This post originally appeared on our old blog, Born to be a Bride.
Joshy and I have taken a slow and steady approach to getting our home ready for the best season of all. Last weekend, we bought a tree from a church around the corner and came home to excitedly decorate it. We let sweet Willow hang up the first ornament, but she just wanted to eat it, so that was kind of a fail. Once we’d put her to bed, we poured a couple glasses of wine from one of our Hall bottles, turned on Christmas tunes, and got to work on our lovely tree (more pics of that coming soon!)
Last night, Hanukkah began at sundown and we had a cuddly time lighting the Menorah together. I cannot believe how much Willow has grown between last Hanukkah and this one. Last year she was less than four weeks old now she was watching the candles flicker in wonderment and even put out her little wrist out so I could pull on her Night One gift, a handmade bracelet from The Bauble Fairy (I have one, too).
On the topic of handmade, my absolute favorite aspect of this year’s holiday season is that we are pulling together so many elements sold by small shops. I procured two fabric banners by Tennessee (well, soon, California!)-based artisan Courtney Hamilton of Prettiest Little Shop. I love the sense of whimsy these bring and the way the material holds its shape, adding artful pops of color to the home with a duality of softness and boldness. The color and pattern options are vast.
I played around with these a bit to demonstrate the different ways in which you can work them into your holiday decor. We always place the Menorah near the Christmas tree to send some mixed love and prayers up to our family members who are now gone and who held different religious beliefs and traditions. In our home, it’s all about the blend. The banner looks perfect draped along the window sill in this area.
Our other banner has shifted a few times. It’s perfect for creating a look of continuity in an apartment space like ours — one thing I loathe about apartment living is the feeling that the bedroom is RIGHT on top of the living room, so I liked the look of hanging this one across the outside of our bedroom door to make the room look like one congruous space and lessening the noticeability of the door itself. It also makes the perfect backdrop for holiday snaps, as that area of the home gets amazing light.
When we have friends over for drinks this season, I’ll move the banner in the other direction, having it hang right over the bar. I’ve also added a hand-blown glass vase full of Christmas ornaments and placed two more on top of our standard crystal bowl full of wine corks to make the space more festive. This beloved nutcracker doll completes the look.
Check out Prettiest Little Shop on Etsy to score your holiday (or anytime!) banners. And remember, when you shop small this holiday season, your money is not supporting overseas slave labor or multi-millionaire CEO’s. It’s going directly into the pockets of other hard-working Americans just like yourself. It’s enabling them to do beautiful things for their families, just like you do for yours by giving them these special items.