I debated for a while about whether I wanted to decorate for Christmas or not. The newfound minimalist in me said that decoration is just fluff, unnecessary frills. But the romantic in me loves Christmas and all its trappings. 

So I compromised.  

I kept the decorations to a minimum and decided to choose things we already had on hand or could recycle or reuse afterward. I ended up choosing to have a small tree and set the bistro lights outside to green. Yes, they are RGB bistro lights (Tim's idea, of course. Thanks babe!). This way, we had something for us to enjoy inside, and something festive outside.  

I let Tim know I made this decision, and he agreed. I wasn't sure we would find a tree. I had in mind a small synthetic tree but was hoping to find one that didn't use PVC as it's full of toxins. In our small space, it's a hard pass on that one. But I wasn't having much luck finding anything that I loved or that would store easily for next year. Tim asked if we could have a real tree. I wasn't sure where to find one but agreed that if we could, it was a great idea. He found one the next day. Goes to show what I know!

We went and picked out our perfect tree. They were advertised as "tabletop trees". Lol. Ours was just fluffy and tall enough. We brought it home. I used some extra fairy lights we had on hand, and they will be put up outside afterward. The stand is a water tray, which is nice. The skirt is made of extra burlap we had on hand from a past project and tied up with embroidery floss to keep a certain nosy buddy out of the water. 

I'm happy with this decision. It's important to remember the things that matter when you downsize. True, textbook minimalism would have been no decorations at all. But I don't feel like there are any rules here. Your expression of minimalism can be different than mine and we can both be right. As long as the items in our home bring us joy, it's worthwhile to keep them. We are sharing our love of all things minimal and eco-friendly with our families, and have even asked that in place of gifts they spend time with us. Not like we have anywhere to put things anyways!

I'm happy with our Holiday decor. It really puts me in the spirit. Happy holidays to everyone, may you be happy and safe!

-Sam

Meow!

-Oliver

What changed for your decor since going tiny? What suggestions do you have for us? Comment below!