This year I decided to decorate my column for Christmas. It sits in my foyer and I have always loved it. It's incredibly special to me because my husband made it for me one Christmas. I still have memories of him carrying it down the hall on Christmas morning with my then 4 and 5 year old piggy tail girlie's. They helped him paint it and sand it!

He was so clever. To embellish the column at the top he used drapery hardware and filled in the holes on the sides and it worked perfectly.

Our Christmas tree usually goes where the column is each year but I decided to mix it up this year.

I made this arrangement about 6 years ago and love the concrete urn it's in. The antlers were added last year. Hanging a little "Rejoice" to it has made it have a special touch of Christmas and it is a time to Rejoice!

I created and embellished the garland as I went along and unpacked all my Christmas items.

Added this blue bird and some fun feathers that a client gave me. The red ribbon is so gorgeous in person.

Something sparkly and colorful always makes me happy and mixes it up a little.

My dining room chandelier was embellished with some garland and a crystal snowflake.

I have slowly added to my "large ornament" collection. The blown glass ones are my favorite placed in my large green bowl that I keep out all year. What I love about this centerpiece is that it doesn't have to be moved when we use the table because guests can still see each other.

I find that when decorating for Christmas, it's always better to use LARGE scale items instead of a lot of little items.

I added this little holly wreath to the top of my armoire. Hung it on my candelabra. It seems happy there with the my collection of old stair banisters.

My bust got put on top of my large candlestick this year. He watches over me while I work in my office. You can see a peek into it to the right.

The tapestry that hangs in my entry is from the Paris Flea Market (they use to hang in a castle). I bought 2 and one of them is getting made into a bench as we speak. Will be a collection from my new One by One collection, coming soon!

I adorned his head with a holly wreath :) He always wears my wooden necklaces and I think it makes him look really cool.

HO HO HO

I bought a poinsettia and placed the stems in different vases around the house. I got this idea from Lauren Liess at Pure Style Home last year. Filed it away in my "Christmas" file in my brain last year and pulled it out this year.

I added this garland to my wall sconces in my living room. Layered different kind of garland to give it a nice fresh "real" look. Again, a little sparkle and fruit goes a long way.

Some more of my large ornaments on my mantel.

Decided not to do the traditional garland this year. Wanted something with less fuss. I'm trying to "simplify" this year so there isn't such a huge put away day!

The garland on my wall sconces is plenty!

I did add a little greenery to my bookshelf .

My front door swag got some extra berries and pointsetta's this year.

I also added this little elf boot to the bottom and it's adorable.

My entry planters got a large red bow and a red berry wreath. I have one on each side of my entry so they really look great. Especially when they are all lit up at night! I put lights in the fur trees and around the wreaths.

My pansies are doing well this year even though it's been so warm!

My large glass vase is filled with driftwood I've collected from all over. I placed berries on the candlesticks and hung a little pine cone and greenery on the lip of the vase.

These metal trees I found at an estate sale and stenciled them to make them look more sophisticated. They are now on top of my refrigerator with the driftwood my husband found for me on one of our beach trips :)

Hope this post inspired you to mix it up this year. I love making each year different and maybe you will do the same!