When my husband and I first bought a house I was overly excited to decorate for the holidays. Any holiday! The obvious ones like Christmas and Halloween go without saying, but soon I was scoping stuff for Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s day, Fourth of July- all fair game.
Then we moved, I had boxes of crap and items I had purchased to please my festive spirit. The more kids we had , the more stuff we also accumulated. I had less time to do my fun decorations, and also less space to dedicate to holiday storage. Now our holiday decor usually consists of three things:
- Festive throw pillows
- Festive throw blanket (s)
- Small and curated selection of decor items
1. Throw pillows- Y’all know I love changing our pillows out. My goodness though, some pillows are insanely priced. A special pillow that is high quality and neutral to be used all year round in your decor is where I start with my pillows. These are what I call the base pillows and stay all the time until your kids destroy them. 😝For the other couple of pillows in a room, I like to switch with the holidays. I call them my “holiday throw pillows”. These I usually plan to switch out 3-4 times a year with season and holiday changes. So for these it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot, or to have a billion extra pillows. I use a few tips to help save money and make high impact purchases. I am not a crazy frugal person obviously since I have “throw pillows collection”, but I also like to be practical in my approach.
I leave the majority of our pillows untouched year round. For my base pillows, I look for neutral textures and colors that can vibe with other colors and patterns easily.
These studded linen pillows are neutral in color, but add character with their texture and studs. They mix well with any color scheme so I keep these in the rotation year round. These pillows were not expensive, but they are the example of a pillow I would spend more money on as it will use it all the time.
I look for comfort and durability because these are always on our couches and we really use them. I want a soft place to lay my head more than something pretty to look at.
However, having that said you don’t need 6 pillows for your head, so having 2-4 fun seasonal ones to rotate or switch is my holiday solution. Pillows are high impact, easily obtainable, and usually price efficient way to add a seasonal punch to a room.
On this sofa I have three “seasonal” pillows. I love the muted pink because it works well for the coming months. Valentine’s Day, spring holidays, and even into summer screams pink. I have two neutral type pillows on the outside and a cognac leather one I intend to keep as well. I like it because it can be wiped with a cloth to stay clean.
Textures like macrame and tassels are so fun to play with.
I like shopping for pillows at Target the most. All these seasonal ones are from Target. I found so many cute ones you can easily shop below.
2. Throw blankets- Who doesn’t like a fresh comfy blanket. Blankets add a warmth and comfort level to your decor and grounds a space. They come in fun textures, sizes, colors, and styles making them a decor piece that can really show off your personality. They are usually affordable, easily washable, and easily storable! Mixing and matching blankets can bring so much character to a room. They can be tossed on furniture or displayed on a ladder or cool hook. I love switching mine out with my pillows and aim for blankets that are under $25. Target always has a ton of fun options around this price point. I have also had luck at Home Goods and even Walmart for affordable, stylish throw blankets.
When my husband and I first bought a house I was overly excited to decorate for the holidays. Any holiday! The obvious ones like Christmas and Halloween go without saying, but soon I was scoping stuff for Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s day, Fourth of July- all fair game.
Then we moved, I had boxes of crap and items I had purchased to please my festive spirit. The more kids we had , the more stuff we also accumulated. I had less time to do my fun decorations, and also less space to dedicate to holiday storage. Now our holiday decor usually consists of three things:
- Festive throw pillows
- Festive throw blanket (s)
- Small and curated selection of decor items
1. Throw pillows- Y’all know I love changing our pillows out. My goodness though, some pillows are insanely priced. A special pillow that is high quality and neutral to be used all year round in your decor is where I start with my pillows. These are what I call the base pillows and stay all the time until your kids destroy them. 😝For the other couple of pillows in a room, I like to switch with the holidays. I call them my “holiday throw pillows”. These I usually plan to switch out 3-4 times a year with season and holiday changes. So for these it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot, or to have a billion extra pillows. I use a few tips to help save money and make high impact purchases. I am not a crazy frugal person obviously since I have “throw pillows collection”, but I also like to be practical in my approach.
I leave the majority of our pillows untouched year round. For my base pillows, I look for neutral textures and colors that can vibe with other colors and patterns easily.
These studded linen pillows are neutral in color, but add character with their texture and studs. They mix well with any color scheme so I keep these in the rotation year round. These pillows were not expensive, but they are the example of a pillow I would spend more money on as it will use it all the time.
I look for comfort and durability because these are always on our couches and we really use them. I want a soft place to lay my head more than something pretty to look at.
However, having that said you don’t need 6 pillows for your head, so having 2-4 fun seasonal ones to rotate or switch is my holiday solution. Pillows are high impact, easily obtainable, and usually price efficient way to add a seasonal punch to a room.
On this sofa I have three “seasonal” pillows. I love the muted pink because it works well for the coming months. Valentine’s Day, spring holidays, and even into summer screams pink. I have two neutral type pillows on the outside and a cognac leather one I intend to keep as well. I like it because it can be wiped with a cloth to stay clean.
Textures like macrame and tassels are so fun to play with.
I like shopping for pillows at Target the most. All these seasonal ones are from Target. I found so many cute ones you can easily shop below.
2. Throw blankets- Who doesn’t like a fresh comfy blanket. Blankets add a warmth and comfort level to your decor and grounds a space. They come in fun textures, sizes, colors, and styles making them a decor piece that can really show off your personality. They are usually affordable, easily washable, and easily storable! Mixing and matching blankets can bring so much character to a room. They can be tossed on furniture or displayed on a ladder or cool hook. I love switching mine out with my pillows and aim for blankets that are under $25. Target always has a ton of fun options around this price point. I have also had luck at Home Goods and even Walmart for affordable, stylish throw blankets.
3. Curated home decor. Cheap holiday items can seem more affordable and approachable but they suck for our country and world in a lot of ways. Throw away decor is bad for everyone so choosing some nice items, or none at all is ok for holidays. With kids there is pressure to recognize everything, but it’s ok to pick a few and skip others. I always used to get dollar store crap when I was younger and it’s such a waste one time use stuff.
It’s taken me a while to understand the difference in quality of home items. In my twenties my husband and I were just in survival mode. High priced items were just not a reality whether or not we would use it a long time or not. I shopped clearance sections and tried to keep any extraneous purchases to a minimum.
Now that our budget has grown, my taste has as well. I have had the cheap things break and need replacing over time. This made me realize certain items require the quality to be worth it and spending more on something that will last many years is better, to me, than replacing it with cheap versions many times over.
Buying a bunch of dollar store decor for your holiday home may seem more efficient than purchasing a higher ticket item, but if you are replacing the dollar store items annually it quickly adds within a couple of years where you could have invested in something to re-use year after year.
When considering holiday decor you must be mindful of your storage capacity, your desire to change things vs. have heirloom type decorations, and finally prioritize which holidays you love most! If you enjoy holiday decorating like me, add a festive pillow and blanket and see how quickly the space transforms. Pillows and blankets also transition easily between rooms, which makes shopping your home fun and practical as well.
3. Curated home decor. Cheap holiday items can seem more affordable and approachable but they suck for our country and world in a lot of ways. Throw away decor is bad for everyone so choosing some nice items, or none at all is ok for holidays. With kids there is pressure to recognize everything, but it’s ok to pick a few and skip others. I always used to get dollar store crap when I was younger and it’s such a waste one time use stuff.
It’s taken me a while to understand the difference in quality of home items. In my twenties my husband and I were just in survival mode. High priced items were just not a reality whether or not we would use it a long time or not. I shopped clearance sections and tried to keep any extraneous purchases to a minimum.
Now that our budget has grown, my taste has as well. I have had the cheap things break and need replacing over time. This made me realize certain items require the quality to be worth it and spending more on something that will last many years is better, to me, than replacing it with cheap versions many times over.
Buying a bunch of dollar store decor for your holiday home may seem more efficient than purchasing a higher ticket item, but if you are replacing the dollar store items annually it quickly adds within a couple of years where you could have invested in something to re-use year after year.
When considering holiday decor you must be mindful of your storage capacity, your desire to change things vs. have heirloom type decorations, and finally prioritize which holidays you love most! If you enjoy holiday decorating like me, add a festive pillow and blanket and see how quickly the space transforms. Pillows and blankets also transition easily between rooms, which makes shopping your home fun and practical as well.
