5 Beautiful Old Fashioned Christmas Decorating Ideas

An old fashioned Christmas is full of so much nostalgia and magic that I just had to decorate our house like that this year.

In my recent post about how to hang garland on the stairs, I told you about the conversation my husband and I had about Christmas recently.

We were talking about how there was so much nostalgia for him growing up knowing how his grandma was going to decorate for Christmas each year.

That’s not to say she never added new pieces.

But as a general rule, he knew how her house would look when they showed up on Christmas Eve.

It made me think about my own Christmases growing up.

The same was true for me.

I remember pulling out all our Christmas decor every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving and we all knew where it all went.

We would bring the Christmas decor upstairs and drop it in the living room and dining room.

Then we all would take everything where it belonged.

We knew the ribbon went in the kitchen, and the garland went down the stair rails, and the little village went in the built-in bookcases in the family room.

CHRISTMAS DECOR AS AN ADULT

But the past 4 Christmases in our house have looked as different as night and day.

The tree hasn’t even gone to the same place each year.

I’d say there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to do Christmas differently every year.

I love changing things up.

Even as a kid in junior high and high school, I was forever rearranging my bedroom furniture.

But this home isn’t just mine.

It’s a home that belongs to others, and I want to make sure in my homemaking I’m honoring all those who call this space home.

For me, that means that I need to incorporate a little more consistency and the magic of Christmases past.

WHAT ARE SOME CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS?

Some of the Christmas traditions we do each year include:

• baking cookies
• making hot cocoa
• visit a Christmas tree farm
• look at Christmas lights
• count down with an advent calendar
• watch Christmas movies
• homemade Christmas ornaments
• homemade Christmas gifts
• giving back
• going on a hike/playing in the snow

Here are a few simple and thrifty ways to add old fashioned Christmas decor to your home.

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS: CANDLES

As a nod to times long ago I have added candles to the mantel.

This is something I like to do for all the seasons.

But you have to admit, there is something magical about a candle at Christmas time.

My daughter and I recently sat in this chair and read a few books with the candlelight flickering all around us.

At first, she didn’t want to read in the basement, but when she turned the corner and saw the candles lit she eagerly came running and sat on my lap!

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS: GARLAND

The next thing I did was add a simple garland on the top of the mantel.

(Does anyone else love this milk-painted dresser top as a mantel as much as I do?)

The contrast of the black adds a little old-world feel to the space even without the garland.

But add a garland and it always seems to pop.

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS: WREATHS

This is something I wasn’t originally going to do.

My first plan was to find a print online and then get it sized to fit this frame.

But that ended up being quite expensive since this frame is so large.

It would have been a custom size.

So I started asking around to get some ideas for how to turn this very fall oil painting into something a little more Christmasy.

My sister-in-law suggested the idea of simply putting a wreath over it.

After she said it I knew it’s exactly what I wanted to do.

It reminds me of that time long ago when people didn’t have 4 different prints for the various seasons.

They just took the artwork they had on the wall and added Christmas to it.

If you have artwork of any kind on your walls this is a beautiful way to add Christmas and give it that old-world European farmhouse look.

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS: ORANGE SLICES

Another thing I did to add the old fashioned Christmas feel to this space was cut up orange slices and dry them in our oven.

They remind me of a time when Christmas ornaments were often natural items.

I did these with the girls which makes them even more beautiful to me.

It was so easy.

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS: BELLS

Finally, the last thing I did that adds that old fashion Christmas feel is a couple of vintage brass bells hanging inside a wreath.

Super simple.

If you haven’t noticed already, that is one of the reoccurring themes for an old fashion Christmas.

Simple.

WHY OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS DECOR?

This year, in an attempt to increase the nostalgia and magic that comes with Christmas I decided to decorate with an old fashioned Christmas theme.

So far this has been so rewarding.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing more nostalgic to me than to hear the squeals and giggles of little girls who are excited about the Christmas decorations.

And there’s nothing more magical than to hear the affirmation of my husband as he tells me this is his favorite way I’ve ever decorated for Christmas.

I hope you found this tips and tricks to be helpful.

And I pray that you have a Christmas season full of nostalgia and magic!

Pin for Later!

Don’t forget to head over to your favorite social media platforms Facebook or Instagram.

Also, make sure you follow along on Pinterest to check out all the other Christmas inspiration I’ve been pinning for this year!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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