Christmas Mantel

It’s that time of year, time to add a little glitter and sparkle to every surface of your house!  I do love a little glitter, well let’s be honest, I do love a lot of glitter.  There are few occasions in life when “more is more”, but Christmas is truly one of them.  I have just finished getting the basement all decked out for Christmas.  Here is a photo of the fireplace stripped down and ready to get dressed up for Christmas.

I like to have an “everlasting” Christmas tree, with no watering or mess to worry about, and the ability to last a whole month.  I do slightly miss the great smell and richness of a real tree, so I always use real greens on the fireplace mantel.  They do dry out, but they are relatively undisturbed so they don’t usually make too much of a mess.  I do have a couple tips for using real greens.  Be very careful about where you rest them as you work, because the sap can easily get on your new carpet or hardwood floors.  Usually you can’t see it at first, but then as people walk on it, it is so sticky that it collects dirt and looks horrible and is very hard to get rid of  -yes I am clearly speaking from experience here!  Also protect your mantel for the same reason.  I usually just use some clear basket wrap, that can’t be seen, but protects the wood from the sap.

Now for the fun part!  I layered greens and added a few turquoise accents to match the room.  I have birch tree wall paper, so I love the addition of the birch bark wreath and tree at Christmas.

The votive holders have battery powered candles, no real flame near all that soon to be dried out greenery.  The fireplace itself was custom made for us by my very talented brother-in-law Shaun, it’s made of concrete and wood.  The other side holds the TV and our stockings.  I made the candle a little more Christmasy with a little faux snow.

This is our cozy family spot during the holidays.  It has the family tree with all the ornaments that the kids have made, and we’ve collected over the years, and from all our vacations.  Santa will leave the presents down here Christmas morning, and we’ll gather here for Christmas movies and relaxing over the holidays.

On the other side of the room is a play room, filled right now with a giant cardboard gingerbread house, check it out here.

Merry Christmas!

This post is linked up at The Girl Creative, Skip To My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Under the Table and Dreaming, Tatertots and Jello, Blue Cricket Design, and I Heart Naptime.