christmas is almost here guys my white socks on today what's up decorating for Christmas is a whole lot more than just throwing up a Christmas tree here's five things you can do to make your home Christmas cosy so if you're decorating a tree you want that to be the center of attention coming into the holiday season I remove all color and I move to a really monochromatic color palette I include lots of textures like fur and burlap e.type linens and things that really feel cozy and warm to me don't I look so cozy right now Oh cozy the second thing I love to do is to remove some pieces of furniture or items that are hanging on the walls that might distract from the Christmas tree this year I had a white console table in my living room and I had a yellow mirror hanging on the wall I took all of that away to make room for the Christmas tree and in place of a mirror on the wall I just threw up a couple of small little wreaths I actually got them from the dollar store but by doing that you create the space for your tree and for the Christmas decor to become friends and center the third thing is every single space does not have to have a Christmas item on it have you ever been to those homes and it's just everywhere you look there's Christmas every open surface every countertop every nook and cranny there's Christmas everywhere that kind of overkill can actually take away from the cozy feeling and it can make people feel a little bit claustrophobic they don't know where to sit they don't know where to put their drinks down you want to create the total opposite feeling for people so don't have Christmas everywhere I have a handful of little tables in my living room and there's no Christmas decorations on them at all the focus is on the mantel the whole thing I like to do is to switch out my coffee table books one of the things I love to do at Christmastime is to remove the other coffee table books and keep the ones that are about Christmas or that fit the color palette for the Christmas tree that year this means you're still bringing Christmas to your coffee table but without having to have knickknacks and ornaments all over the place of course I strategically place on my coffee table a couple of Christmas decorations because you want it to still feel like Christmas but you don't have to go over the top that doesn't need to be overkill you want to create the environment if Christmas is here without making people feel like Christmas threw up all over the place finally I'm a huge fan of making sure you do something Christmassy by your front door if you just have a small little front porch area it could be as simple as hanging a wreath or having some planters but I know that sometimes that kind of stuff can get expensive so one thing that I love to do is just to go around and find things that could work for Christmas I found on the side of the road some pallets so I grabbed one of the pallets I got some strands of berry garland from the dollar store and wrapped it around the palate I had an old crate in the basement that I brought upstairs and put it on its side and threw some greenery inside I have an old pair of my daughter's figure skates when guests arrive at your home it's just one way of preparing them for the cozy environment that you've created indoors by welcoming them outdoors well I hope you have a very cozy Merry Christmas have a wonderful time preparing and remember you are loved