Thrifty and Simple Christmas Kitchen Ideas with Cottage Style

Today, I thought it would be fun to share our simple Christmas kitchen and dining room to show you that decorating for Christmas can be easier than you think.

I’m beyond excited to share today’s post with you!

The kitchen is my favorite room in the house, but I’m also excited because I’m going to share the progress we’ve made on our kitchen update.

You can watch me decorate our simple Christmas kitchen & dining room on YouTube HERE

https://youtu.be/pzARkrf1ejY

How to save money decorating a simple Christmas kitchen?

One way I’ve found to save money while decorating for Christmas is to take decor that I use all year long and turn it into a Christmas decor.

I’ll share more specifics of that below, but when I’m able to use the same piece of decor in the Spring as I do at Christmas, it helps me not feel like I need to go buy Christmas decor.

I’m able to save money by purchasing one item that I can use all year long.

Some of my favorite decorations to use all year are:

• Candles
• Candlesticks
• Natural items (greenery, pinecones, berries, etc.)
• Terra cotta pots
• Artwork/Picture frames
• Wall sconces
• Vases for greenery
• Baskets

Side note: It also saves you the Christmas storage space you need when Christmas is over.

How to decorate a small kitchen for Christmas?

When we lived at our old house I thought my kitchen was small.

Boy, was I wrong! haha!

Our new kitchen has a significantly smaller working surface.

The potential of it being more space when the butler pantry area is updated is there.

But until then, the big thing with decorating a small kitchen is to find the balance between not enough Christmas and too much to function.

The kitchen is the workhorse of the house, and therefore, the decor can’t be too much and prevent me from being able to do the things I need to do.

Besides, you all know that I’m not a huge fan of too much decor anyway.

Decorate areas that AREN’T high traffic

Simple Christmas Kitchen: Decorate the Walls

The walls are my number one location for decorating our small simple Christmas kitchen.

I added some greenery to my wall sconces and a garland over the quartz backsplash.

These simple touches make the space feel like Christmas and they don’t get in the way while I’m cooking.

Another thing I did was add a wreath to the window behind the sink.

In the past, I’ve done garland over the window, too.

Both are a great way to bring some cottage style Christmas decorations into the kitchen.

Simple Christmas Kitchen: Decorate the Counters sparingly

As far as the countertop goes, I try to do a minimum amount of decor here.

I tied a ribbon around the crock that I put my living rosemary plant in, and I also added a small evergreen swag with a small brass ornament to a vintage breadboard that I don’t use regularly.

I don’t completely ignore the counter, but I try to make sure the decor isn’t “getting in my way”.

In the new small kitchen, if I’m not careful, too many Christmas decorations on the counter can feel like a pile of dishes overflowing out of the sink and onto the counter.

Simple Christmas Kitchen & Dining Room Decor Ideas

Candlesticks with ribbon

One of my favorite items to look for while thrifting is brass candle sticks.

I love them because they are beautiful all year long.

But something I decided to do this year to turn them into Christmas decor is to add a piece of ribbon around the neck of the candle stick.

It’s not a huge thing, but this little thing turns a neutral decoration into Christmas decor.

Not to mention it’s so cheap to add ribbon by making your own ribbon with strips of fabric.

Cluster of candles

Another thing I did this year was take a cluster of candles and tie a ribbon around them.

It almost feels too easy.

But a cottage style Christmas can be that simple.

Greenery picks sprinkled everywhere

In the living room, I added evergreen stems to vases and baskets.

But in the kitchen and dining area, I took the pieces of evergreen that had fallen off my garlands and stems and tucked them inside bowls or simply on the shelf beside a stack of plates or behind a picture.

Every year I find small pieces of greenery at the bottom of my Christmas totes.

Instead of throwing them away I use them like this.

Sometimes I add berries or ornaments, and other times I add nothing.

Either way, it’s simple and a great way to be thrifty.

Terra cotta pot holding Candle

This is an idea I found on Pinterest.

I took the terra cotta pot I use all year long on the dining room table and put a short candle stick holder inside of it.

Then I put greenery picks around the outside, and a candle in the candlestick holder.

The last thing I did was add a small piece of ribbon to the the outside of the pot.

This is not necessary, but I thought it was a beautiful and simple Christmas touch.

Recipe card garland

My friend, Andrea with Pine and Prospect Home, shared a DIY Hymn garland that she uses on her Christmas tree.

I think it’s gorgeous.

It inspired me to make my own DIY garland with paper.

I was given these Christmas recipe cards in a stack of things when we were going through some of Grammas things last month.

When I got them home I thought that they would make a cute garland for in the kitchen.

Handmade simple Christmas kitchen & dining room decor

I know that these days Christmas is supposed to be “beautiful”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a beautiful Christmas.

But I also have this longing inside of me for the fun and magical Christmas from my childhood.

I’m not sure that she thought for a minute about how beautiful her home was compared to another.

She wanted to create something meaningful and memorable for us kids.

So when I think about decorating for a simple Christmas kitchen and dining room I want to incorporate those things that have meaning.

One of the ways I do that is by decorating with handmade items.

Some are made by me, my girls, or other family members.

But all are items that remind us of more than a beautiful Christmas.

Simple Christmas kitchen with a small tree in a pot

I got this small Christmas tree a couple of years ago from Amazon and love it.

It’s perfect for this small corner.

It’s tucked away, but still adds a Christmas touch.

No ornaments.

Just a bunch of lights.

The bow on the top was actually my daughters idea and I feel like it makes the tree look finished in a way that it didn’t look with my original idea.

(Letting the kids decorate is so much fun because they have some great ideas!)

Living rosemary plant

The last idea I have for a simple Christmas kitchen is to add living rosemary (or even a small living Norfolk tree) to the counter.

I know I just said that items on the counter can make me feel overwhelmed, but I make exceptions for herbs that I can use while I’m cooking haha!

They smell great and its so much fun being able to use it during the cold winter months while I’m cooking.

In the past, I’ve brought in oregano and basil from my garden, but this year, I didn’t have time to do that.

It’s honestly not very expensive to go buy a small herb to set on the counter either.

Our local grocery store had organic rosemary plants for $1.99!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Pin for Later!

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Also, make sure you follow along on YouTube & Pinterest to check out all the other Christmas inspirations I’ve been pinning!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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