After visiting The Duke of York Square earlier this week and seeing all the magical, festive decorations, I started feeling really excited for Christmas - particularly as my mom and dad arrive in less than three weeks (LOLs, just kidding- I'm actually freaking out, but oh well). We're taking a short trip to Amsterdam and Cologne to visit the Christmas markets and I just placed our Christmas food order at Waitrose (we're having honey-glazed ham this year *mini fist pump*) so ... all systems are go.
Last weekend, John dug out our Christmas decorations from the attic and, well, it sounds stupid, but my heart swelled a little at having Christmas decorations that are ours to use every year. I woke up early, baked some banana bread, and it all felt very ... hygge. You know, that Danish concept of "coziness" that's been blowing up your Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds.
The week before, I'd been on a little Christmas shopping spree at T.K. Maxx and - you guys - I was like a kid in a candy store. I mean, seriously. I've written about how much I love T.K. Maxx before, but the hunt for the most glorious bargain is more fun than the actual item itself.
Case in point: I couldn't wait to light these beautifully-scented candles encased in simple gold and silver glass, which I found by literally getting on my hands and knees and rummaging behind rows of other candles before emerging, triumphant.
The scent of that Golden Shortbread candle combined with smell of banana bread emerging from the oven was heavenly and very hygge. The Fresh Cut Pine candle is lovely on our coffee table and creates a cozy ambience for Netflix and chill (literally chilling, folks - it's not that kind of blog!).
I also love wrapping presents and writing Christmas cards. In fact, I think I might like preparing for Christmas even more than I like the holiday itself - oops.
T.K. Maxx always has amazing surprises in the stationery department and there's always something that manages to perfectly reflect my personality. On my visit, I found these pretty cards, gift tags, wrapping paper, and ribbon:
I'm not gonna lie ... I like having creative control over Christmas decorations and pretty much ban anything that's red and green. Sorry. I'm a Grinch like that.
John hates this (in fact, he calls me a not-very-nice name, but I'll look past that as he will be solely responsible for carrying the tree home this year), but I love having a Scandi-leaning, silver/black/gold decor-scheme.
So, I was very excited to find this acorn garland, which I plan to display in our living room (and/or on our Christmas tree. Tip: don't leave it on the floor for your unsuspecting husband to step on when he wakes up for work at 5:30 in the morning. It's kind of spiky.):
Are you looking forward to Christmas? Do you have decorations that you like to put up every year? Let me know in the comments!
Products shown were provided by T.K. Maxx. All opinions are my own. Shop their stores here.
Love how you've styled these photos. I'm definitely feeling like getting into wrapping and original Christmas cards this year. I might have to check out the local TK Maxx and see what they've got now. Which store do you usually go to in London?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura! Definitely have a dig around your local TK Maxx - you never know what you might find! For homeware, I like the one near me in East London at the Westfield mall in Stratford. It's big and relatively new so there are lots of options. They had some beautiful lanterns when I was there as well, which would be really pretty with a few tealights displayed in them!
DeleteThanks for the extra tips :) I'll go local for now but bear that in mind for other trips!
Delete"Holidays are coming! Holidays are coming!"
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me more than a little excited!!
Gemma
Faded Windmills
A cute post and beautifully photographed. I must add that if you ever have children, you'll be buying the cheapest wrapping paper possible whatever the colour. No matter how lovely a present looks, the child rips through it without even noticing.
ReplyDeleteI really must investigate my local TK Maxx more closely ...
Great article, love it especially the pics. BTW I’ve just written a post on the top 20 best fashion coffee table books and thought you would like it :O)
ReplyDelete