Christmas in the Kitchen - 2012

This is how I have brought the festive spirit into my kitchen this year...

I found this great artificial garland at Ikea and as soon as I saw it in the shops, I knew exactly where I wanted to put it!  As we have a high-pitched ceiling in the kitchen/dining area, there is quite a lot of space above my kitchen cabinets.  I have always wanted to decorate up there, but since it is such a long and high space, I could never work out what would fit there without having to spend a fortune to get enough 'stuff' to fill the space.

I was so excited to find this garland - and even more thrilled when I put it up there and it was the perfect length!  (Yes, I was very safe, I used a ladder to get up there and went very slow and steady.  My husband was not impressed when he came home that at 19 weeks pregnant I was decorating the house on a ladder, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do ;)  You can also see that its as if this gorgeous Merry Christmas sign that was given me to me by a very special family member last year, was made to fit in that space!  I LOVE it when that happens!  I added a few candlesticks and a giant red plate on a stand, and I think I successfully 'filled' this usually empty space.

I also have my Martha Stewart Special Occasions book open at the Christmas section on top of the microwave, and beside it is my digital frame, which is now loaded with Christmas photos from previous years.

I have my Christmas dish brush on the sink...

And the cupboards are filled with my Christmas dinner set that we use for the month of December.  I bought this set last year in May - reduced from $99.95 to $39.95 a set!  I bought 4 sets, so I can comfortably entertain 16 adults for a Christmas meal.  Plus it means we have ample for just day-to-day living.  I often find great Christmas buys at odd times throughout the year - I am always prepared to outlay the money in the middle of the year, because when they are at such good savings, it is too good to resist!

And that's how we do Christmas in our kitchen!

xx