Christmas In July – Christmas Past

Happy Christmas in July! Are you ready to start planning for your holiday decorating? We have been talking about the trend for sustainable holiday decorating, and that includes handcrafted decorations just like our ancestors made in days gone by. I love decorating with vintage charm and invoking a feeling from Christmas past. This is the time of year when we begin to long for cooler days, and the idea of Fall and Christmas begins to sound appealing. Summer seems to disappear in the stores about this time, and we can’t help but begin to plan our seasonal decor. This Christmas in July Christmas Past article will be a great guide to help you begin your holiday planning and create a charming vintage holiday feeling throughout your home. You will learn valuable money-saving tips and unique decor choices to make your home stand out from the crowd.

Welcome to Christmas in July – Christmas Past. Being able to plan for the coming holidays requires that we take a look at the past. Unless you toss all your Christmas decor after the season, it’s important to remember what you have stored in all those boxes. Otherwise, you might be tempted to purchase items you don’t need or already have! You know that is exactly what happened to me! Yikes! I love using vintage or vintage-inspired decorations, so you will see plenty of thrifted decorations.

In addition to looking back, I’m including a few of my favorite tips for reusing your Christmas past decor, saving money, and other helpful hints. Let’s begin the tour.

(Posts on The Ponds Farmhouse may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See the full disclosure details here.)

I have linked some more great Christmas in July Posts at the end of my post. Be sure to stay until the end and check them out.

Christmas In July – Christmas Past

So come along as we tour my home, decorated for Christmas with a Christmas Past theme! You can help by noting all the items that don’t need to be purchased this coming holiday season. LOL! You can also note some of my tips and tricks for holiday decorating.

First, I love using vintage or vintage-inspired holiday decor. Here, you can see the substantial collection of Shiny Brite vintage ornaments, and you’ll see those scattered all around the house as we go through. If you are a vintage collector and want to use your collections each year, my best tip is to look for new and interesting ways to display your collections.

Adding Handmade Christmas Decor

The main Christmas Tree is filled with nothing but shiny ornaments. The garland is a handmade DIY project using Christmas Music Sheets, faux acorns, and tinsel.

My favorite tip for holiday decorating is to use items in unexpected ways. Here is the hall table, which is located beside the Christmas tree! The table is filled with DIY wooden trees, a lantern, and a vintage-inspired garland. Instead of hanging the garland, use it to wrap around your vignette.

Stools, Risers and Boxes

Another great tip is to vary the heights of your trees and accessories. Using a variety of stools, crates, boxes, and packages helps create interesting vignettes around the tree base, which in turn travels the eye around the entire display.

Home Office Christmas Past

The vintage ladder holds a strand of garland and a magnolia wreath, which is another example of using items unexpectedly.

Add little touches of holiday cheer to all spaces throughout your home. Although the desk is mostly used for business, you can still add some holiday touches like the flocked trees and Christmas Card collection.

Christmas In The Kitchen

Here is a great space to add some handmade charm and warmth! The fruit garland is handmade and smells wonderful as it adorns the window above the sink. Even the pantry door chalkboard expresses the Christmas spirit with a handwritten Christmas message. In addition, Rudy waits for Santa to give him a treat.

Dining Room from Christmas Past

My favorite painting is Sophie, Silent Night Christmas Cow. She holds center stage over the dining table. I have Sophie’s prints and Christmas cards available in my store. The vintage-inspired bottle brush trees shine a little brighter under the glass cloche, and these have been used in various areas in Christmases past.

Another unexpected surprise is hanging a wreath inside a vintage picture frame and wrapping the handmade garland around the frame. However, this wreath from Floral Treasure is a work of art.

What’s your favorite part of the Christmas Past so far?

Living Room from Christmas Past

Another great way to display small collections is to display them together on a tray, basket, or shelf. The Vintage Wine Barrel Bowl perfectly combines small items and creates a big impact with these whimsical holiday decor pieces.

Above the living room is our loft space. It’s where we hang out in the evenings, watching TV and relaxing. Let’s take a look at the loft view for the holidays.

Loft View

Another tip is to look for holiday decor in Thrift Stores. The whimsical vintage theme continues in the loft area, where you will see a vintage potato chip container and vintage children’s Christmas Books, all purchased from thrift stores. You will begin to see these types of items soon, and you can pick up some great deals. You can read more about shopping in thrift stores here.

Next, let’s take a look at the screened porch decorated for Christmas

Screened Porch

Here is an evening view of the screened porch and an example of looking to nature for your holiday decor. The DIY Shiplap tree is styled with pinecones and grapevine. In addition, more grapevine gathered from the property forms a garland and holds twinkling lights to illuminate the area around the top of the screened porch. Don’t you just love FREE decor?

We are back on the porch, and it’s filled with items I’ve used in different areas over the years. I love having new items, but that’s even better when something old suddenly feels brand new. So, my final tip is to re-imagine your decor and find new and interesting places to display your items. In addition, shop your own decor just like you would at a thrift store. How can you change an item to make it work this year? Maybe a new coat of paint, reworking a wreath or floral arrangement, etc. See these tips for Repurposing Old Christmas Decor.

I hope you enjoyed Christmas in July—Christmas Past and that you picked up some tips to start planning your holiday decor. I’m looking forward to sharing what’s in store for Christmas Future!

More Christmas in July Inspiration

Don’t miss these other great Christmas In July Posts

Stacy Ling – BricksnBlooms / Kim – ShiplapandShells

Michele – VintageHomeDesigns / Rachel – The PondsFarmhouse