A Cozy Christmas: Red & Green Christmas Tree and Mantle

I hope you all had a nice week! We went to a tree farm about a half hour north of town a week ago and cut down the most perfect tree! I didn’t know it at the time, but it ended up working really, really well with a lot of the Cozy Christmas decorations that we already had.

A Cozy Christmas Tree

R tried to convince the three of us that a Charlie Brown tree was the way to go this year. He almost had me on board, but then we found this lovely tree. It was a great size too! It was easy to sway him away from the Charlie Brown tree once we saw this one. For once, we didn’t underestimate the height of the tree and that made it so much easier to decorate. No step stools or balancing acts required.

Because the tree feels nostalgic to me, a simple red (and green) color scheme was chosen. We picked out simple red ornaments from our bins to place on the soft branches. We had several strands of garland, but not enough of a matching set to trim the entire tree. So, as we do in 2020, we rolled with it. We put the beaded and faux popcorn strands toward the top. The adorable knit mittens and Letter to the North Pole strands were placed at the bottom. We thought that the letter almost looked like a festive skirt around the tree. Many of the ornaments are felt, and we continued the soft theme with the faux fur Christmas tree skirt.

A Cozy Christmas Mantel

We kept the mantle simple this year as well and went for an asymmetrical look. We first put up the green decorative resin tree followed by the feather tree for softness. We also changed out the artwork to my favorite ski lift print. Because our mantle isn’t very wide, it worked best to simply lay the green garland next to (rather than in front of) the print. We then layered on the pinecone garland (which somehow seems to be holding everything in place) and the red berries. Two black candle holders are a bit hidden in the garland.

A Cozy Christmas Living Room

We only changed a few items on the shelves flanking the fireplace. We put up our framed nativity scene. (This works best in our house to keep Baby Jesus safe from little hands.) A red berry tree goes with the berries on the mantle and red beads on the tree. On the other side of the fireplace, we switched out some photos for two of my favorite winter photos from when the kids were younger. We also brought out the white ceramic deer.

A few faux fur items scattered throughout the living room make the space feel cozy. The plaid and faux fur pillows are a favorite. Throwing the faux fur blanket over the back of the sofa adds a nice layer and hides the swooped back. The juxtaposition of the coarse grain sack pillows with the soft and cozy white pillows is a combination that can last all winter long. A basket of blankets in a woven basket by the fire suggest settling in for a long Michigan winter.

We moved our floor lamp from the opposite corner and it is the perfect height by the sofa. Its soft light (just pretend it is on in these photos- haha!) brings about a certain warmth throughout the day.

Let’s talk about this Christmas puzzle. It isn’t exactly the relaxing family activity I had dreamed of. Mostly, it involves me doing the puzzle and subsequently asking (okay, sort of yelling) at everyone to please keep their feet and snout (Crew, I’m looking at you) off the coffee table. Not my finest of moments or ideas. Oh well. At least it makes for a nice photo.

That’s all for now! Maybe next year I’ll be brave and try a less traditional color combination, but for this year, I’m loving all of the warmth and nostalgia this traditional Red and Green Christmas is evoking. Looks like Crew is ready to settle in for winter too!

Happy Holidays!

(You can check out how I transitioned some of these decorations into a Cozy Winter Living Room last year by clicking here.)

Source List

(This list contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I may receive some compensation. Thank you!) Also, there are a lot of “similar” items since I used things that I have had for several years.

Tree Skirt (similar)

Red Beaded Garland (similar)

Popcorn Garland 

Knit Mitten Garland (similar)

Letters to Santa Garland- I couldn’t find this online, but there are some DIY ideas out there.

Green Garland (similar)

Pinecone Garland (similar)

Red Berry Garland (similar)

Green Resin Decorative Tree

Feathered Tree (similar)

Tapers and Taper Holders- The Counting House

Faux Fur Pillows- The Counting House

Grain Sack Pillows- The Counting House

Ski Print

Floor Lamp

Black Side Table (similar)- I like this one a lot too.

Marble Table

Plaid Faux Fur Pillow Cover

Elements of Style