Fa-la-la-la-la!

Christmas time is here! I didn't have huge amounts of time to devote to decorating this year (hello, law school finals), and we didn't want to spend huge amounts of money decorating either, but I nevertheless managed to make our little apartment look a little more festive and full of holiday cheer. It might not be quite as good as the Fall decor, but it's here!

There's a little Christmas in the kitchen...

(a Marshalls HomeGoods find!)

A little Christmas in my bathroom...

And a LOT of Christmas everywhere else! Haha.

We'll start with the living room...

Cinnamon scented pinecones and my "Christmas puppies!" The pinecones are sitting in a bread basket filled with a bunch of that red and green crinkle paper (you know, like the gift basket filler?).

Okay, about the Christmas puppies. They were a gift from an old boyfriend. But I find them hilarious, so I still have them. And we put them out for Christmas. Wanna know what's so great about them? Watch this video:

Christmas Puppies! from Spirals & Spatulas on Vimeo.

Our nativity set, and a felt banner I found on sale at Target last January!

I think the nativity set is my favorite decoration. I love having it so prominently displayed in the living room to remind me of the real meaning of Christmas!

Okay, here's an IMPORTANT QUESTION.

So, my parents and grandparents always put the baby Jesus somewhere else until Christmas Day, when he was added into the Nativity scene. I thought everyone did this, until Jeff was confused as to why I was wrapping Jesus in a paper towel and sticking him in the little decorative trunk that lives on that table. Question: is this a Catholic thing? Sometimes Jeff and I have different customs on certain things just because he was raised Methodist. Or is my family just weird? Or does everyone hide their Jesus, and Jeff's the weird one? 

Where does Jesus go in your house? Hahaha.

Anyway, a couple of Christmas pillows on the couch...

I have a few little Christmas things on top of the entertainment center...

another Marshalls HomeGoods find!

A DIY project from last year: glass bottles (one's a Frappuccino bottle, one's a Fuze bottle) filled with red and green crinkle paper filler, tied with ribbon, and stuffed with cinnamon sticks!

LOVE this guy. He was a gift from my parents. :)

In our bedroom...

Stockings at the foot of our bed! We don't have a fireplace, so this is where they are! I found flat, brown stocking holders at Target (stockings also from Target), and I love them. Jeff and I both spent a few years of our childhood living in London, and it's a British thing to put your stockings on the end of your bed, so we LOVE this. We're contemplating putting our stockings on our beds always, even when we move on to a house with a fireplace. :)

We bought this little Santa candle holder from one of my little sister's school fundraisers. Appropriate for Texas, right?

Speaking of Texas, here's our little Texas tree!

I made it and mailed it to Jeff while he was in college in South Carolina, just so he could have a bit of Texas holiday cheer. 

And now... the big tree!

Look how many presents I have already bought and wrapped! 

I'm kind of obsessed with all the gifts under the tree matching, so I picked out four coordinating wrapping papers and matching ribbon. Is this weird? Probably. I'm also a little OCD about making sure every gift has a bow. Jeff wrapped one and tied it with a knot (see above photo), and it's driving me crazy a little bit. I'm restraining myself from tucking the ends in to make it look like the others. 

I love our Christmas ornaments. We don't have many, but the ones on the tree are special. First there's our engagement ornaments (gifts from family)...

Then our souvenir ornament from our honeymoon:

Isn't he the cutest little snowman ever? Haha.

Then of course we have plenty of Texas A&M ornaments...

I bought Jeff some South Carolina ones last year to even things up...

When we got engaged, my grandparents gave us a box of ornaments - ornaments that they had on their first Christmas tree after they were married! These are some of my favorites...

Then we have our Starbucks ornaments, gifts from high school friends (we had a group of friends who used to go to Starbucks every Tuesday after school in high school).

And we have some little red birds... it's an Irish thing to put birds on your Christmas tree for good luck, so these are a little nod to the Irish half of my ancestry.

And then, the tiniest ornament ever. I had a red, white, and blue tree for a few years after 9/11, and my mom got me this little guy to go on it. Compare his size to the light bulb next to him... he's tiny!!

We also decorated the piano with some little Christmas items...

And now, for my favorite Christmas decoration of them all....

Jeff made this when he was little. Adorable, right? It only has one arm. Ha. 

In the end, I only purchased stockings, stocking holders, a tree skirt (50% off at HobLob), and the nativity set (also 50% off at HobLob). Plus the two items from Marshalls HomeGoods (super cheap!). We bought our tree last January at Home Depot for a great price, and everything else we already had!

Phew. That was a long post! Have you decorated for the holidays? What's your favorite decoration? Oh and seriously, I want to know what you do with your baby Jesus. Haha.