Here Is How I Decorate My Older House for Christmas

Come On In To View My Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations are part of what make our homes merry and bright during the holiday season. Not only can Christmas time bring out the best in people, but also it brings out the best in our homes. I am happy to share with you some of my favorite Christmas decorations I use to make my house shine for the holidays. As we say in the South, “come on in and make yourself at home”! I am very fortunate to be the fourth generation of my family to live the house my great-grandparents built in 1902. Since I live in an older home, I like to keep my Christmas decorations firmly in the traditional camp. As a sentimental person, I also love to include decorations that I inherited from my grandparents and other family members over the years. Read on to see how I incorporate them into my Christmas decorating scheme.

The Double Parlor

The double parlor is where I place my 9 foot tree {pictured at the top of the post), since I have such high ceilings. I refer to this as my street view tree. A trick I employ to inexpensively decorate such a tall tree is to use faux poinsettias, wide ribbon, and faux berries to fill it in.  I am a huge fan of combining holiday greenery with fruit decorations. The top of my piano in the front parlor is draped in a garland with clusters of faux fruit. I love the old fashioned appeal of this look. For added touches of Christmas, I use Christmas themed sheet music and vintage holiday postcards I found in antique stores. 

The Dining Room

In the dining room, I like to take advantage of the large windows and hang wreaths on them inside. I also decorate the chandelier with smaller wreaths as well as draping a garland of pearls over them. The final touch is hanging more faux fruit from the chandelier to tie into the piano Christmas decorations described above.  I am fortunate to have a collection of vintage Christmas ornaments my grandmother made with fabric, ribbons, and sequins. I like to steal a few from the tree decorations and make a centerpiece for my dining table. Using a silver tiered stand, I add greenery, tulle, and ribbon to round out the display.

The Study

My study is where I place what I call my sentimental tree. It is filled with ornaments I have inherited, bought as a reminder of a trip, and handmade ones from friends and family. It also features ornaments of things I love like sock monkeys, baseball, vintage Mickey Mouse, and Lenox ornaments. One of the most special collections I have are my Reed and Barton silver bells which I describe in detail in the next paragraph.

The Silver Bell Tradition

When I was born, my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson gave me a Reed and Barton silver bell inscribed with the year. For the next forty plus years, I received one every year from them. As I hang them on the tree, I like to think about where I was for each year. It is also a lasting reminder of my grandparents. They followed this tradition with all of their grandchildren.  If you are considering starting a Christmas ornament tradition for your children or grandchildren, I highly recommend this idea. They look beautiful shining in the glow of the Christmas tree lights. Please see below for more details on these silver bells.

Reed and Barton Silver Bells

The Reed and Barton silver bells can be found on Amazon, in department stores, and in jewelry stores. If you would like to order one from Amazon, click here to purchase. Reed and Barton also has annual silver holly bell ornaments and Christmas Cross ornaments. The links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase any item linked here, What A Good Day gets a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Start Your Own Christmas Decorating Traditions

I hope that these featured highlights of my Christmas decorating will inspire you to include family Christmas decorations passed down through the years. I also hope your creativity is sparked to begin an annual ornament tradition. What are your favorite holiday decorating traditions? Please drop me a comment below and let me know! If you are looking for more ways to get into the holiday spirit, don’t miss these posts from us: Five Helpful Ways to be ‘Santa Paws’ to Furry Friends, The Perfect Gift Guide for Christmas Shopping This Year, and Movie Night Magic: A Holiday Movie Guide with Food Ideas, Activities, and More! Have a good day! Kristin Note:  This content is property of Kristin @whatagoodday.com. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. I’m happy for you to share this post, but be sure to link to this post. Thank you.