Vlogmas: Decorating for the Holidays!
Hiii, Remi here!
I hope you all are having a fantastic holiday season! You all know that I love this time of year SO MUCH — the food is amazing, spending time with family and friends is so special, and I especially love decorating the house for Christmas!
As I write this, it is absolutely freezing outside, and it's also freezing in the house because Nate likes to have it 65 degrees at all times — even in winter! He likes to save on the electricity bill, which makes sense haha, but at the same time, I can't handle the cold. That's why I have my heater here warming me up!
With all this inside time, I'm getting into the groove of editing videos daily through VLOGMAS — creating a vlog each day until Christmas! I won't lie — it's a lot of work, but it's work that I enjoy doing so much! I get to share my life with you and give you an inside look of what my days look like!
For Vlogmas, we will be covering so many different topics — everything from Nate's and my relationship to different workouts and yummy recipes! And please — send me ideas! You all have sent me really fun ideas for videos in the past, and I'd love to hear your ideas for this Vlogmas! Just comment under this post, or send me a DM on Instagram, @rrayyme!
Today, we are going to focus on everything CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. If you're anything like me, you love decorating for Christmas — and there are so many different routes you can go! You can go for a classy Christmas with red bows and garlands or make your yard look like the North Pole — it's totally up to you!
This year, I decided to go shopping for my own Christmas tree, redo the fireplace, and purchase some nice Christmas decor to make my house more festive. In this post, I'll be sharing links to different products, let you know the BEST places to shop, and give you some tips on making your decorations pop!
Shopping for the PERFECT Christmas Tree!
There is nothing better than the smell of fresh balsam during the holiday season! You can get candles, air fresheners, and even essential oils that all have that smell, but I think the best way is simply by buying a REAL Christmas tree.
Do you like buying real Christmas trees too? Or do you prefer to put out the fake tree? Real trees can be expensive over time, and they do make a mess on the floor. Fake trees, on the other hand, are super easy to set up and take down, and they don't make a mess! Really, it just depends on what YOU want!
Personally, Nate and I LOVE Douglas Fir Christmas trees — they smell GREAT, they have thicker pines, and it's just so fun going to pick one out! This year, Nate and I really wanted a big tree — like, seven or eight feet tall! I called a local Christmas tree vendor just to check and see if they had some available, and then we jumped in the car to see our options!
Not gonna lie, I'm pretty picky about my Christmas trees. Some were too narrow, others were too fat, and I really wanted something perfect. I noticed some Christmas trees rolled up and on the ground, so Nate went over there and cut the netting of one with his knife. Turns out, it was perfect!
On the ride home, I jammed out to some Christmas music and even made Nate smile a little bit! :) When we got back, we started rearranging some of the furniture in the living room to make space for the tree. This was one of our biggest trees yet, so we wanted to make sure that nothing looked crowded! At 10:00 PM, the Christmas tree arrived, and we set it up — it looked amazing! Even without decorations! Of course, I couldn't wait to decorate it, but that had to wait until tomorrow because I was sleeppyy.
Best Places to Buy Ornaments (and How to Make Your Own)!
Now onto ornaments! There are so many different styles of ornaments — there are the fun, nostalgic ornaments that you got when you were a little kid, there are homemade ornaments, and then there are those classy glass ornaments! You can mix and match or stick to one style — really whatever you prefer!
If you don't currently have many ornaments, you're in luck! Here are the best places to shop for ornaments (and other Christmas decorations)!
You all know that I LOVE Anthropologie — I've gotten furniture, clothing, and decor from them, and I always love it. Did you know that it's also an amazing place to buy Christmas tree ornaments? They have so many different options — from icicles to glass candy ornaments to a cute knitted skiing cheetah! There is something there for everyone, and they also make great gifts!
World Market has everythinggg — clothes, food, furniture, and holiday decorations! Like Anthropologie, they have a lot of different options, depending on what kind of style you want to go for!
If you're looking for a more affordable option, definitely check out HomeGoods or Michaels for amazing deals on ornaments and Christmas decor! In fact, I get most of my simple, round ornaments from Michaels — and they're really nice and affordable! Michaels also has a lot of great crafting supplies, which you can use to make your own ornaments.
DIY Ornaments!
I love to get crafty, and the holidays are the perfect time to do just that. I like to buy clear round ornaments from Michaels, cut up some Pampas grass or dried flowers, and put that inside of the ornament! It's SOOO easy, and it really looks classy! It's textured, neutral, and inexpensive! If you decide to make DIY ornaments this year, please snap a pic, share it on Instagram, and tag me, @rrayyme. I'd love to see what you create! <3
Decorating My Mantle!
Let's be honest — it's not enough to just decorate the tree. If you're anything like me, you want decorations everywhere! After returning home from my trip to Hawaii, I immediately went to World Market to find some decorations for the mantle!
First, I picked out some beautiful garlands to line the top of the mantle — World Market had a variety of options and sizes (some were even lined in "snow")! They also had these beautiful glass lanterns that I ended up filling up with snow-dusted pine cones.
In addition to the garland and lanterns, I bought some white candles with wooden candle holders to put on the mantle as well. This made my mantle look super cozy and warm. <3 If you decide to buy some holiday candles, I recommend buying them in different sizes for some variety! And if you're not a candle person, you can buy battery-powered string lights to wrap around the garland! (I did both, lol.)
And of course, I had to stop by Target for some cute Christmas decor and more garland!!! They also had the Command Strips I needed to actually put the decorations in place. Definitely watch the Vlogmas video where you can watch me decorate everything (and see all the prices for the things I got).
I absolutely LOVED how the mantle turned out. It was so festive and cozy without being too in-your-face!
How Do You Decorate for Christmas?
I hope you enjoyed reading about my Christmas tree and decorations, and that it inspired you to either go out and get some new decorations or make some yourself! And of course, I would love to see what you come up with! Just tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme, with a pic of your tree, mantle, or anything else you want to show me! I love celebrating the holidays with you!
And if you're wanting more Vlogmas, you can also head over to my YouTube channel to check out my vlogs, and don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss anything! I am constantly updating new content, and I love interacting with you all over there!
And if you're looking for last-minute holiday gifts (aren't we all?!), check out our virtual workout program HōmeBodies! If you're looking for a no-bullshit, zero excuses crew here to help you move better, get stronger, FEEL GOOD, and become a consistent exerciser, this is the place for you! And what's more, it's the PERFECT gift for anyone in your life who's looking to improve their body too! Just head over to our website or read this blog post to get all the details! <3
