Preparing the Home for Christmas

The novelty of log fires, the smell of a fresh fir tree, pine cones and a small glass of sherry or hot chocolate to warm you up on a cold wintery night while counting down the days to Christmas will never fade on me. Having spent my childhood in a hot southern hemisphere climate the idea of a traditional Christmas was never fully realised, well at least not in the way I imagined or had seen in the movies, dreaming of waking up to a white dusted landscape wearing thick pyjamas and running down the stairs to a tree surrounded by presents. Of course we celebrated Christmas and there was always an element of British flair in the home with my mother being a Welsh Expat but rather than it being in the depths of winter it was the height of summer and opening presents was swiftly followed by jumping in the pool to cool down.

Having settled in Wales for nearly ten years now I get more excited with each year when it comes to the festive season and bringing Christmas into the home. Its the time of year I can indulge in deep reds, dark greens and elements of nature with pinecones, holly and red berries which is what the Ruskin House Range at John Lewis encapsulates and if you had recently seen my Christmas Decoration Vlog you will know my love for John Lewis at this time of the year.

One thing that is also very important during this time of the year is family and making the home as inviting to visitors and guests. Hanging a beautiful wreath above the door to me really signifies that we are open for the festive seasons and having a welcome tray on hand with mince pies and a warming drink is a must. Its the smaller details to me that I love the most such as these pretty napkin holders with pinecones and jute as well the fun fill your own holly crackers.

While growing up my mother would bring down these boxes of beautiful glass decorations and that was something I always wanted to bring into my home, a collection of unique and eye catching decorations of all different shapes and sizes. So as you can image this deer decoration caught my eye as well as this large glass bauble in antique gold which has been hand blown in the Czech Republic.
Following on from the currently Hygge trend making waves across the UK, I personally love nothing more than getting cosy this time of year so the pinecone votives are perfect and I know I will be using them throughout the winter along with good food and a big cup of indulgent hot chocolate.

When it comes to Christmas style what do you lean more towards Traditional, Modern, Minimalist, Colourful? I think whatever takes your fancy have just have fun with it.

Thanks to John Lewus for having me involved with Preparing my Home for Christmas