My home reminds me of the Disney park process when it comes to holiday decorating: the autumn and Halloween decorations are put away the same day that the Christmas decorations go up. I’ve been doing it this way for so long it’s a seamless transition and one that I truly look forward to every year. This year I partnered with Boscov’s to show you how easy it is to decorate for the holidays using something old and something new. Sounds like a marriage, right? Actually, it is if you think about it – a marriage between my well-loved traditional pieces and new pieces I’m happy to make traditions.
Have a Plan Ahead of Time.
It’s a blast to open up our Christmas boxes and look through the sentimental family heirloom pieces with The Kid and Mr. Locke that we’ve acquired over the years, consider what we want to use, and then purchase new pieces to compliment them. If you have a basic plan on what you’d like to go where it’s so much easier. Not counting our Christmas tree, there’s several spots in our open-concept living/dining area that I love to decorate including the fireplace and mantle area, the dining table, and my husband’s grandparents’ piano. I also like to add a couple of holiday touches to our coffee table as it’s pretty massive and has a large top.
So here’s how my planning goes when it comes to all of these homey spots. I consider what decorations I already own and what theme I want to use. I’ve been holding on to a massive bolt of beautiful red, green, and gold plaid ribbon and thought, there’s no better time than this year to use it as the underlying theme. And, when it comes to traditional Christmas decorating, I can’t think of a more traditional theme than red, green, and gold.
Start with the Big Pieces and Work Your Way Down to Small Details.
Here’s what I knew about decorating this season: I knew I wanted a large greenery swag on the mantle with a couple of larger accent pieces, a wreath hanging on the wall above it, and two additional pieces sitting on the hearth on wither side of the fireplace. I also knew that I needed a larger piece for my dining table in addition to a new tablecloth and cloth napkins to match.
So The Kid and I headed to Boscov’s in Monaca, PA, with my mental list, grabbed a shopping cart, and got busy ticking holiday decor items off the list in the Trim-a-Home department. Keeping our theme’s colors in mind, the first purchase I made was 2 24-In Decorated Trees in Pots, aka, topiaries. They were already decorated with ornaments , artificial poinsettias, and pine cones so all I had to do when I got home was add a pretty plaid bow and some lights.
I mad a bee line for the wreaths next. Happily, there was a Gold Berry 24in. Pre-Decorated Wreath that perfectly matched the Trees in Pots so it was a no-brainer to add it to our cart. From there on it was a breeze. I purchased an artificial greenery swag , durable Christmas ornaments to add to the mantle swag I wanted to make, and both mini and LED lights for the topiaries, wreath, and swag.
Shopping for Christmas Decor? Scour the Entire Store!
Next stop? The second floor to the Home Goods section! I love checking out every department in a store before I select my purchases. When we entered Boscov’s that day, I looked around the entire store and got a feel for what the store had to offer for Christmas decorating.
It’s here we found the perfect green with gold accent tablecloth, gold napkins, glittery poinsettia napkin rings – and even a Christmas-y table runner for my coffee table. It smelled so good with all of the candles I could only imagine how good my home would smell with them burning so I purchased two jarred candles as well.
I spied the dining table piece de resistance from across the floor and had to have it: a 3-piece Red Hurricane Candle Holders. They’re tiered making for the perfect centerpiece for my dining table. Also in this department I scored two LED Lanterns with a six-hour timer and artificial candles – exactly what I needed for those couple of larger mantle pieces.
With all of my new Christmas home decor goodies in Boscov’s bags, we packed up the trunk and headed home to decorate!
Blend Pieces with Traditional Ones for a Homey Look and Feel.
Staring with the plain greenery swag (it’s like a blank canvas!), I unwrapped and fluffed it. I added a set of 100 warm white string lights and, putting my flower shop experience to good use, made a giant plaid bow in the center with two long ribbon tails. Taking ornaments from both packages, I used twisty ties to make ornament bundles of three of four and tied them to the newly-formed garland swag. The lanterns fit beautifully on the mantle so a small plaid bow atop both melded them in with the theme. If there’s one thing I really dislike is seeing a ton of wires so I used battery-powered LED lights wherever I could.
Not sure how to make a bow? YouTube is where to head for bow tutorials. Once you’ve got it down, it’s like riding a bike.
Next was the 24-inch wreath. It was practically ready to hang so all I had to do was add in the battery-powered LED lights and pop a medium-size bow on the side. Easy peasy. I also added the LED string lights to the trees in pots, made simple three-loop bows, and set them on the hearth on wither side of the fireplace.
The two candle sconces have been hanging on my wall for years and with their rusty-brown finish they matched perfectly with the lanterns.
I took the unused ornaments and added them to a clear glass bowl that I already had, added the Christmas table runner and jar candles and both my coffee table and fireplace area were good to go!
Keep Things Simple and Classy
For the most part, the simpler I go with holiday decorating the classier it always seems to be. I grabbed some dining table staple pieces from their storage boxes (my Grandmother’s Christmas dishes and my gold chargers) and built from there.
I wanted a Christmas look and feel and found a beautiful hunter green beaded swirl tablecloth with gold accents. Beside the tablecloth was a set of four Damask Jacquard napkin set in rich gold – perfect. I folded them and plopped them into the poinsettia napkin rings for a glittery touch.
That three piece red hurricane candle holder set? Out of the box and straight to the middle of the table. The entire table theme took all of five minutes to set up.
My Purchases
I loved holiday shopping at Boscov’s and truly hope you’ll have as much fun as I did whether shopping online or in-store. Here’s a list of holiday products including UPC numbers, to get you started. I’ve added online links to products I was able to find on its website and prices, too!
Trim-A-Home
- 24-inch Decorated Trees in Pots – UPC 7556-7340-9963 Regularly $34.99, sale price $22.99 each
- Gold Berry 24-inch Pre-Decorated Wreath – UPC 7556-7340-6115 Regularly $49.99, sale price $29.99
- Red, Green, Gold 24pc. Ball Ornaments – UPC 7104-1310-0234 Regularly $12.99, sale price $6.49
- 25ct. Decorated Ball Ornaments – Red/Green UPC 8487-9907-1272 Regularly $29.99, sale price $14.99
- 9 Foot Fir Garland – I could not find my exact purchase online, but this one is as close as I could get. Regularly $39.99 on sale for $29.99
Holiday Home Goods
- LED Lantern with Timer and Ring – UPC 7896-8302-9385 Regularly 39.99, sale price $19.99 each
- Home Essentials 3pc. Red Hurricane Candle Holders – UPC 7864-6008-0485 Regularly #39.99, sale price $19.99
- Beaded Swirl Fabric Tablecloth – UPC 0525-0141-1588 Regularly $19.99, sale price 8.99
- Damask Jacquard Napkins – Set of 4 – UPC 0268-6589-0242 Regularly $22.99, sale price $7.99
- Poinsettia Napkin Rings – Set of 4 – UPC 0239-6702-9679 Regularly $9.99, sale price $4.99
- Country Classics Jar Candle in Santa’s Cookie Crumble – UPC 8169-3401-2381 Regularly $19.99, sale price $8.99
- Country Classics Jar Candle in Gingerbread Cookie – UPC 8169-3401-6037 Regularly $19.99, sale price $8.99
- Merry and Bright Plaid Runner – UPC 0268-6590-4239 Regularly $19.99, sale price $9.99
- 20 LED String Lights – UPC 7896-830369148 Regularly $7.99, sale price $3.99 each
What’s the one holiday decoration you have to use each year? Please let me know in the comment section below!
Disclosure: I was graciously given compensation by Boscov’s to give you fine folks the scoop on what makes its stores perfect for holiday shopping. I was not asked to state a particular point of view and all opinions are my own.
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