We’ve always kept decorating for the holidays really simple, even before our minimalist lifestyle.
And when I say simple, I mean basically not at all.
Decorating as a kid was always fun to me, but lost some of its magic as I got older. I think largely because it was kind of same old, same old.
For a long time I haven’t been paying much attention to seasons or even holidays really, but in the back of my mind I’ve always planned to get more into it with our kids, just because I know they would enjoy it and I myself would also if I was in the right “mode”. I just have yet to be inspired by where we live…
It’s a little more tricky since we are usually only at “home” about half of the year, but this method of minimalist holiday decor can lend itself well to that issue.
Rather than having a bunch of holiday-specific stuff that you have to store, keep it simple with base minimalist holiday decor items as part of your regular decor that you just customize with temporary things for each season or holiday.
Here are some great examples of just a few of the many fun and creative ways you can customize everyday decor for various seasons and holidays.
These base items are great things to treasure hunt thrift shops for, but I’m linking to some buying options, too.
If you like something, I encourage you to go pin it from the original source – these are collages put together from several sources.
Fillers
All sorts of glass vases provide a base for infinite customization.
Branches
Scouting out and/or decorating seasonal branches can be a great family activity.
Wreaths
Customizing a plain natural grapevine wreath for the current season can be another fun family night.
Platters & Trays
Using a platter or tray to frame a display and customizing it for each season helps to push your creativity.
I’ve fallen in love with tiered trays – SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, not the least of which is freeing up counters.
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Chalkboards
Buy a ready-made chalkboard or paint a custom one – there are so many fun ideas!
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Frames & Clipboards
Use frames or clipboards to hang printables in the conventional way, or to frame various types of artwork or decor pieces, or customize them to hang with clothespins or other types of clips.
Shadow Boxes
Customize shadow boxes with fun fillers and add vinyl letters or write and draw on the front like a whiteboard.
Vignettes
I’ve never been much for knick knacks – we don’t need more things sitting around that we don’t ever dust, however, there are so many clever and gorgeous ways to create vignettes that make your home feel more homey, that I know it can adapt well to a minimalist decor.
It can be tempting to want to keep things you’ve created for the next year, like a wreath or customized pinecones or what-have-you, but that’s part of what I really love about this way of looking at holiday decor – you can take it on as a fun challenge to come up with something new as part of traditional family activities each season. Most of it will be temporary anyway, but if it makes sense to, simply donate or gift the extras.
It also might feel a little sad to be getting rid of what you made, but replacing it with something new for the next season will probably be more of the focus.
I really think decorating this way can encourage you to enjoy the moment a bit more. Just don’t forget to capture the memories with pictures and/or video 🙂
