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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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January 23, 2020

Winter Decorating

A few years ago I decided to give myself an early Christmas present and it’s honestly one gift that I never get tired of receiving. As I begin to plan out my Christmas decorating, I intentionally think ahead to when it’s all going to have to be undecorated and I get really, really strategic. With every plastic storage bin that is opened, I’m thinking about how much work is going to take place on the other side of the season; how much will have to be undecorated.

Because, let’s face it, the undecorating part is the absolute worst, am I right?


What I’ve realized is that if I’m thoughtful about the process, I can give myself the gifts of time and less stress as I head back into our family’s regularly scheduled programming post-Christmas.

This year, after taking down my mantel decorations, I simply placed these four frosted trees on either side so that it would still reflect the winter season. Plus, they are pre-lit and I still get to enjoy some twinkling lights on these cold, dark days.

Thanks to my strategic thinking, my entryway looks almost identical to how it looked for Christmas.

The only thing I had to do was to remove the mercury glass ornaments I had hung on this little tree. Doesn’t it look so real?!

Cinnamon sticks in this transferware pitcher are a subtle nod to the winter season and they have actually been here since October so I think I’m killing it when it comes to doing as little as possible when it comes to seasonal decorating, don’t you? 😉

In my dining room, my buffet table decor required only the removal of a garland and lights to transition it from Christmas to Winter.

Similarly, my living room mantel got a super quick makeover when I removed the garland and lights.

The vintage corbels, candles and pinecones were there for the holiday season already and I simply added in a bit of greenery to soften it all.

And, of course, our hot cocoa station has stayed the same except for the removal of a wreath that was hanging on the mirror. Other than that, the only thing I’ve had to ‘update’ is the constant restocking of cocoa and marshmallows!

We’ve had a really long stretch of dark, rainy days that have made me so grateful for a home that still feels cozy and warm even as I’m longing for Spring.

There is just something about keeping out a few twinkling lights, the glow of candles (both real and battery powered) and soft blankets to snuggle in that help to offset what can often be a tough month to get through.

And how about you? Do you do any winter decorating in your home or do you take down your Christmas decor and put it all back to the way it is for the rest of the year? I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for meeting me here today friend,

12 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas, Seasonal, Winter Tagged With: winter, winter decorating

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Comments

  1. Kim Baker says

    January 23, 2020 at 12:19 PM

    Hi Vanessa! This is my first time leaving a comment! Just last year I started decorating for winter. Unlike you I take down almost all of my Christmas decorations and replace with winter things. And I am ok with that! In my kitchen I have snowmen with red accents. Very cheery! I have snowflakes, pinecones (natural and white!), winter angels and all different sorts of trees. I really got into trees last Christmas. I love bottle brush trees!!!!! I have a display at the top of my stairs with glittery silver, rose gold and bronze bottle brush trees. Not Christmas colors but still sparkly! JOY is one of my favorite words and I have that displayed in 3 separate vignettes. AND, our Christmas tree is still up and will be until the end of January, beginning of February! I love our Christmas tree!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 23, 2020 at 3:34 PM

      Hi Kim!! I’m SO excited that you left a comment!! I think your winter decorations sound absolutely beautiful! I love bottle brush trees too but had never incorporated them into my decor much until this year when I added them to a dining room table centerpiece. They really are so sweet! Sparkly for winter is the best for sure and I can’t think of a better word to have on display in your home than ‘JOY’. I love that your Christmas tree is still up too!!

      Thank you for commenting and for being apart of our community here! Much love, Vanessa

      Reply
    • Kathy Menold says

      January 23, 2020 at 4:44 PM

      I tried to think about Jan while decorating for Christmas this year. Lots of faux candles,fairy lights and simple greens with pinecones. Removed the garlands and wreaths on Epithany but the candles,fairy lights and pinecones with some fresh white flowers and lots of houseplants This decor will remain till March when hopefully spring will be arriving here in N.C.

      Reply
  2. Marilyn says

    January 23, 2020 at 1:01 PM

    Love it….pretty & cozy.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 23, 2020 at 3:26 PM

      Thank you Marilyn!

      Reply
  3. Carol says

    January 23, 2020 at 1:43 PM

    My husband is pretty much house bound so I u se lots of lights, Mercury glass and things that perk him up. He is slowly getting better now that we found that part of his problem was 2 medicines that made him pass out and have some bad falls. We are both in our 80’s and live in a true farm house with no neighbors. How long I don’t know. God is good and we hold on to that.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 23, 2020 at 3:26 PM

      Carol I am SO sorry about your husband’s health issues! He is blessed to have you taking care of him but that sounds like a lot to have on your shoulders. I will be praying that God will give you both strength and that you will have a community that will come around you and offer support. I think your decorations sound so lovely and cheerful! Much love to you, Vanessa

      Reply
  4. Debbie Zinser says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:03 PM

    I transitioned from Christmas to snow for winter, I have a white tree that I now have decorated with snowflakes and all white ornaments, beautiful. The mantel has snowflake lanterns and picks that look like snowballs, my hutch in the dining room is decorated with all kinds of snowflakes from beaded to wood! I’m loving the winter decorations and will soon transition to Valentine’s Day decorations, then St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July….you get the idea! That white tree comes in handy…

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 23, 2020 at 3:28 PM

      Debbie your decorations sound just lovely! Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting!

      Reply
  5. Jan says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:07 PM

    I love your ideas! I display my snowman collection on a chest bordered with red berry garland and star lights. I keep the display there through winter. It gives me such joy to see it every day!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 23, 2020 at 3:27 PM

      Your snowman collection sounds so festive and cheerful! I think having things like that to bring us joy is essential!

      Reply
  6. Jeanine says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:57 PM

    First time leaving a comment, but I have enjoyed your blog for awhile now. I also love your book and bought one for myself and my sister! I just started leaving out some winter decor this year because, like you, I couldn’t bear to take it all down when January is usually so dark and depressing. I think it’s definitely made me feel better and January has seemed to pass faster. I left a lit tree that has bare white branches on my front porch along with lights in my windows, which definitely makes me happy when I come home after dark. I used a boxwood type garland on the mantle this year instead of cedar, so I left that up with fairy lights strung in it. I also got a salt lamp and left out lots of candles and blankets. I like your idea of a hot chocolate bar!

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake a I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake and grabbed a banana out of the freezer and was about to put it into my shake before I realized it was a frozen egg roll. Sooooo that's how my day is going so far! 🤪How about you?

It's honestly fairly representative of my state of mind these days as I can't seem to make the date on the calendar match the date in my spirit because it feels like it should be January 45th. Every year this month drags on and every year it seems to surprise me for some reason. In addition, my heart just feels heavy as I witness a lot of darkness and sadness around me. So, I'm choosing to control what I can control by making my house feel as cozy as possible, relishing the sunshine whenever it dares to peek through the clouds, gathering inspiration for warmer weather projects and, most importantly, resting in the comfort of the sovereignty of my Father.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work..." Job 37:5-7
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Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshi Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshine is breaking through the fog and my house just seems happier. We definitely needed to see that light streaming in through the windows and it’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

And yes, there are still twinkle lights on my mantle because those help when the sunshine goes away again. ✨
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The day after Christmas I found myself laundering The day after Christmas I found myself laundering and folding all of the linens we used the previous night as we hosted my husband's side of the family for dinner and other festivities. As I laid out each cloth napkin and folded them one by one, I couldn't help but be struck by what a simple, yet meaningful, task it was. It's such an honor and privilege to be the hostess and, at this stage of my life, I realize that this has almost one hundred percent become my role now. Our parents are in their 70's and have either downsized significantly or simply don't have the energy to take on hosting duties for a large group. I could resent this. I could feel overwhelmed by it. But, instead, I'm choosing to embrace it knowing that, someday, I too will pass the hosting torch and I hope that I will be welcomed with love and attentiveness. So, I fold the linen napkins, taking pleasure in the way all of the creases line up and how neat and tidy they look in the drawer of my dining room buffet. These seemingly simple chores are part of the lifeblood of homemaking and my attitude towards them can either be one of gratefulness or grumbly-ness (yes, I'm making up words now). 

And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.” (Elisabeth Elliot⁣)
Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kic Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kicking off the year with a brand new series! Each weekly installment will feature a tip for everything from your home to faith to parenting to family life and so much more. My goal for 2023 is to have far more personal interaction with this community while continuing on with the mission of weaving together all things heart and home. I hope you enjoy this first tip and I’d love to hear from you about whether or not you decorate for winter! 
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“He has made everything beautiful in its time. H “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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