FREE CHRISTMAS PRINTABLE + A Ten Minute Holiday Vignette

I have a confession. Despite today’s post and the reveal two weeks ago of my Home Depot Holiday Style Challenge, I haven’t really decorated for Christmas yet.

Which for most of you probably seems totally normal, but in the blogging world I am waaaaaaay behind.

The thing is, I really like to take Thanksgiving in fully before I dive headfirst into Christmas decorating. I usually go buy a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, after I feel like I’ve had time to soak in all the simple pleasures of that holiday.

So why am I telling you this today when I’m taking part in an amazing blog hop offering 23 beautiful, free Christmas printables? I think partly because I don’t want you to think you should be decorating already if you’re not there yet and partly because I want to show you how Christmas decorating, no matter when you start, doesn’t have to be fussy or complicated.

Especially when I’m dipping my toes into what feels like early Christmas decorating, I like to keep it very simple.

Let’s break down how a few simple changes on the mantle can take the look from “fall” to “subtle holiday.”

Here’s what my family room mantle has looked like most of this fall. (you can find my full Fall Home Tour HERE)

How to easily go from a Fall to a Christmas + FREE PRINTABLE from The Chronicles of Home

Just a couple autumn touches – dried mini pumpkins under a glass cloche, some dried artichokes. By changing just a few of these elements I transformed the same basic look to “holiday” in less than ten minutes.

Side note – I just posted the tutorial for the lacquered grasscloth coffee table you see in these photos last week. Make sure you check it out if you missed it!

I swapped the pumpkins for mini gold ornaments under the cloche, placed a miniature boxwood wreath behind some gilded faux artichokes, tied a velvet ribbon around the mule figurine’s neck, and propped up a hand-drawn “joy” picture in a metallic frame.

I used watercolor pencils to color the design and drew the “o” to look like a wreath.

There is so much I love about the spirit of Christmas, but the sentiment of joy is especially strong for me at this point in my life. My two little girls bring so much happiness to my life and their excitement and joy as Christmas approaches is something I don’t ever want to forget. So as I sat and thought about what kind of printable I wanted to make, I kept coming back to “joy.”

If you want to print a copy for yourself, just click the link HERE, or on the image below, to be taken to a high resolution printable image file.

FREE "JOY" PRINTABLE from The Chronicles of Home

I think it can be a little overwhelming when you start to decorate for the holidays but remember that small touches can go a long way toward creating subtle holiday beauty. It doesn’t have to be complicated – start small, layer, and before you know it you’ll have a festive, cozy feel running through your house.

Don’t forget to visit the other ladies for SO MUCH beautiful inspiration. Even if you’re not ready to pull the trigger on decorating yet, this should get your juices flowing and give you some ideas for when the urge hits you!