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Home for the Holidays: Berries & Boughs in the Entry. Easy Christmas decor that’s budget-friendly and perfect for a small foyer.
Home for the Holidays continues with our Christmas entry…so welcome! Even though this space is tiny, it’s one of my favorites because it’s the first real renovation we completed in this house. I learned a lot about removing wallpaper and caulking! Decorating this space for Christmas is easy and fun…and because it’s small, quick too.
To see the stairway renovation, click {HERE.}
At Christmas, the star of the show in our tiny entry is always the stairway garland. As much as I would love to hang real greens, I just can’t bring myself to deal with the mess. I found this cedar look-alike garland at a specialty shop here in Ohio. (If you live in the area, the shop is called K & K Interiors and it’s located in Sandusky, OH.) I love the way this garland drapes and if you don’t look too closely, it almost looks real!
A long string of white lights and red bows are the finishing touches to the garland. If you don’t have an outlet near your stairway, it’s still possible to use lights at Christmas. For years after we moved into this house, my stairway garland didn’t have lights because there wasn’t an outlet to be found in the entry. (I finally had one added to the wall behind the chest, but that won’t work for the garland.) One year it dawned on me that I could use an upstairs outlet. (Of course there isn’t one in the hallway. That would be too easy.)
Stairway Garland Hack
I attach a long extension cord to the lights and run it along the upstairs hallway right next to the baseboard. I plug it into the nearest outlet in the closest bedroom. The only problem is closing the door to the bedroom…but that’s not usually an issue. It’s easy to just unplug the lights so the door can close.
Christmas Entry Decor: The Bows
I didn’t actually “make” the bows. The red satin ribbon is wired, so I looped long pieces through the garland and simply tied a regular bow. The ribbon gets a little smashed as the bow is being tied, but since it’s wired, it’s easy to straighten and fluff.
If you want real evergreens in your entry, but don’t want to mess with a garland, a chest or table is perfect for this. I used false cedar from our front yard, and red hypericum berries from the grocery store. I simply added everything to my thrift store tureen along with some fresh water. No arranging skills required! A red rug and green wreath on the door knob add a little more color…and a little more charm.
Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement.
Christmas Entry Decor Sources
{If the actual product is no longer available, I linked to a similar item.}
front door wreath | wired red ribbon | red and white rug | ironstone tureen | paint colors |
There are a couple more Christmas decor posts coming…and a sweet recipe. Until then…
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You’re amazing Ann!
You have such classy talent! Christmas Blessings to you and your family. 🎄
Thanks Ann great ideas. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to you and your family.
Thank you for inspiring us with your classic and stylish decorating! I wanted to let you know about a product that might help with your cord and outlet issue … strings of lights powered by a battery pack. I have purchased these strings which take 2 to3 AA or AAA batteries and used them on garlands and banisters. As a bonus, some of them come with a built-in timer … you turn them on at the time you would like them to turn on and they stay on for a certain amount of time (perhaps 5 hours) before turning off automatically and then back on the next day at the time you initially turned them on. No cords!
I never even thought of battery powered lights. Thank you so much and Merry Christmas!
Love the fresh greens in the white soup tureen. Hoping I can duplicate this look in a white foot bowl for my dining room. Ann you always inspire me. Your decor ideas are doable and look amazing. I don’t care for “over the top”. Thanks for sharing your beautiful home with us.
I love the simplicity of your foyer decor- so pretty! And I agree that the garland looks real.
I just saw this am on TV that there are small rechargeable power packs available (much like the ones we use for cell phones when no plug is available) only a little bigger- and they have a regular 3 prong plug receptacle! I don’t know how much they cost, but I’m going to check it out. Great idea for any time electricity is needed and no plug available, especially outside.
The garland and lights are beautiful, it looks so realistic and magical.
Ann, we had the same challenge with our entry – no available outlet on one side. Then about 3 years ago I discovered battery operated lights at Target. What a game changer!! This year we’ve used battery operated lights on Timers. We’re slowly transitioning over to those. Makes your home like magic when the lights come on.
Your right, the garland fooled me. I finally bought fake garland last year. After a 75 roll of real very sappy garland made such a mess. It looked like grass was growing in my entrance way up the stairs. It even burned out my vacuum. I was done.
I look forward every Sunday morning to your email. You have such great ideas and things we can do without breaking the bank. I love using the things from the woods and nature
Merry Christmas
Sandi from the south