A Swing Through Christmas

A little bit late, but no less festive, is this quick little swing through Christmas 2024 at the Dupont house.  

Perhaps like you, I felt very rushed with those few short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So, with what felt like a crunched schedule, I tried to put together Christmas at the Dupont house in a way that felt heartwarming, cozy and festive.

I’ve said it before, but here it is again. My approach to decorating for Christmas is a lather-rinse-repeat of pine cones, greenery, red berries, and plaid. Emphasis on ‘repeat’. We’ll start in the family room, do a couple of stops in the kitchen, take a spin through the living room, and then end up in the dining room where our resident celebrity is waiting for you!

In our family room is our fireplace, which I left pretty simple and open.  The wreath holder was an estate sale steal; I’ve wanted one for a while, and was happy to dodge the $40 Amazon price. 

The stocking hangers are pine cones (from JoAnn’s), and I sewed the Christmas stockings using a pattern I borrowed from a friend.

The next stop on this swing through Christmas is the kitchen, where I have two little spots of celebration in the corners. 

First is a collection of a thrifted platter, an estate sale blue & white dish and a white pitcher.  Add a few stems of greenery and berries, and now it feels like Christmas.

In the other corner, my mother’s wood tray holds another Christmas tree, accompanied by a tree lot sign, and a red barn. 

Rabbit Hole Alert!

So, the ‘tree lot’ sign came from a store that is something of an icon in Fort Wayne.  This store is only open from October through Christmas Eve. And they sell a wide variety of items for very discounted prices. After that, the huge building and corresponding parking lot sit vacant the rest of the year.  When we first got here, I thought it was the oddest thing.  But since I have shopped in the store now a number of times, oddly enough, I get it.  

Did I mention plaid?

Further evidence of my obsession with red barns is this little barn ornament.  We were in Rural King, where it was sitting all by itself on a random shelf.  When I asked the cashier for the price (it wasn’t marked) there was about 10 minutes of in-house radios squawking away.  Finally, it was determined that the sale price was $1.99.  After all that, I couldn’t, in good conscience, walk away from it.  Oh, who am I kidding? There was no way I would have walked away.

 Red barn obsession.

Keeping on track with this swing through Christmas, we arrive in the living room. 

In the tucked away wood and metal corner shelf unit, a gravy boat and a bowl are filled with pine cones, and tucked into a pair of candle wreaths.

Who says candle wreaths are just for candles?

I found this rocking horse at craft fair long before I even met Sailor. I was happy to put him in a spot where he could really contribute to the festive feel.

A little Christmas cheer on the piano.  All my blue + white chinoiserie is thrifted, but this center beauty is a recent prize from an estate sale.

On the coffee table I didn’t use one of my (several!) Christmas runners.  I put down my buffalo check runner, and topped it with this metal pitcher.  I filled the pitcher with some pine cone stems and berry stems (don’t tell me I didn’t warn you!) and dropped a grapevine wreath over the whole thing.  

Then I topped it off with this Country Christmas sign that popped up in a recent thrift store run.

Once again, my collection of Christmas plaid pillows is mixed in with my collection of printed tapestry Christmas pillows.  

Did I mention plaid?

Did I mention snowmen?

I can’t leave the tree out.  I’m not sure you can see it for all the gifts.  It didn’t feel like much as I was collecting gifts over the past year, but now even I think it’s a little too much.  To be fair, about 80% of it is for my great-littles.   

Did I mention plaid?

The final stop of this swing through Christmas is the dining table and hutch.  As promised, more red berries, greenery, plaid and pine cones (again, I warned you!).   I started hanging these wreaths on the hutch doors a few years back; it’s one of my favorite looks, no matter where I see it.  So much so that I have a single wreathing hanging on the center door during the rest of the year.

Did I mention plaid?

Our Max, wishing you all the best!

This ends our swing through Christmas, and here is our little celebrity to send you off!  Since it’s a bit too late to wish you Christmas wishes, I will wish you a new year filled with joy, adventure and happy memories. Thank you for stopping by.

From our home to yours~

Kristine