7 Simple European Cottage Style Christmas Decorations

Adding cottage style Christmas decorations to your home is an easy way to add simplicity and calmness to your home for the holiday season.

I want to share some of my favorite ways to decorate our home for the Christmas season.

But I want to really focus on the elements that bring a slow and calm ambiance.

So often Christmas feels like a whirlwind, and even though it seems to be going by quickly again this year, I want to do my part to help slow it down for my family.

If you’re interested, you can watch the YouTube video HERE.

Cottage Style Christmas Decorations: A Family Event

Before we dive in, I want to share a little something with you.

This year I made it my goal to get the foundation of our Christmas decorations finished early, but to intentionally “leave space”.

1. I love space because my life feels less chaotic when not every corner is filled with something.
2. We want to let the girls make some cottage style Christmas decorations and I want to showcase them in the empty spaces.

I know I can be my own worst critic, but I think this is something I have done a poor job of in the past.

In the past, I got so caught up in having the “prettiest” Christmas decorations, that I totally miss out on the importance of giving my girls a role to play.

They’re still little and so impressionable.

So I want to do my best to teach them all the things that go into homemaking.

And decorating the home whether it’s for Christmas or the everyday is one of those things.

Okay, so now onto the European style Christmas decorations that the girls and I made this year.

Paper Snowflakes

The girls and I made these out of brown paper bags and they turned out so good.

They are a really quick and simple decorations too.

You just glue 7-9 bags together, putting the glue in the shape of a “T” on the bag.

Make sure you put the top of the “T” at the bottom of the bags.

Then cut the top of it into a point.

The girls and I did some extra cuts just for fun.

So we have stars and snowflakes.

Not really the theme I would do if I were choosing on my own, but again, it’s not just about me.

So we have stars and snowflakes in the window and you know what?

Now that they are up there, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Candles

I love candles.

If you’ve been around here for a while you know that.

I find them to be the best cottage style decoration.

But for Christmas I thought I’d give them a new spin.

One of my long time friends shared a picture she snapped of a cluster of candle sticks in a mason jar.

I loved it.

Truth be told, this is exactly how I store all the candle sticks on my decoration shelf in the basement.

So I went down and grabbed a handful and brought them upstairs and put them in a couple of vintage crocks I have.

Drying Herbs

This is my third time attempting to keep potted herbs alive inside over winter.

When Justin and I first got married I had some hanging in a window in our old house and they thrived.

In fact all 6 of the herbs got HUGE.

At the time I knew nothing about anything and thought it just must be easy, or that I was amazing haha!

Well, since we moved to our current house I’ve killed every indoor herb during the winter.

Now that I know a little bit more, I’ve learned that South facing windows are a beautiful thing for indoor plants.

And wouldn’t you know, in our current house the only South-facing window we have is in the master bathroom.

All that aside, it’s December and the rosemary and oregano are still alive, providing us with delicious fresh and dried flavor.

But because I know that I stand a very good chance of killing these guys before winter ends I’m cutting and drying them a little bit at a time so that if/when that does happen I didn’t lose the entire plant.

Evergreen Clippings

The options are endless with evergreen clipping.

You could turn it into a wreath, a swag, fluff up a garland, or simply put them on the top of a shelf or counter.

The girls went with me to find these, and while we were out the girls reminded me of a beautiful life lesson.

They reminded me to slow down.

The goal wasn’t just to go get clippings.

It was to spend time with them WHILE we were getting the clippings.

The girls have a book called “Through Your Eyes: My Child’s Gift to Me” and in it the author talks about all the lessons a child teaches her mother.

One of my favorite quotes from that book is this:

To slow down, take small steps
Make each moment last
The world is a blur
If you’re spinning too fast

Ainsley Earhardt

Simple Ribbon

I promise I’ll stop talking about ribbon (soon).

But the ribbon I made from fabric is my favorite addition to our cottage style Christmas decorations.

The frayed edges add that old-world charm, not to mention so much cheaper.

Handmade Ornaments

This year the girls and I made our new Christmas air-dry clay ornaments together.

If you remember last year I made some cute vintage button ornaments.

They turned out great, and I love the added touch of putting a family picture in the middle.

But I made those alone in the evenings.

These air-dry clay ornaments the girls made with me.

Which means they are so much more meaningful.

I originally thought we would paint them, but then decided that a simple white clay would be perfect for our European cottage style Christmas.

However, if you wanted to paint it you could absolutely do that.

(I also considered adding a little bit of gilding wax on them for a little bit of brass.)

String Popcorn

The last cottage style Christmas decorations idea I used was stringing popcorn for the Christmas tree.

We actually did this last year and that string of popcorn was completely fine to use again this year.

The only thing I did to store mine was wrapped it around a stack of paper towels, and then gently put it inside a plastic airtight bag.

Advent Printable

The last thing I want to share with you is an advent printable that I made for my family this year.

And it’s available to you.

All you have to do is go to the Free Printable page and download it.

No email is required.

I know it’s close to Christmas, but if you haven’t started one it’s not too late to start.

That’s it.

I hope that you have a beautiful, slow, and intentional Christmas this year.

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 YouTube & Pinterest to check out all the other Christmas decor ideas I’ve been pinning for this year!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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