The Holiday Transformation: Make It Meaningful

Happy Thanksgiving, Fancy Friends!  In the spirit of giving thanks, I’m sharing something near and dear to my heart today.

I’ve posted here on FLT several times about making your home decor more than just beautiful to the eye.   Making your surroundings beautiful to your heart and mind, too, promotes the best sense of well-being in your home.  You know… how when you use  that family heirloom, you heart swells with love and memories of the ones that came before you.  And when you elevate the handiwork of your children, they feel loved and treasured.

The holidays offer a wonderful opportunity to introduce more meaning into our decor than ever… after all, we’re transforming our homes for the occasion any way, right?  Here are a few simple tips for making that transformation pleasing to the heart and the eye.

1.  This year as you pull out your holiday decorations, look at them with a discerning eye.  We’re all accustomed to taking stock of them in terms of usability, condition, change in taste, etc.  But maybe we need to think about them in terms of emotional value.  Is it something you picked up because it was “on trend” last year?  (I’m nodding my own head right now).    Try to think about what makes each decoration special to you.  Does it remind you of a favorite hobby, season in your life, gift-giver, etc?  If you find yourself going “meh” when you do — or making your best McKayla Maroney “I’m not impressed” face — put it in a pile to donate.

2.  Think outside the box to incorporate truly meaningful holiday decorations.  Maybe Grandma’s formal ceramic nativity doesn’t quite “fit” in with your home’s style.  Try giving it a special place of honor, separate from most of your other decorations.  Think about a vignette on the hall table or top of the piano.  What about putting away your cookbooks and using that shelf in the kitchen, the heart of your home?   That special ornament your aunt gave you as a child?  Display it on a small pedestal or under a glass cloche .

3.  Make meaningful activities part of your decor.  My class creates a Gratitude Tree each November.  This becomes part of our classroom decorations.

It’s a beautiful insight into little hearts and they love to marvel at their collective attitude of gratitude!

While this is an activity and tradition I’ve done for years, I’ve seen several in the blogosphere done at home as family activities… like Kim’s.

The whole family can participate in creating this! The very act of creating this simple decoration injects meaning into it.

My friend Megan at Balancing Home spends November adding blessings to her Gratitude Jar… then enjoys reading them with her family on Thanksgiving.

Even the little ones can get in on this and I love how she set aside a corner of her kitchen counter to honor her blessings — her “Gratitude Station”.

And with Christmas right around the corner, why not spend the Thanksgiving holiday creating one of these?

Create a tree of random acts of kindness and treat it as an advent calendar, counting down to the joyous birth of our Savior. My friend Karah of The Space Between blog is the mastermind behind this decorative project that celebrates giving and kindness daily.

I encourage you to deck your halls with visual memories, mementos, and pieces that make your heart sing.  I would love to hear what your meaningful holiday decorations and traditions are!  Please share!

May God bless and keep all of you during this holiday season and in the weeks, months, and years ahead.  I’m so thankful for each and every one of you!

Make it meaningful,

© 2012, Heidi Milton. All rights reserved. Love it? Print, email, pin, tweet or share but please don’t use my work without permission. {Copyright Fancy Little Things. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this article or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.}