I gathered all the inspiration I could from my previous post on Christmas’s of 1958, which is the year my Home On Elderwood was built. Now, I have taken that theme and made it work for my family’s Christmas of 2020. The main inspiration I took away from 1958 is the colors. They are brighter and lighter, so think about using cherry reds, avocado greens with blues and teals mixed with metallic golds and blush colors. The materials used were tensil and felt with shiny bright ornaments and lights. Not to forget, the whimsical fairy tale deer’s and rosy cheeked Santa’s that seemed to pop up everywhere.
I knew I would need to come up with a plan to tackle all the things needed for this transformation. The first thing I did was make a list of all the important things that I found particularly appealing from my research of Christmas’s of 1958:
Bottle Brush Trees
Word Art
Garland
Whimsical Characters
Stockings
I immediately wanted to use bottle brush trees. They first gained popularity in the 1950’s when brush companies realized they could modify their machines to make these bristly trees and rule the faux Christmas tree market. Bottle brush trees have come back in popularity in the last few years, so I knew I could pick them up at my local craft store. I wanted varying heights and colors to really brighten the interior of my fireplace.
The next item on my list was word art. I first searched Pinterest for ways to create my own, but then, I came across some artwork on Amazon that perfectly fit my theme and really tied in to our current family traditions. You see, we watch the movie “Elf” with Will Ferrell every Christmas since it debuted in 2003. I decided on this whimsical saying that Will Ferrell’s character Buddy shouts with cheery enthusiasm during the movie.
The garland I used is actually one I have had for many years. It has long bright green bristles that really pop off of the white mantel and dark walls. I was going to use multicolored lights on the garland, but opted to keep with my all white lights used from previous years. I added the pop of color I wanted with ornaments in an array of colors: red, green, gold, blue, silver, white, pink, and so on….
Now, I needed some whimsical characters and immediately thought,”PENGUINS!” These are some vintage white and silver cookie jars that I received as gifts one year for Christmas. My mom and my mother-in-law both bought me one in the same year by mistake. Well, so they thought…I loved them so much that I decided to keep both of these handsome guys. I had to incorporate them in this Christmas motif, too. I display these every year and even keep them up after Christmas until the spring.
Last but not least, stockings are on the list. I love variety and mixing and matching almost everything in my décor, and the stockings I have acquired are no exception. I have different styles and colors, but they all seem to go together quite nicely. Plus, I couldn’t forget Santa. He actually fits in to two items on my list: An added whimsical character in a stocking format.
This is the result of all the elements I wanted to add to my holiday fireplace, but it didn’t look or feel quite right, just yet. I decided to go back through all my decorations from Christmas’s past that weren’t making the cut this year. I found these old wreaths with silver and white bows that I hung outside on my front and side doors one year. I thought if I fluffed them out and added some ornaments they just might work!
I’m not sure what you think, but I think it definitely screams Christmas! I believe Will Ferrell’s character Buddy from the movie “Elf” would definitely approve. Keep checking back for more from my Christmas inspirations this year. I’m far from finished with decorating my Home On Elderwood for the holidays.
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