Front porch of white house with black front door. There is a green wreath with a plaid bow hanging on the front door. There are four trees of varying sized made out of plywood and painted green on either side of the door. The steps leading up to the porch are covered in snow.
holidays

Christmas Around Our Home 2025

December 17, 2025 /

It’s almost Christmas! Today, I thought we’d relax a bit, and I’d show you what Christmas around our home looks like right now. I walked around the house and snapped photos over the course of ten minutes, so most of what you’ll see today are those candid photos.

We’ll start in the music room.

Perhaps my most creative craft ever, in terms of upcycling, is the piano hammer Christmas tree sitting on our antique radio. It’s subtly festive, and most people probably wouldn’t realize what it is made from.

If you’re my piano tuner, though, this is the sort of decor that tickles your ivories.

vignette from a music room showing an antique console radio in a dark stain with a small christmas tree made out of repurposed piano hammers sitting on top of the radio. there's a guitar hanging on the wall above the radio. a view of christmas around our home 2025.

He probably does think we’re a little eccentric since our house is the only one he’s ever visited that has a piano harp on the wall.

But look how that metal glows in the late afternoon! That’s one of my views when I sit down to play the piano, and I have zero complaints.

When I snapped this photo, the hymnal was turned to Away in a Manger. Did you know there are two variations (at least) to that song? I find it hard to sing along to many hymns as they are written because I’m not a soprano, but I still enjoy playing out of the hymnal at Christmas time.

a view of christmas around our home 2025 with a hymnal open on a piano to pages displaying the music to Away in a Manger. IN the background is a brass piano harp hanging on the wall with a faux bird perched on the harp.

Here’s how the side table in our living room looks on any given day in December. My Christmas cactus has tiny blooms, which feels timely.

My son does his homework on the living room couch, so I often find pencils in this area. I’ll probably miss this someday.

Every year, I pull out our stack of Santa’s Sleigh books. I have one for each of the states or countries my kids have lived in. They loved these books when they were little. The books helped them feel connected to the people and places we had said goodbye to each time we moved. I’m saving these books in case I ever have grandkids to read them to.

christmas around our home 2025 showing a candid snapshot of a side table next to a butter-colored leather couch with a blue throw blanket draped over the arm of the couch. On the table are two stacks of books. The first stack has a christmas cactus in a wood pot. The cactus is starting to bloom. The second stack of books is a collection of Santa's Sleigh books. The title of the book sitting on top of the pile is Santa's sleigh is coming to ireland. There's a blue mechanical pencil sitting on top of the stack of books, likely left there after a kid did homework.

You’ve seen most of our living room on the blog already, but not every corner looks like Christmas threw up on it.

A single wooden tree adorns this table in one corner of our living room. I recently redecorated this spot and felt zero desire to drastically alter it. A reader sent me some dried lavender, and that’s happily displayed in the wall pocket.

a view of christmas in our home 2025 that shows a living room vignette. There's a drop leaf wood table with a large nature painting of a lake behind the table. Next to the painting is a small wood shelf with a wall pocket. In the wall pocket are dried pussy willows and lavender. On the table is a plant sitting in a dark grey planter. There's a candle warmer lamp with a clear shade. No word on the scent of the candle sitting on the lamp. There's a stack of books on the table with a wood tree sitting on top.

I wasn’t going to display anything Christmas-y in the kitchen because the rest of the house felt pretty busy, but I’m glad I hung this wreath on the wall. It feels like it could work for winter, not just the holidays.

And winter was in full effect on the day I snapped this photo. Our deck resembled an ice skating rink! I decided I didn’t need to use this door on this particular day. I like my bones not broken, thank you very much.

a view of christmas around our home 2025 showing a winter wreath made of fir greenery and pinecones. There are bells hanging in the center of the wreath. The room has a sliding glass door going out to a deck. The wall in the room has a tan color wainscoting, tan buffalo check curtains, a wood drink table, a lush green plant, and a wood bench.

Cold weather and the numbers on the calendar aside, it wasn’t quite feeling like Christmas time until this past weekend when Frosty the Snowman himself visited New Jersey.

We woke up to this magical scene. It was like living inside our very own snowglobe. Even the trees looked lovely.

Aerial photo of a snow covered front yard. There is a curved fieldstone wall, a glowing lamp post, and a large elm tree all covered and heavy with snow. The road in front of the front yard looks like it was plowed once, but is still quite packed with snow.

Speaking of trees, have you heard of stick season?

I hadn’t until we moved to New Jersey.

It refers to the time of year in New England and places like New Jersey when the trees have lost all their leaves. Instead of a lush green backdrop, your view becomes dreary with brown and grey sticks as far as the eye can see.

Stick season looks a whole lot better with a dusting of snow. One of my neighbors said to me, “I’ve been waiting for this.” Same, dude. Same.

White farmhouse covered in snow. A snow covered low rock wall is in front of the house. There's a small red bard in the distance.

Now that it feels like Christmas time, the question is, am I ready for Christmas?

I think so! As the Chief Orchestrator of Christmas Magic in this house, I’ve discovered I enjoy the holidays much more if I’m not rushing at the last minute to “get things done.” I’m also much better at saying ‘no’ to things that drain my proverbial well dry than I used to be.

We have some fun things to look forward to yet this Christmas season, and I’m eager to soak it all in.

Are you ready for Christmas? Let me know! You can comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy Christmas!

Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you’d like another blog post to read, I’ve got you covered. These are all great fun:

Deacon’s Bench Makeover

Our New Living Room Gallery Wall

How the Royals Made the Christmas Tree Popular

Share this:

You May Also Like

st valentine shrine at whitefriar street church in dublin st valentines remains are in dublin

From the Archive: St. Valentine’s Remains Are In Dublin

February 14, 2024

Paper Pumpkins

September 30, 2015
may day basket idea with potted plant may day basket tradition

May Day Basket Tradition – Did You Do This As A Kid?

April 29, 2024

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *