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Unique Holiday Home Decorating Ideas
There are two events that always make me want to get my home in order:
1) House guests
2) The holidays
Anyone else?
Often those two things come together at the same time. That's when I turn up the heat on those back-burner projects and start thinking about how to make my home feel extra-special and inviting.
Over the years, I've found the very best ideas are both personal and meaningful. They tell a story, not just fill a space. They invite others to be part of that story too. They spark conversation and encourage sharing beyond the usual day-to-day exchanges, and in turn, forge new memories.
Today I'm showing you unique holiday home decorating ideas based on ways I've personalized my own home.
Cork notes
My husband and I have been collecting wine corks for almost 30 years. We have so many I've literally wallpapered my bar with them. What makes some of them unique is the fact that we write the date and event on corks that mark a memorable occasion and leave them in a large bowl on our dining table.
We find a lot of reasons to celebrate! Of course there are corks for birthdays, vacations and anniversaries but sometimes they're from everyday memories (like the night my husband taught our kids how to grill his famous steaks).
Framed menus
This is one of my favorite conversation pieces. About 20 years ago during a dinner out with friends, the conversation turned to favorite restaurant meals of all time. I came home and made a list of our family's favorites and emailed each of the restaurants. I shared that we'd had a memorable meal there and wanted to remember it by framing their menu and displaying it in my dining room. I shared my address and asked if they would mail me a copy. To my surprise and delight, I began receiving menus from all over the world!
Today, getting a copy of a favorite menu is often as simple as going online and printing one off on quality paper to frame yourself. No matter how we obtain them, guests regularly pause to read the menus while waiting for dinner to be served. It brings up great memories and gives everyone something to talk about, which is especially nice during extended family get-togethers or as an ice-breaker when guests may not know each other well.
Christmas cards or postcards
I have a display of old postcards my grandfather sent to my dad and later to me during his many travels over the years. When I remodeled our guest suite (you can read about that here), I added a shallow bowl to the bedroom dresser so guests can enjoy flipping through them too. At the holidays, I like to switch them out with our family holiday photo cards from years past. We usually include pictures on the cards of vacations and activities we enjoyed that year, so it's fun to see how we've all grown and changed while revisiting memories from each year.
Vintage matchbooks
Another great collection my grandparents had over the years was matchbooks. They brought them home from hotels, restaurants and even weddings. They kept them stored in old brown and gold tins from Charles Chips and gathered a rather large assortment over the years.
Their collection has since become mine and I've added to it. Most of the matchbooks are in shadow boxes displayed on bookshelves in my home, but I like to put a few interesting ones out next to a favorite seasonal candle for a unique display. You can jump-start a collection of your own inexpensively via Etsy or eBay. Select those that match your holiday color scheme for a coordinated seasonal look.
Something new
Inevitably I'll find things while I'm shopping during the holidays that I want to take home. While there are mainstays in our home that rarely change each year, I regularly update small displays such as this side table vignette in my living room. Recently I added this collection of bottle brush trees I found at Magnolia Market and Target. I might add fairy lights to them this year or switch it up completely.
I've noticed that visitors enjoy knowing where we found something they admire. By adding a unique new piece to a prominent location, your guests can re-create the feeling they had in your home within their own.
Something old
This antique marble side table has been passed through several generations of my family, eventually finding its way to my family room. No one recalls the story behind the engraving, but it brings a smile to my face imagining Husband picking out this piece as a Christmas gift for Wife.
Today it sits by a large window facing my backyard and serves as a puzzle and game table, which is most often used during the holidays. If you happen to have something old you've inherited, bringing it out with your holiday decor might enhance the memories. If not, antique shopping or thrifting allows you to introduce a moment of history and a story that can't be easily be replicated from home catalogs or big box retailers.
Christmas ornaments
One of my favorite holiday traditions is collecting ornaments that represent something special that happened each year. Some years, it's an ornament that represents something we did as a family such as a vacation or viewing a favorite Christmas movie together. Other years, it may be a school photo or something relating to an activity the family member did that year. From baby's first Christmas to college graduation and all the milestones in between, so many special moments are unpacked and remembered every time we decorate our tree.
If you haven't yet begun this tradition, an easy starting point is to have photos from your phone printed to fit ornament frames or printed directly onto keepsake ornaments from companies such as Minted or Shutterfly.
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