Are you ready for Christmas?! I know it’s only early November, but I have a confession – I sort of am! We’re a week into November, and we’ve just started another national lockdown, now I know no-one really wants to think about Christmas right now (I get it, the misery is real). But there are two certainties, one, we are all a bit miserable (although Trump’s dismissal provides a brief respite to bad news), and two, Christmas is going to involve a lot more time at home this year. So whilst I haven’t planned anything for Christmas Day or bought too many presents yet, I am planning to bring lots of joy into the house with decorations this year. I have given myself permission to step away from Scandi elegance and embrace the bold, the colourful, the garish and the kitsch, as an antidote to Covid gloom. After hearing a piece on the lunchtime news in September where a famous department store said they were selling Xmas decorations at 300% higher volume than the year before, I had bought all of my decorations by the first week of October!
I don’t tend to follow Xmas decoration trends, or indeed trends in general, last year I went monochrome because I fancied it, but I don’t often buy more than one or two decorations each year. Well this year there is one trend everywhere, and that is unbridled colour & irony, where last year Christmas was elegant in our home, this year it will be big and joyful.
I may have bought my decorations early in fear that the best ones would sell out if I left it late, but there were so many I wanted that I couldn’t justify. And having spent hours trawling the net for the best decorations available I thought I would compile my first Xmas decorations edit for five years. I’d love to know if you’ve bought your decs yet, and what catches your eye below! Next week I’m going to show you what Christmas is going to look like in our home, can you guess what I’ve chosen from the smorgasbord of sixty decorations below?
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The Menagerie
// Grandma Wolf, Mollie & Fred // Frida Catlow, WA Green // Pink Poodle Decoration, The Conran Shop // Pigeon, Paperchase // Sloth Astronaut, West Elm // Crocodile, Liberty //
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Kitsch-mas
// Gold Naughty Gnome, Rockett St George // Santa in a Green Rocket Decoration, The Conran Shop // Mexican Wrestlers, The Gifted few // Tiger Santa Hat, Paperchase // El Corazon decoration, Liberty // Russian Doll, Liberty // Santa White Spaceship Decoration, Oh Deer // Louis XIV Decoration, T.K Maxx // Lucky Cat, Liberty //
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Iconoclasm
// Pop Art Balloon Dog, John Lewis // Ziggy Stardust, Rockett St George // Bjork & Swan, WA Green // Banana decoration, Rockett St George //
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Vintage Nostalgia
// Vintage Plastic Deer, see eBay & Etsy for similar // Vintage Christmas Ornaments, Etsy // Christmas Cracker Cards, Twenty Twenty One // Bloomingville Paper Angel, Acorn & Pip // Embroidered Felt Baubles, West Elm // Wooden Vintage Style Baubles, Trouva // Vintage Style Santa Baubles, Cox & Cox // Elsa Beskow illustrations on baubles for Design House Stockholm, at Nordic Nest // Vintage Car Decorations, Cox & Cox // Glass Squirrel Head decoration, Selfridges //
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Colour and Joy
// Multi-Coloured Chevron Stripe Bauble, Fortnum & Mason // Retro Circus tree topper, WA Green // Multicoloured Glass Onion Bauble, Amara // Honeycomb Paper Decorations, Selfridges // Shiny Bright Multi-coloured decorations, West Elm // Star Costume Tree Decoration by Meri Meri, Folk Interiors // Nutcracker Tealights, &Klevering Amsterdam // Peacock Embroidered Bauble, Dunelm // Mistletoe Light Garland, Amazon.
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Irreverence and Modern Life
// Glass Doctors Bag, Liberty // Santa 2020, WA Green // Burger, Paperchase // French Fries, Anthropologie // Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip, Liberty // Dutch Cheese, &K Amsterdam // Hot Dog Decoration, Anthropologie // Sardine Tin Decoration, Anthropologie // Oyster, Selfridges // Red Lips with Cigarette, Rockett St George //
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A White Christmas
// Venok Christmas Star by Broste, Nordic Nest // Dotted Fold Garland, Trouva // Christmas Village & Trees Window Sticker, Watt & Veke // Snow Doll Candle, Trouva // St Lucia Advent Candle, Rose & Grey // Frosted Eucalyptus Wreath, Home Essentials // Ferm Living Ceramic Advent, Dotmaison //
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Window Dressing
// Christmas Village & Trees Window Sticker, Etsy // Midwinter Street window stickers, Cox & Cox // Snowflake Decals, Nordic Home // Snow Village Scene, eBay //
