my desk near the window that looks out toward Mt Baker. My mini collection of Nutcrackers, one with pride colors inside his cape, are on the end table between the chairs where I talk with visitors.
There are no decorations up in the apartment I share with my youngest child. She is still a bit fragile from some painful childhood memories and trauma associated with the whole Holiday fanfare. She is working on it. No worries though because it sure tastes and smells like Christmas in here! Thankfully the food and cookies and spiced cider or mulled wine are allowed; we are making new memories with gingerbread and Lefse, Krumkakke, rosettes, like my great-grandmother made.
Thanks to all your fans sharing their memories and traditions- this column has been a delight to me today.
Peace be,
Jenn
Miss you dear friend.
My tree starts with the ornaments I buy my girls each year (I try to find something significant for the year in their life) and then I add in the ones I got on vacations and the ones in memory of my parents and any other ones that “jump out” at me to hang that year. I’ve got lots of ornaments but only one tree so each year may be a little bit different depending on which other ornaments I select from the tubs.
Naomi, how fun! That’s kind of what we did before I found the small table top trees at a garage sale for a bargain. Thank you for stopping by today. Take care, enjoy the ornament grab bag decorating session, and may your Christmas be blessed.
If I had room for a tree, it’d definitely be a hodge podge of ornaments, and it would have the deeper colors for lights. I love colored lights, but I couldn’t do pastels, either!
Trudy, thanks for being here today. So far it seems it’s a yes on ornaments that have sentimental value and a big no on pastel trees.
Have a blessed Christmas season.
I know a lady who does this and it stresses her out every year. She buys so many new ornaments, etc that she thinks will be fun. And yup she is stressed and really doesnt enjoy the process. From the time I got married, I started putting up ornaments that my sister/sister in law (3) all made for each other. My mom always got an ornament for me also, sometimes bought, sometimes made. So now 40 years later I have taken out all of the two kiddos ornaments and given them to them. It was so much fun yearly adding to the tree. Now my husband and I will be continuing on from then. So fun.
Lori, the stress is yet another reason not to go with trends and have a new tree every so often.
We did the same thing with our kids, giving them one or two ornaments every year. (I did t have any for my first tree when I got married.) when my kids moved out on their own they had those for their tree. Like you, there’s now room on the tree for my huband’s and my ornaments.
Thank you for being here today. Have a blessed Christmas.
Our tree is decorated with ornaments we got from our parents, and special ornaments that were given to us on special occasions.
Barbara, mine is too, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, especially a pastel tree. Thank you for stopping by to chat, and may your Christmas be filled with joy and blessings.
My favorite ornament is this little mouse placing a letter to Santa into a mailbox! We add to our decoration almost every year, but we do not go with any themes… just keep using what we have and like!
Colleen, what a cute ornament. Thank you for being here today. Have a blessed Christmas.
I’ve never been a big fan of decorating trends for Christmas. I like my fake tree with the family ornaments that mean something to me. I don’t want to chase trends, I want to enjoy the memories as I decorate.
Megan, trends come and go too fast. I would t even have enough to decorate a tree before the trend was over. It’s much less costly and makes me happier to stick with decorations that have meaning to me too. May your Christmas be filled with blessings and joy.
My favorite ornament is the one my mom gave my son his first Christmas, a little wooden rocking horse.
Connie, that sounds so cute. My oldest son got married I September and his wife could t believe how many baby’s first Christmas ornaments he had. She had to say he could only put one or two on the tree
Thank you for stopping by to chat. May your Christmas bring you blessings and leave you with wonderful memories.
The only person that sees my tree is me but I put it up. I love lights.
Cathy, only my kids see my tree, but I love sitting in a room with only the tree lights on. What’s important is that you enjoy your tree. Thanks you for being here. Enjoy your tree and have a blessed Christmas.
I am not concerned with trends. My tree is a collection of ornaments my children made years ago plus new ones that I have collected in our travels over the past few years. We have colored lights and always have a real tree.
Elaine, I miss having a real tree. That’s what we always had when I was growing up. Then my two oldest were sick every Christmas Eve. We had to get a fake one because they were allergic.
Thank you for being here today. Take care and have a blessed Christmas.
The very first ornaments on our tree are a mini angel and a little drummer boy they have our childrens name on them and have hung on every tree since 1974. Other special ones are my dads baby toy and my grandmas crochets stars,,, only 1 tree and it now includes a minature snowglobe for each of our grandchildren.
Anita, your tree sounds lovely and filled with memories. Thank you for stopping by to tell us about your special ornaments. Take care and may your Christmas be blessed.
The year that we were married, my Mom had an ornament made with our names and the year on it. It means so much more since my Mom passed away in January. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas. God bless you.
Debbie, I’m sorry for your loss. This will be a tough holiday without your mom. How wonderful that you have such a tangle memory with the ornament. It sounds like she put a lot of thought and love into picking the gift. I’m sure she’ll be there with you when you hand it on your tree. May God bless you as well. Thank you for being here.
I have ornaments that I received through the years that mean a lot to me because of who gave them to me. Once in a while I will receive a new one to add but I for the most part I have stopped collecting them myself.
wreaths
I am not a big fan of the white trees and pastels. There are pink trees with pink ornaments this year. I know why, but they are a bit much.
We haven’t managed to put a big tree up in several years. That is in our victorian parlor and has some ornaments that reflect the period and white, blue, and crystal ornaments. We try to put up a 4 foot tree that has our ornament from when the children were little. We collect ornaments when we travel and we will have a tree just for those ornaments. We are dealing with a family illness this year and haven’t done much decorating. We have a one and a two foot tree that we picked up on trips when we were traveling over the holiday. I will likely get them out and do some very simple decorations.
My favorite decoration is the only one we got for our first Christmas. He was in Vietnam and didn’t make it home until January. We bought a nativity set by Hummel with figures that remind me of Disney’s It’s A Small World. It is sweet and I love it. About 10 years ago I started collecting nativity ornaments and nativity sets. Nothing big, my mother-in-law gave us a large ceramic one a friend had made.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and great 2024.
As a child, my family had an artificial tree that was white or silver; this tree came with an electric color wheel that was designed to cast colored rays of light on the tree, each of which transformed it to that color. Since the wheel rotated and had multiple colors in pie shaped wedges, it provided something of a light show. I don’t know if these trees are made anymore.
It’s an tradition that we had since I was a child to put out this white church under the Christmas tree. It’s from the 1940s I think and two battery light Glass Santa and a tree that from the 60s display them on a shelf but think the were ornaments to hang on the tree. I go Christmas decorations crazy inside and outside every year and I try to make a few new items every yr , I’m a diy girl. Love love Christmas.
One of my teacher friends gave my a nativity puzzle that her mother had put together and glued.