4 tips to make your home feel special for the holidays + the best ever Christmas sangria recipe with free printable art.
Our “prepping for guests” this year consists of setting a table and setting up a sangria bar in our dining room for a small family gathering.
No matter the size of the gathering, I’m so thankful for it. But if there’s anyone I’d want to share a Christmas meal with, it’s my parents.
A year after Robert and I got married 9 years ago and we were expecting Olivia, we moved into their upstairs spare bedroom when times were financially tough for us.
I was making a small beginner teacher’s salary while Robert was finishing his degree on the GI Bill. Then, surprise! Baby on the way!
Without any hesitation, they invited us to live with them, and for nearly two years, we stayed until we managed to save for our very first house.
During those two years, I felt a little bit like a failure. I was a new mom trying her best to figure things out and embarrassed that we couldn’t support our young family of three on our own. But looking back, I would never ever trade those two years for anything.
Gatherings with them always feel like more than just gathering with my parents. It feels like home.
We cook weekend dinners together and sprawl on the floor playing with the kids together. Robert and my dad are well-versed in dad jokes. And my mom and I have perfected the eye-roll in response to them. 😉
So if this year looks different for you too, here are a few ways to get “holiday ready” to still make it feel special.
4 Tips to Make Your Home Feel Special for the Holidays:
1. Forage your yard.
When I was younger and danced in The Nutcracker at our nearby university every December, my mom would walk the campus during my practices and snip magnolia leaves and holly berries to sprawl out on her own dining room table for Christmas dinners.
The whole “foraged centerpiece” idea is all thanks to her little lessons she taught me as a kid.
2. Bust out the fancy dishes, even if it’s just your own household at the table.
I love this black speckled dinnerware that adds a modern vibe to the table and gold flatware to make it feel festive.
These white rattan chargers add brightness and texture too. And I just topped it off with a sprig of rosemary and a dried orange slice, which I’ve been using all over our house this year.
3. Light a few candles to make your home feel cozy.
I nestled these little gold lanterns around my DIY dried fruit and preserved leaf garland to make conversation unobstructed across the table.
4. Set up a treat or drink station to make your night in feel festive.
On our buffet, that I painted just before the pandemic hit, I created a little Christmas sangria bar.
I love how the Christmas tree lights reflect on our mirror gallery wall every year. It’s one of my favorite spots in the house for that reason alone.
I got this set of vases and loved the size and shape of them. So I gave them a quick weathered stoneware paint job to work with the rest of the space.
To create a simple sangria bar, I used a cake stand under this drink dispenser and this wooden tray to hold orange slices, cranberries, and cinnamon sticks for garnishes.
If you want to create my Christmas sangria yourself (or just want the printable recipe), you can get it here and place it in a pretty frame. It’s soooo yummy! Especially with a splash of club soda or ginger ale for a bit of fizz.
I didn’t make a ton because ya know… small gatherings… plus, I’d be completely schnockered if this dispenser were filled all the way to the top. Haha!
It definitely feels a little strange not having a schedule jam packed with Christmas parades and concerts and road trips and big group parties but ya know… the homebody in me is kind of loving it too.
A quiet Christmas is something the tired mom in me has needed for a while. The current situation certainly isn’t fun. But I am thankful for these quiet, intimate evenings at home with no hustle or bustle in sight.
If you want to mimic the look in our dining room for an intimate little evening at home yourself, you can find all of the sources below.
Christmas Dining Room Sources
- Black Dinnerware
- Gold Flatware
- Gold Lanterns
- Drinkware
- Wine Glasses
- Rattan Chargers
- Drink Dispenser
- Wood Tray
- String Lights
- Vase Set
And if you make the sangria, tag me on Instagram @blesserhouse and we can clink our glasses for a socially distant gathering from afar.
