Our Simple Christmas Decor

I enjoy a pretty simple and traditional Christmas display with our big traditional Christmas tree (a real one of course) covered with our traditional ornaments we have collected over the years since our family began.  Every year we add to the ornaments with a special ornament for the year as well as special ornaments for the kids or for places we have been.  I am especially loving that I am beginning to collect those beloved handmade treasures that my kids are making for me.  This year was our first Christmas celebrating with a real "angel" in our family so little Mattie is definitely represented in our Christmas decorations with her own special stocking and ornament on the tree.

Our little traditional Christmas tree.  I just love the warm glow of traditional white Christmas lights and added the gold bow topper and ribbon a couple of years ago.  

Our little angel's special Christmas ornament.

With her name and birth date on it. 

I love these cute sparkly words hidden in the tree that I found last year. 

I need to do more mantle decor, but I usually just put up our stockings.  I did add a little star banner I also found at Target this year.  I was going to attempt to make something Pinterest worthy, but I thought this would suffice for now.  Eddie and I still use our stockings that I stitched our names on our first Christmas together in 2003.  I am so glad I picked the choo choo train stocking for Brody in 2011 because of his newly acquired love of trains.  

And our sweet little angel has a stocking too.  I want to decide how to incorporate her into our traditions through the years.  Maybe the boys can write little letters or messages or draw her pictures and put in her stocking every year?  It could be something we could pull out and look at every year. 

I found this little banner in the dollar bins at Target, of course.  You know I love that place! 

One of my favorite treasures that Brody made me last year at preschool. 

I wanted something simple and fun for our staircase this year.  I have put fresh garland on the railing in years past, but I really didn't want to deal with the mess this year so I found these little foam ornaments also at Target, and Brody and I decorated them with Christmas stick-on decorations and just hung them from some simple white ribbon. 

I also found this little Christmas chalkboard countdown at Target.  

The boys have their own little Christmas tree in their room.  It just has cheap unbreakable plastic ornaments on it which is a good thing since Brody has already pulled it down a couple of times.  

It makes a great night light!

And of course, Mattie has a tree in her room too. 

Still my favorite Christmas decoration is the Christmas lights shining on the picture of our angel.  I thought it fitting to put our old angel tree topper that we had used on our tree since our first Christmas together near the picture of our little angel. 

My husband did such an awesome job on our outdoor lights this year although he hates that he didn't do the usual icicle lights.  I am actually kind of happy that he didn't because it always makes me nervous when he climbs up on the big ladder to hang them.  

Our house from the street.  I need to take a daytime picture. 

I love coming home to this welcoming display.  We started adding some colored lights to make it more fun for the boys.  We've always thought about adding something fun in the yard but can't decide what to get, and those added decorations can be pretty expensive.   

We hope you all enjoyed our little Christmas tour of our home!  Now, I just need to get my Christmas shopping done and wrap some presents if I can find the time in our pretty crazy schedule this month.