Cozy Christmas Home Tour 2023

This year’s Christmas preparation was hectic because we have been working on the family room renovation plus – I needed to finish repainting one of the upstairs bedrooms. I only got the first coat of paint on – but it freshened up the room and I’m excited to get it finished in the coming new year!

I also apparently didn’t take many photos of my actual Christmas decor but I’ll share what I do have! My daughter-in-law Hannah Claire gave me one of the best compliments ever this year. She looked around at all of the Christmas decorations – we were in the family room and I had set up a table for Christmas crafts for the grandkids (and grown kids) to work on – and she said, “You’re teaching me so much about Christmas.” What a sweet thing for her to say!! I love serving my family and making the holidays special for them. 🙂

Christmas Dining Room and Foyer

Family Room

This was the first time we’ve used our family room which is located in the basement since 2018 when we first began renovations on the house. We haven’t had electricity down there since then! My goal was to create a space that felt nostalgic and like it had been there for the last two or three decades. I wanted the room to feel homey – like HOME – for my kids and grandkids when they came home for Christmas this year.

My daughter Hannah looked around the room and said, “This room just feels like Christmas.” And honestly that was one of the best compliments I could have ever received!

Upstairs

I typically decorate every room in my house for Christmas and this year was no different. Unfortunately I failed to take photos of everything this year as I was knee deep in the actual preparation for having a houseful of family come for ten days! It was one of the happiest Christmases I’ve ever had – just so many special memories made!

Food and Crafts

One of the things I love most about Christmas – and really every holiday – is serving family favorite recipes and coming up with activities for my family to do to add to the festivity and fun. This year we made Christmas chains and ornaments for everyone to take home with them. Really special memories!

The Hot Chocolate Bar

I had so much fun putting this hot chocolate bar together for my family. It was used every day and everyone loved it! Our bar in the family room looks into the laundry room (which I would love to change haha) so I tried to create a “wall” of sorts on the back of the bar by adding cubbies and stacking wood boxes and using the sign and tree to take the focus away from the laundry room and second refrigerator we have in there. I think it turned out really cute! I used thrifted and vintage Christmas decor to create a nostalgic look for the hot chocolate bar and bought an electric tea kettle to quickly heat water.

I added whipped cream, sprinkles, and a jar of cocoa mix to the bar and it’s something I plan to continue doing every year!