I would describe myself a lover of the holiday season, not necessarily Christmas in the traditional sense. I believe the holiday season is a time to relax and get together with friends and family and to celebrate the past year. It is usually the only time of year that most of my family is able to get together, so it makes the time even more special. In addition to the family time, my favorite parts of this time of year are indulging probably more than I should in food and drink, as well as decorating, listening to holiday music (preferably Charlie Brown) and relaxing with at least a couple of weeks off of work.

I always hold off until December 1st to do anything Christmas related (with the exception of a bit of early gift shopping), but once the clock strikes midnight, I am ready to bring out the boxes of decor and make a trip to the tree lot (this year I’ll be getting the tree a couple of days early because I like to get it the first day the lot opens, which for me will be November 29th, but I will hold off on decorating until the 1st). I’ve been putting together a bit of inspiration to help me along this year and thought I would share it here. First up are a few of the looks I am going for:

1. Bottle brush tree shadow boxes via Pop Sugar. I really want to duplicate this idea, it is so simple but fun. I have a weird tall and narrow window leading up my staircase and a version of this on the sill with string lights coming down the length of the window would be so unbelievably cute.

2. Naked tree in a galvanized steel bucket via Dreamy Whites. Very simple and very lovely.

3. Pinecone garland via Pinterest. I actually made this garland last year and kept it up until about April in my dining room. A very simple project!

4. Holiday tree via Yvestown. I’ve actually had this image on my Pinterest for a couple of years – I love the pops of color used on the tree, especially with everything else being very neutral. I’m planning to hit up a vintage Christmas market in about a week so I’m hoping they’ll have some bright colored glass ball ornaments!

And now I pulled together some of my favorite ornaments and decor items to put the final touches on:

1. Mercury glass ornaments $21.99, Christmas Traditions –  I hang a ton of ornaments from my tree, but I also put them in vases or hang them from the windows. And mercury glass is one of my favorite things.

2. Retro-inspired glass ornaments $14.95, Paper Source – I love a pop of color with an otherwise simple design and especially love these as they remind me of the vintage ornaments you see at the junk shops every now and then (maybe I’ll score some of these at the vintage sale next weekend!).

3. Crochet snowflake garland $18.00, Terrain – I have a similar garland and I hang it from my chalkboard wall – it looks so lovely against the black background. Also, I love anything crocheted.

4. Gold bottle brush tree $16.99, Target – Bottle brush trees seem to be very popular the last few years and I love them, especially a gold one!

5. Partridge pillow $34.00, West Elm – This pillow is adorable and I love the dramatic colors – it would match my living room drapes perfectly (I may have ordered it on sale – I hope it comes soon!)

6. Gnome rotary candle holder $14.00, Terrain – I may have audibly shrieked when I saw this – it is so amazing! Although Terrain does not offer international shipping, I was able to track this thing down on a Scandinavian supply website for a few more dollars and ordered it for myself. I couldn’t resist!

7. Woodland creatures ornaments $5.95, Crate & Barrel – I love animal themed anything and these ornaments are adorable, especially the bear.

8. String lights $24.00, West Elm – These string lights are probably the best thing to happen to holiday decor since the giant plastic light-up santas, they are so pretty and give off such a beautiful yellow glow. I splurged on a string last year from Restoration Hardware to keep in a vase on my front table, but it seems that lots of other stores are now carrying them for a bit cheaper, so I may need to pick up a few more strings. I also may have recently picked up another string to decorate the antlers on my giant taxidermy buck.

9. Gold mercury glass mini ornaments $15.00, Restoration Hardware – I bought a gang of these last year on clearance after Christmas and I love them. Since they are small, they don’t weigh down my tree branches. Plus they are gold and beautiful and I want all of them.

I’m going to hold off on showing you what I end up doing with my house until closer to Christmas – up next are the gift guides! But in the meantime, what are some of your favorite decor items? Do you go for a more traditional look, modern look, or do you glam it up completely? I’d love to know!