Thanks to a poll on my Twitter back in November, my wonderful
followers decided that I should publish a blog post and film a vlog every day
for the entirety of December!
So welcome to December 18th…
Once again, it took me so long to come up with content for this post; especially since I have a ton of pictures for it because that made me think that I needed to write something quite lengthy… but it was when I was looking through the pictures that I came up with the inspiration for this post… ‘A Quick Guide to Christmas Décor!’ You see, I’ve been to Wallington Hall before so going there this time was literally just about seeing how they decorate the National Trust site for Christmas time!
I find that Christmas décor can be very controversial and even competitive! Some stores will sell a few different ranges/styles of decorations whilst others retail one main design; all competing against one another for the value of their products through quality and price. But it isn’t just about retailers competing; I don’t about anywhere else but - it seems that in my estate – each house wants to have the most garden lights or the biggest ‘Santa Stop Here!’ signs and the bushiest Christmas trees peeking through their curtains!
I grew up having a massive Christmas tree with my Mum and each year we’d buy a new, special decoration for it. In my later teenage years, I got my own tree for my bedroom; a little neon pink one with built-in lights from W H Smith and mini decorations from Paperchase. I think that even though it was an incredibly youthful one, I still felt grown-up having my own Christmas tree!
When I was admitted to the specialist psychiatric hospital aged twenty-one, I took the tree with me but was soon disappointed when I discovered that I wasn’t allowed it because the built-in lights were glass and staff worried that they could be smashed and used for self-harm. Instead, I had to tolerate the communal Christmas tree on the ward which had no lights, no glass baubles, and no tinsel (that was thought to be a ligature risk!). Being discharged was obviously a relief in many ways but being able to have a more ‘normal’ Christmas was definitely one of them!
Being discharged from hospital (after being in for two and a half years) for less than a month by Christmas in 2014, meant that I just used the neon pink tree for that first year in my own home. The following year I bought a slightly larger tree and then, after four years, I decided to invest in a ‘proper Christmas tree’ from Wilkinsons. As much as I liked the thought of finally having a more ‘traditional’ tree, I actually ended up picking a large, dark grey (labelled as ‘Twilight’) one so it was still a bit different to the usual green! My colour scheme also changed from pinks and purples to more mature navy and silver baubles from various shops that included Primark, Next, Poundstretcher and B&M!
My favourite Christmas décor in my home?
The three personalized stockings that have (in red glitter) Aimee, Pixie, and Emmy written on them!
So, inspired by the decorations at Wallington Hall, here’s a few must-have elements for your Christmas décor…
Essence of immaturity
I think that Christmas should always revolve around children! And no, the Day isn’t supposed to be about the presents and toys but let’s not pretend that it hasn’t become about that and who doesn’t find warmth in a child’s excitement over the idea of a large, bearded man coming down their chimney in the middle of the night?! It’s both entertaining and comforting to see such genuine, childish, happiness. So, bringing some of that to your décor makes the home more approachable and less appearance of it being a show-home where nothing can be touched or moved, and the entire place doesn’t seem to be lived in!
My favourite childish decoration at Wallington Hall? The Elf washing line!
Traditional touches and garlands
There were legit garlands over
every fireplace mantel, above every doorway, on each table, across the picture
frames… they were everywhere in Wallington Hall and each had different
decoration to them with some featuring holly and others housing baubles or pinecones.There were also a few Christmas trees of various sizes and with a different amount of decoration on them in a wide range of colour schemes.
Wallington Hall also made the most of every space in decorating empty fireplaces too!
Get creative (with paper and feathers!)
Christmas is the perfect time to start personalizing your décor with a fun, creative, original, and unique touch. When I first saw the elegant, white feathers in one of the large dining rooms of Wallington Hall I was immediately flooded with a sense of creativity… you know when someone has been so artistic that it inspires a similar attitude in yourself? That’s what Wallington Hall did for me, and I even found myself wishing I had a bigger home so that I could be more creative with the space!
I also liked the use of origami throughout the décor because it’s something that can be quite simple and straight-forward, yet it looks really amazing and effective!
