Cozy and Nostalgic Christmas Decor Ideas: Holiday Home Tour

One of my favorite ways to savor the holiday season at home is with a sappy Christmas movie. a mug of rich hot chocolate, and a throw blanket so warm and plushy that it takes everything I have to force myself out from under it.

This guilty holiday pleasure usually takes place in the family room, so when it comes to decorating for the festive season here and in the kitchen, it’s all about cozy comfort.

And what better way to make these rooms feel that way than with my traditional decor, sentimental items from years past, and classic Christmas red?

In case you missed the first part of this year’s Christmas home tour, it was quite a departure for me. In the formal area where you enter the house, I used an elegant white and gold color scheme. And it doesn’t have a smidge of red. It’s so fitting for that area of the house and the neutral colors feel so peaceful.

You can see the first part of the tour of the living room, dining room, and foyer in the post, “Elegant White and Gold Christmas Tree and Decor Ideas“,

But I couldn’t go without red at Christmas in the heart of our home, where I want a cozy vibe that puts us in the Christmas spirit!

Let’s tour the Christmas kitchen and family room together and I’ll show you a few of my favorite things—those cherished items that bring me joy when I pull them out of the bins every single year.💖

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I’m thrilled to be part of 2023 Christmas Home Tours, a long-standing blog hop tradition hosted by Marty at A Stroll Thru Life. Thank you to Simply 2 Moms for subbing for Marty while she focuses on her health, and we are sending many get well prayers Marty’s way. This group of talented bloggers is opening their homes to show you how they’ve decorated for the Christmas season with inspiration you can use in your own home. If you’ve landed here from Heidi’s beautiful tour in soft neutrals at Eleanor Rose Home, welcome! Make sure to visit the rest for lots more holiday inspiration at the bottom of this post.

Cozy Christmas decorating ideas for the kitchen.

While snowflakes were the holiday theme element in the white and gold living room and dining room, red berries are a theme in these casual rooms.

The kitchen island is always the focal point when you walk into this room. This year it displays a simple vignette with two red berry cone trees on a white platter.

This seasonal sign completes the vignette. It’s always the perfect message in the kitchen reminding us to “eat, drink, and be merry“.

I stenciled this permanent message on the chalkboard sign years ago with a paint pen, so I’m glad I don’t want to change it!

Over on the range wall, I brought out a vintage Fitz and Floyd cookie jar, where Santa’s enjoying a Christmas cookie.

And instead of the faux greenery swag I usually hang on the vent hood, I switched things up with a mini wreath tied with red velvet ribbon.

I hung these on the windows last year, but I knew they could go so many different places. And they’re no hassle to hang because they’re so lightweight. I was able to easily tape the ribbon into the cabinet above.

This vintage Santa mug collection is one of my very favorite things out of all of my Christmas decorations. They aren’t actually vintage but I did buy them from a local store probably twenty years ago.

Over in the breakfast nook, my two copper-colored reindeer stand at attention.

They were the centerpiece on the island last year, but this year they’re filling the same job on the kitchen table.

I wanted to use more of those mini wreaths from the windows in a different place this year. So I hung them on the back of the dining chairs.

I was able to tie them with the same red velvet ribbon I used to hang them last time. A few straight pins through the ribbon helps keep them from sliding down.

Cozy and sentimental Christmas touches in the family room.

Come on over into the family room where we’ll see more berries, more Christmas red, and more holiday treasures.

The focal point of the family room is the fireplace mantel right in the center.

I brought back this lush garland of pine, magnolia, and pine cones. (See it on the luxe red and green dining table last year.)

It didn’t come this way—it’s actually two fairly thin garlands. A pine garland, a magnolia garland, and some magnolia picks from an estate sale find floral arrangement.

Mixing and adding picks are a great way to beef up inexpensive garlands! See more details in “How to Make Cheap Garlands Look Lush and Expensive“.

This year I added some red berry sprigs throughout it to go with the theme.

Our Pottery Barn classic red and ivory stockings hang below from command hooks hidden underneath the garland.

See more hanging hacks in “How to Hang All Your Christmas Decorations without Damage“.

With all the berries and red making this room feel cheery, the berry wreath that usually hangs in the dining room was the perfect partner.

The built-in bookcase always holds my favorite photos of my kids with Santa this time of year.

I corraled these vintage look rustic gold bells in a dough bowl with a few pine picks on the coffee table.

Such a simple centerpiece, plus it’s easy to watch those Christmas movies over it!

I changed out the throw pillows to these ivory cable knit ones. these classic red velvet pillow covers, and a couple more pillows in traditional Christmas colors.

And added some cozy feel throw blankets to snuggle under to enjoy a good book or magazine.

The main big tree is in our living room, but this King of Christmas slim tree is perfect for the limited space we have in here. I love how easy to put together this small tree is compared to the other one. And how the Christmas lights in each section don’t have to be plugged together. You just assemble the tree and magically it all works!

The family room tree this year holds all of the special sentimental Christmas ornaments and all of the ones my kids made that I cherish and get choked up a little about when I’m decorating the tree.

Adding ribbon to the sentimental ornament tree is just one way to make it seem more put together. Check out my ribbon simple tips in the post “How to Put Ribbon on a Christmas Tree the Easy Way!”

And in the last corner of the family room in the hutch, I’ve added a little Christmas to the usual white dishes with a few pops of red, vintage Santas, and some natural elements with pine and more red berries.

Thank you for taking the tour with me and allowing me to show you some of the holiday treasures that are near and dear to my heart. (I usually get the eye roll from my daughter when I tell the same story about each ornament every single year.)

But this little furry treasure thinks everything I say is amazing. And she loves to cuddle and watch Christmas movies.

Happy Holidays!

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Continue on the 2023 Holiday Home Tour.

And now let’s move to the next stop on the tour with Jo-Anna’s home and her cozy Christmas decor ideas at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs!