Hey friends! I know everyone writes this, but it really is true, I can’t believe Christmas is in four days. This year has flown by like the blink of an eye, and it is almost time to welcome in another new year. This will probably be my last post of 2016, I am thinking I will take a blogging break to enjoy the Holidays and my family. And to prepare for some big things on the schedule for this ole blog for January. I just have to squeeze out one last post before Christmas, because I still haven’t shared the rest of my Christmas dining room, and I also set up a cute hot drink station in the kitchen and wanted to show you that. So without further adieu, I give you my last Christmas post of the season, my Christmas dining room and hot drink station, enjoy!
In case you do not know this already, our dining room serves double duty as our home office. It’s not the ideal situation, but it’s the way it has to be, so we make due. Something on my list of things to do is to replace this sad dining table with a farmhouse table, who knows, maybe 2017 will be the year that happens, or you never know, 2017 just might be the year we find a home that suits our family better and we may be saying goodbye to this house- we are casually looking, so who knows when it might happen! We are in no rush, and until that perfect house for us comes along, we will continue to do all we can to improve and update this house on a budget. I found these cute little Santa’s on the backs of the chairs at Dollar General last Christmas, and this is the second year I have used them. My little guy quite likes them, so that is the reason they are even here at all!
I wish I could tell you that our dining table looks this way all of the time, but truth be told, it’s usually a pile of homework, book bags, and whatever packages have just been delivered. We pretty much can’t sit anything down on the floor anymore because-PUPPY!
I found the adorable table runner and the plaid napkins at Marshall’s this year. I simply added some fresh greenery clippings to these amber bottles and tied some red jute around the neck of the bottles for a pretty and natural looking centerpiece. These amber bottles were a Target Dollar Spot find from Fall and you can see them on my Fall table here.
Moving on to the kitchen, I set up a little hot drink station on our island, and it has everything you need to make coffee, tea, or hot cocoa- whatever your vice is, you can find it here. Unless it’s alcohol, ha! I have had this Snowman cookie jar for years, and it is currently filled with K-cups. The snowman jar contains hot cocoa mix and I have had it for years, I keep refilling it.
I found these little plaid deer heads at the Target Dollar Spot, and they are adhesive, so I just peeled the back off and stuck them to the corners of my crate to make it look festive.
I saw these oversized red plaid mugs at Walmart one day, and one of them just had to come home with me! It wasn’t even a choice. I added one of these peppermint sticks to a cup of hot cocoa last week, and oh my! It was delicious!
This pot rack light fixture was here when we moved in, and to be honest, I want it gone. Not that I don’t like it, just that we have a small kitchen, and I’m growing tired of the cluttered look of it. I want a nice clean looking pendant light in this spot. But to be honest, it’s probably not something we are going to be tackling in this house. But we are going to be painting the cabinets and replacing the counter tops during 2017, so we are very excited about that! And who knows, maybe I will talk the mister into replacing the light fixture when we are doing the other changes. I did add some more fresh pine clippings to the pot rack for a festive look.
You will also find some of the hand made ornaments the kids have made hanging here.
This gold bell is nothing new, as a matter of fact I show it on the blog every Christmas. And it is always hanging right here. I inherited it from my grandma, and it is older than I am. When you pull the cord it plays a Christmas song. I let Mr. 8 year old give it one tug each year because it is fragile. I used a bit of plaid ribbon to adorn the hanging part and dress it up a bit.
I painted this door black a few years ago, but it is in desperate need of being replaced. Another thing that will be happening in the Spring or Summer. We are going to add a door that has a doggie door built in so that Puppy can go out to the back deck. I made the book page wreath you see hanging on the door, and it was temporarily displaced from my living room wall to make room for the Christmas tree. I also made the no sew cafe curtains you see on the windows. I added this garland above the little alcove, and I think I found it at Marshall’s last Christmas. The red pom pom garland was a Target find. I have had the snowman draft guard for years.
The wreaths you see hanging in the windows are simple grapevine wreaths from Hobby Lobby, and I simply wrapped some little boxwood garland around the wreaths. Here you can see our vintage bar cart that I made over a couple of years ago to add some much needed storage. I have a happy little collection of Christmas mugs that hang on the mug holder, and each year, I buy one new Christmas mug. I keep some vintage table cloths on the shelf below.
If you stop by over the Christmas break, I’ll offer to make you something yummy from our hot drink station, and maybe a gingerbread cookie or some home made fudge too! I heard my husband ask the question “who has a hot drink station”? when he thought I wasn’t listening. I just kept my mouth shut because I guess he doesn’t peruse home blogs like I do! LOL I hope you enjoyed seeing my Christmas dining room and hot drink station today!
I truly hope that you have a blessed Christmas and plenty of time with family and friends this year. I was reminded recently that the holidays can be a really depressing and lonely time for some people. And it makes me sad to know there will be some people who spend this wonderful time of year all alone. So I want to encourage you today to try to find a way this year to bring joy to someone who might need it. Give someone the gift of the spirit of Christmas, and that doesn’t have to cost you much money at all- it could be an encouraging word, a smile, a gift, or just an ear to listen, or a card.
Whatever it is in your heart to do, try to show someone a little kindness. I can guarantee you it will come back to you in some way! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, and God Bless you every one!
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If you like it then you wanna put a pin on it!
I’ll be back at the beginning of the the year, and the focus is going to be decluttering, purging, and organizing for January. As much as I love decorating for Christmas, by January first, the clutter starts making me feel twitchy, and it’s time to simplify for winter. Some of my friends and I will be bringing you ideas as we declutter several rooms in our homes and would love for you join us. And, to keep you motivated, you will have an opportunity to win some great gift certificates…details to follow.
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