Where are you shopping for your holiday decorations and how far do you take it?

sarahtrg

I'm currently decorating the house for Fall but I'm already seeing Christmas decor online! Where are you ladies shopping for your Fall/Holiday decor? I've been doing a lot of it online since I live in a rural community but I've made a couple trips in to "town". I'm particular to Pier 1 but I used to work for them. I've been perusing Pottery Barn online as well... And how far do you take your decorating? One room? The whole house? A few accents or floor to ceiling decor? 

doeydo

This will be my FI's and I's first Halloween, Christmas, etc. since choosing to live together and I am excited to buy and put up decorations.  I will probably go to Michael's, Walmart, and a local store or two.  I like the idea of doing a little bit in every room for Christmas.  I can;t wait to put up the tree in the living room and put all the red and gold ornaments (that I still need to buy) on it. For Halloween, though, I might just go with something on the door outside and a little bit inside.  I don't think I will do anything for Thanksgiving decor wise.  

NestCayla

I love The Christmas Tree Shops -- I actually took a friend there this past summer because we needed to get some fun inexpensive BBQ decor items and she was shocked by the store. She had always thought that it was year-round Christmas stuff but it's really not. They do a great job by stocking up on different seasons and even year-round items (like plates and glassware)... 

I love fall decor -- I don't have a big space to decorate a whole lot, which is why I LOVE going home to visit my parents because my mom has the entire house decked out in beautiful decorations. She doesn't buy new things every year, these are items that she has either bought or made her self over the past 30 years! She does a great job! 

mdupon70997

Stein Mart has SO SO SO MUCH holiday decor right now...particularly Christmas.

sarahtrg

When do you ladies switch over from Fall/Harvest to Christmas decor?  

chibiyui

I do a few accents for Fall/Halloween. Right now I have a few votives in the living room for fall and my dining table is Halloween. I'll leave the Halloween up till Nov. and I'll switch to Christmas when ever I get the motivation after Black Friday. Last year I did it ON Black Friday. 

I go bigger for Christmas. I switch out pillows and blankets in the living room as opposed to just votives or a table runner. 

Christmas Tree Shops is pretty good for cheap decorations. Everything I have comes from either discount retailers like Ross or end of season clearance at department stores. Pier 1 is also nice.

RachelG4625

HI :-)

I do not decorate for Halloween since it is a big holiday for me. I love Halloween for the kids, candy and fun but it is not cost friendly to decorate for Halloween then turn around and decorate for Fall(Thanksgiving) then for Christmas. If you have money to do that then I say for go for it. We tried doing Halloween decor outside only 2 years ago but we didn't get a lot of kids T OR Ting because of where our house was located and we figured it would be that way going forward (which has proven to be true) so we gave up on it. If we had kids it might be different but I doubt it. 

I decorate for Fall starting in September. This year I did all my decor in two nights. Sometimes, if I am lazy, it takes me a week. I leave it up through Thanksgiving. I put my tree up right before Thanksgiving or right after depending on if we have people coming to the house for Thanksgiving. I have collected things over the years to add up to what I have but I have found much success at the following: Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx/Home Goods, Garden Ridge (sometimes), Stein Mart (sometimes), Lowes (for outside decor), Hallmark Stores. Pier 1 is way expensive.

We have people that hang up our lights outside our house. We have a one story and use icicle lights which wrap around our house. Those are up 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. Christmas decorating begins right after Thanksgiving and goes up quickly and stays up through mid January. I am lazy to take it down because it only gets one month. For Christmas I shop at the same places and have had a lot of luck. Stein Mart is big for Christmas. Not so much into Garden Ridge for either holiday but it is a great place to check. Hobby Lobby and Home Goods are my top two and unfortunately they bring their Fall stuff out in Aug. and start discounting it in Sept. and then the Christmas stuff goes up and stays up. I use Pier 1 purely for the table decor. They have fabulous stuff for dining room tables. 

Finally, I decorate the following rooms only: Living room, Kitchen, informal dining, formal dining, foray, guest bathroom(accents only), guest bedroom(accents only), and the front porch. The formal dining table gets the royal treatment and the kitchen does as well because in the South that is the gathering place of the home. The living room gets quite a bit at Fall but not like the kitchen and for Christmas it is decked out! The foray and front porch get decked out too for both holidays. Its all about the impression that you make on your guests.

I would say this last thing, I tend to go by the rule I made up for decorating for the seasons. Let FALL fall around your home. Let CHRISTMAS christen your home. Do not fall prey to diving into the shallow end of the Fall and Christmas pool. It will look overdone and tacky.