How to Transition Your Home for the Holidays (And Not Lose Your Mind)
As we approach December, the excitement of the season is starting to stir. For me, this time of year is energizing and exciting. I love the feeling of hope and goodness in the air. I can hardly wait to pull out the Christmas boxes and listen to Christmas music and do all the holiday things. But first, we must transition our home for the holidays.
For some, the onset of the holidays can be overwhelming. While I LOVE decorating for Christmas, what I don’t love is the chaos in my house and mind that ensues in the midst of the changeover. This is where I can get overwhelmed and I wonder if you do too. It occurred to me that a post about how to transition your home for the holidays and not lose your mind might be just what you need at this time!
It’s time to decorate so where do we begin? First, do you have a plan or a system? If not, then I hope this post will help you find a system and help to decrease the overwhelm. The weekend after Thanksgiving day is when Christmas starts to come to life in our home and this is when the transition begins to occur to prepare our home for the holidays.
Note I said, the transition BEGINS. As much as I would like the transition to the holidays to be a one-day affair, it never is. It can take up to a week to make the complete changeover. I always have grandiose aspirations of having it completed in two days but the reality is that just doesn’t happen. Life continues and you still have all the mom responsibilities of life.
Do any of you mamas have a problem with putting unrealistic expectations on yourselves? Of course, you do. I always make my to-do list way too long for one day. It’s a problem for me for sure. I could write an entire post on that! My list is always too long and no matter how much I try to be realistic I am convinced at the beginning of every day that I will accomplish EVERYTHING on my list.
Live in the Moment
Given that problem, while I want to get it done in a timely manner, I also want to enjoy and savor the moments involved. Pulling out my Christmas decor is an event. It brings me joy as I uncover all of my treasures and the memories they bring to mind.
I also relish the opportunity to take what I have and create new ways for it to be used. I don’t want the desire to GET IT DONE to get in the way of these precious moments.
Turning on Christmas music or a Hallmark movie while rummaging through everything is a big part of the experience. And honestly, it just lightens the heart and lowers the stress.
I’ve been seeing this popular song for reels on Instagram as of late. It’s an old Simon and Garfunkel song “Feeling Groovy”. It goes like this, “Slow down you move too fast. You got to make the morning last…”
So before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to transition your home for the holidays, I want to ask you to slow down, enjoy the process and live in the moment. I’m speaking to myself as much as you.
We have a way of rushing through the season and before we know it we are in January and it is all over. Be present this season and take in the sights and sounds of the hope of Christmas.
Prepare Your Home
Let’s get to it! First things first. Before you begin transitioning your home for the holidays it is important to prepare well. If you have decorated for Fall, take the time first to put it back in its bins and put it away. If you don’t have fall decor then clear away your everyday decor and make space to prepare your home for the holidays.
Clean
You now have a blank canvas to work with. Before you pull out the Christmas bins and boxes, you might not like what I say here… but it’s time to clean. Trust me, you will be so happy you did. Dust all the spaces, vacuum, and dust or mop under your furniture. I even like to do a quick wipe-down of window sills and baseboards.
Remove and Rearrange
Next, remove or rearrange any furniture that needs to be relocated so that your tree can fit in the room. In other words, start with a clean slate.
Your home is now ready to be dressed up for the holidays. You won’t regret these steps. You will feel good going into the process of decorating your home for the holidays with a clean space ready for all the things.
Bring It All Out
Starting with a clean slate is important but now what? Bring it all out. Get every bin, box, and bag that you have with Christmas decor. Find a space where you can unpack, unwrap and organize what you have. I like to be reminded of what I have so I know what I am working with.
As a note of caution, try to resist buying anything new until you have assessed what you currently have. I know this from personal experience. I am famous for buying before taking inventory and, consequently, often wait in lines to make returns.
So you have all your bins, boxes, and bags out and you’ve unpacked them all. I understand that at this point in the process, your home can easily go from calm and peaceful to a place of disorder and chaos.
This is where you might start to lose your mind a bit 🤪 Try your best to reign in the chaos and contain it to one spot in your home. Work from that spot.
Take Inventory
Okay back to organizing. Take inventory of what you have. Every year I like to change it up a little. For example, gold is very on-trend right now. I have added a bit more gold into my home this past year and I wanted to add it to my Christmas decor too.
When you decorate you might like to keep your home the same as every year before. This may be how you like to decorate your home for the holidays. That is okay. You do you, mama.
After I unpack, unwrap, organize and take inventory, it’s then time to decide what I don’t want as part of my Christmas decor and simply put those away. I have a collection of nativity scenes but I don’t have room for them all if I want to not overwhelm my home with Christmas. I pick the ones I want out for that year and put the remaining nativities away.
Let the Real Fun Begin
You’ve got your decor out and organized and now the creativity and fun begin. What do you decorate first? For me, I usually start with my mantle. I will be honest with you and tell you that sometimes my mantle can be frustrating to me.
First of all, we have a large TV over our mantle so while I want it to be a big part of my decor, it’s hard to work with a big black box.
This past year I discovered beautiful screen savers on Youtube that make that black box so much prettier. Some of my favorites are here:
For my mantle last year I wanted to get some nice garland and I was willing to invest some money but couldn’t find anything I liked. This year, I found one at Hobby Lobby for 60% off.
It looks great but not gonna lie I always find it challenging to get it to stay on the mantle along with the stockings candles, gold Christmas trees, and lights. But, I did it. I also have two swag garlands I like to add.
The design part is fun for me, but the ability to attach it all is a struggle. Command strips have been a lifesaver and I was able to use Command hooks on both sides to hang everything.
The mantle sets the tone for the family room. I take into consideration where the tree will go and set it up. It will remain undecorated during this process. Decorating the tree should be a family event so save that for a special time together.
I then place the decor I’ve chosen for the family around the room and just like magic the family room is complete. My system involves moving through our home room by room. The next room up is the kitchen. I take a quick survey of the spaces I have in my kitchen, peruse my decor, and start to bring Christmas in.
In our kitchen, I like to add food-related decor, and this year I’m obsessed with orange slices. The funny thing is, I had orange slices in my Christmas decor many years ago. Everything comes back into style, right?
Next up, is the dining room. I love doing my dining room because it is the room everyone sees when they walk in our front door. It has wainscoting and hooks and is a great place to display and show off holiday decor.
I add a couple of pieces to my hallway as well as the first-floor bathroom. And I might add a pillow or two to the upstairs guest rooms and bath but I don’t go crazy. Come back later this week for a Christmas tour and get lots of ideas for decorating your home!
Transition Your Home for the Holidays in a Nutshell
To summarize, here are a few helpful hints in a nutshell.
- First, DON’T over-decorate! Keep it tasteful and simple but, of course, festive. You don’t want it to feel like Christmas threw up on your home. As with anything, Christmas decor can be overdone. Remember, less is more sometimes! Clutter can overwhelm your mind during the holidays and we definitely don’t want that!
- Coordinate colors or use complimenting colors in connecting rooms.
- If rooms aren’t connected then be brave and try a new style or color scheme in another room if you feel like it. Last year, I went for a more neutral Christmas in my dining room. I decorated it with gold, silver, green, and white. There was no red at all.
- Add twinkle lights, fairy lights, candles, and dim lighting wherever you can. Immediately it will feel festive and cozy all at the same time.
- Don’t forget the smells of Christmas like baking, holiday candles, potpourri boiling on the stove, and pine from a real tree if you have one. See my post How to Awaken Your Child’s Senses at Home to
- Don’t pile Christmas decor on top of your regular everyday decor. Clear away some of your home decor to make way for Christmas. That will limit the feeling of clutter and also makes your home feel fresh for the holidays.
- As you finish a room, clear away all the boxes so that at least you have one room completed. This is always a good feeling and allows for a sense of accomplishment along the way.
- Place the everyday decor you cleared away in your Christmas bins for the holidays. That way, they are easy to locate when you dismantle Christmas in your home.
Having a plan and a system in place before you even begin will help you not feel overwhelmed but excited about the process of moving your home into Christmas.
Last but not least, remember why you do what you do in your home. It is for your family. Make your home a special place full of fun and festiveness and traditions and most importantly, love, at the holidays.
Your decor is complete, you haven’t lost your mind, and now you have time for the real reason for the season. You have time to give to others. You have time for family, holiday traditions, and making sweet memories. But most of all, you have time to focus on the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
I sure hope this post about how to transition your home for the holidays and not lose your mind will help you as you prepare for the season!
Much Love and Happy Holiday Season!~Kim❤️
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