A Whimsical Red and White Christmas
With childhood exuberance our red and white Christmas decorations in the family room feature candy cane stripes, snowflake motifs, vintage Annalees, and a flocked King of Christmas tree for a whimsical look that screams merry and bright!
I was about 7 or 8 years old when my mother first let me help decorate for Christmas. I remember she handed me this big plastic tub filled to the brim with bundles of white tissue paper. Inside: Annalee dolls carefully wrapped! Each tissue bundle was a little surprise like a precursor to the gifts Christmas morning. You couldn't tell which doll it was until the last few fluttery sheets pulled away.
Then I fluffed and straightened their clothing, twirling around the den to find the perfect spot. I felt so important getting to put out those Santas and elves for Christmas. Each placement took careful consideration and multiple re-arrangements. Is it any wonder I now do this for a living? Hahaha...
This year when my mother asked if I wanted any of her Christmas decor because she was ready to downsize, I jumped at the chance to receive her Annalees! I couldn't wait to pull them all out and use them to decorate our den for baby James. They encapsulate so much of my nostalgic memories of Christmas and all the childhood wonder and exuberance of the season.
And if I had to pick one word to describe this whimsical red and white Christmas look, it would be EXUBERANT!
*Christmas tree gifted from King of Christmas. All opinions my own. Post includes affiliate links.
Quickly, I settled on the idea of using the Annalee collection to decorate the Christmas tree, and I loved the idea of pairing the dolls with a classic red and white color scheme. Candy cane striped ribbon seemed like the perfect match for their whimsy and charm.
It took longer to pick out the perfect faux Christmas tree because I wanted something delicately flocked with a traditional Fraser Fir look that was slim enough to fit in this corner of my den. When King of Christmas reached out to tell me about their quality trees, I knew I had found the perfect one with their Queen Flocked Slim tree!
A Red and White Christmas Tree
If a candy cane and a snowflake had a baby, it would be this Christmas tree! Don't you think? LOL
I really channeled my inner child and just went for it! Decorating this red and white Christmas tree for James was so much fun. The ornaments and dolls are all things he can touch and feel, and the bright red color is his favorite right now. I wanted his first Christmas tree to be whimsical and over the top.
This King of Christmas tree really impressed me. There are a million branches, so it creates a really full look even though it is a slimmed down silhouette. The branches are pliable but sturdy so you can use them to secure large decorations and hardly any of the flocking came off during fluffing! A-MAZING!
As you can tell, I love a full layered Christmas tree with lots of lights. This one was pre-lit and came with the power pole, so once you fit the tree sections together it automatically lit up. So easy!
This tree started with the fun candy cane striped ribbon and the Scandi snowflake ribbon. I made full multi-loop bows with curling streamers and placed those around the tree then interwove a 4" red velvet ribbon amongst the branches. Next came big paper snowflakes that I made out of paper lanterns. I just cut them into a few pieces. Head over to my Instagram highlights for the tutorial.
I affixed the Annalee dolls to the tree with a bit of floral wire around their neck or body. You can't see the wire once in place. Aren't they all just adorable? My mom mainly collected Santas and Mrs. Claus. I added the pair of singing elves this year from a local antique shop, and the goose and elephant were finds from previous years.
For ornaments, I added in a mix of shatter proof big balls and these hand-made red and white cloth ornaments that my mom created when we were growing up. For the finish, I used swooping branches of variegated holly around the tree.
Letting James explore the tree and touch some of the Annalees and ornaments was magical! Of course everything quickly went to his mouth for testing and hopefully he didn't ingest too much glitter. LOL
A Mantel Garland in Red and White
Now on to the exuberant mantel display! Does that garland look familiar? If you've been following along on Instagram, you know I left up last year's sculptural greenery (tutorial here) and just changed the accents for the season. It made life a little simpler!
For this Christmas, I've added these holly berry branches and more of that candy cane striped ribbon just in the 1.5" width. Whimsical candy swirls hang down like icicles from the mantel shelf.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus preside over the whole riot and playful elves swing from the fixtures. See my little Buddy elf? He is just so mischievous!
My Outfit Details: Blue Cotton Sweater // Patti Jeans // Red Ballet Flats
Now while James naps, I'm going to kick up my feet and relax! I hope you have enjoyed my exuberant red and white Christmas idea. It truly was such a pleasure to create and so special for James' first Christmas!
I leave you with this thought for the upcoming holidays:
You definitely have a gift for decorating. I love my Christmas garland I ordered from you last year. It’s the beautiful one with the pink and green ribbon. Can’t wait to put it up again. So beautiful and the highest quality. I really love it and appreciate you for offering it for sale. My Christmas decorations because of the garland and extra ribbon I ordered are over the top elegant, everyone loves the garland.
Hi Karen! Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you love your garland and ribbon from P&P. I so enjoy creating them every year. Happy Holidays!
Red and white make such a festive combo! Love how whimsical touches can bring holiday cheer into any space.
Thank you! It is very cheerful!