The terms at uni were so short that I was always home in Boston in time for the holiday decorating season let alone the holidays themselves. This year, however, The Monkey and I are together in Edinburgh late enough in December to justify some festive cheer. 

A non-negotiable for the Monkey was that we get a real Christmas tree, even if it’s tiny and potted like this one! We picked it up from the florist down the street, with a wreath ^ to match. Apparently we can pot it in the back garden after Christmas and repot it for next year, and though I am not confident enough in my gardening abilities to guarantee that, it’s a nice thought.

I’ve hand-stitched all the ornaments using this Cath Kidston craft book as my guide! I love little crafts, but refrain from them because I’m often like what am I ever going to do with this?, so this was a good productive excuse to craft! 

Monkey was in charge of the tree topper, so he made a paper wizard hat.

I love using our little widow panes as spaces to decorate. Here are some cardboard decorations that came with my Graze box and a Christmas card from Coco!

There are always crayons and colouring paper in the house, so when guests come over they can help us decorate. An unanticipated bonus of hosting a Christmas cookies party was filling the space with a fresh stack of hand-drawn cards.

P.S. my guide to wrapping gifts like a minimalist!