How to Transition from Christmas to Winter Decor

Hi, friends! Happy 2017!

I’m pretty pumped to dive into this year, and I can’t tell you how excited I am that January is upon us – there’s something about the fresh feeling of new beginnings that just makes my soul so happy.

As much as I love the Christmas season (and you know I LOVE IT), once it’s over I am always more than ready to get all of my Christmas decor put away and get my home feeling a little more settled. The whole season is so chaotic and busy that I just feel like I need some rest once it’s over. I always aim for having all of the decor put away before the end of December, and this year was no exception.

Except. Typically, I put away every last piece of Christmas decor and bring out my “normal” stuff. This year, however, I decided to try something new – a good portion of my “Christmas” decor is really more “winter” than anything else…so wouldn’t it be prettier and easier if I just left some of it out?

I mean, I’m all about making things easier on myself. Amiright?! 

So, this year, instead of rushing to take down every last hint of Christmas as soon as the wrapping paper was cleared away, I decided to take a different approach, and leave the house slightly decorated, but with a much more wintery focus. It always felt a little strange to bust out a ton of yellow and floral decorations in the middle of January, anyways.

After the chaos of Christmas and all of the stuff that it brings, I’m often craving much more rest in January. It’s a time when I long for clean surfaces, neutral decor, and as little clutter as possible. Thankfully, winter whites really lend themselves to a simple and clean design so it all works out well.

Here are my best tips for easily transitioning your Christmas decor to winter without leaving things feeling like it’s still the middle of December:

• Leave the whites, nix the red and green. I had a few red and green pieces that I was really tempted to leave out, but I only use those colors to decorate for Christmas so they really didn’t fit. However, I left just about everything I have that’s white, metallic, or neutral. You’d be surprised at how easily so much of your Christmas decor will transition right into winter without sticking out at all!
• The pinecones can stay, but put the trees away. I have lots of little trees that I like to decorate with at Christmas, and some of them don’t really look like Christmas trees – they’re just pretty trees (and many even fit into the “keep the white stuff” rule!). However, when I tried leaving them out it still felt like Santa Claus would be making a visit any day, and so I decided to put away anything that resembled a tree. The pinecones, however, blend right in with the rest of the winter decor! I didn’t leave out all of our pinecones – we have a lot that we decorate with, and I feel like too many screams Christmas, but a few here and there work really well.
• Bring out anything that fits. I always pack away quite a bit of stuff when Christmas rolls around, and normally I just bring it all right back out once it’s over. This year, however, I was a little pickier about what I brought out of hiding – our little faux grass plant is cute, but feels decidedly spring-like. I’ve started to look at my decor and think more about the season that it seems to fit…anything that didn’t “feel” wintery to me stayed in the box. It’s a very subjective process, but I brought out anything that was white, silver, or gold and anything with a texture that felt nice and cozy to me.
• Don’t go completely neutral. Winter decor can feel very sterile if you aren’t careful – I’m all about a clean palette after the holidays, but if I decorated with all white things would feel too stark. The main colors that we always decorate with in our house are yellow and blue, so I pulled in a few pillows and other things that fit in, and left the ones that didn’t.
• Keep it simple. After staring at tables full of reindeer and trees for the last month or so, it’s tempting to pile a whole bunch of stuff back on my surfaces so it feels more complete. However, my brain (and my eyes) really needs a rest after all of the insanity, and I’m finding that I’m really enjoying leaving things a little more bare. For example, on our dining room table I left all of the candles and the runner and I removed everything else – at first it looked funny to me after having it so full for so long, but the simple look has really grown on me and now I’m loving it. Plus, candles are basically the most foolproof centerpiece ever.

I’ve you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that this whole seasonal decorating thing is still very new to me. This past fall was the first time I really started switching things up throughout the year at all, and now I’m totally addicted. I’ve learned so much about how to make my home feel like it fits the time of year a little better, and everything feels a whole lot more fresh and fun, too!

Oh, and it helps that this is also basically the laziest way to put away your Christmas stuff. I feel like I’m getting away with just leaving it all out for a few more months instead of being a responsible adult and putting it away.

I love it when I don’t have to be a responsible adult.

How do you transition your home from Christmas into the winter season?