This post is sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Candles. All opinions are, as always, our own.
If you’ve been following along with our Instagram stories, you know that I’ve been in the midst of a home renovation that is taking a long, long time. When I pass neighbors in the street they’ll ask if we’re redoing the whole house because of the omnipresence of workers and construction vehicles in front of our house. Before we started I told my contractor that they needed to be completely done downstairs before Thanksgiving so that we could put up our decorations. He thought I was kidding until I told him that I was happy to wait to start the project in January, but that I would absolutely be decorating the week of Thanksgiving, and so they got right to work.
Holiday decorating is my favorite way to kick off the holiday season. Although it takes us an entire weekend to get the inside and the outside done the way that we like it, to me, it is completely worth it. I love that I can turn off all of the lights downstairs and the house still glows with lights from the tree, lights from candles and lights from our other decorations.
Over the years, we have built up quite the supply of holiday decor and some of the decor from our own childhoods has been passed down to us. Part of the joy in decorating is seeing things that have been packed away for a year and remembering their origin.
There’s the ornament my now-husband bought for us when we were just dating with the “Our First Christmas” inscription. There are, of course, the first-Christmas ornaments for each of my children. There is the clothespin reindeer that I made with my Brownie troop in second grade with my mom as the troop leader.
My kids scramble for their favorite holiday stuffed animals as they are unpacked, and we love stashing stacks of holiday books throughout the house.
Balsam Fir Coffee Table Jar Candle
I nestle candles among my decorations throughout the house, and the Heritage Collection from Chesapeake Bay Candle is the perfect touch. We have a fake tree in our house, so the Balsam Fir scent is just the thing that makes people look at the tree twice and wonder if maybe it’s real. It is described as having “hints of clove, amber, and spearmint,” but to me it just smells like a freshly cut Christmas tree.
I love taking a peek into the way others decorate for the holidays, and one fun contrast is the difference between my style and Wendy’s. It is no secret that Wendy and I can be the yin to each other’s yang, so it’s fitting that Wendy’s style is a bit more about hints of the holiday, where my style is more no surface left untouched by holiday cheer.
Cinnamon Spice Double Wick Tin Candle – The perfect smell of Christmas, all wrapped up in the cutest galvanized tin candle holder you’ve ever seen.
For me, I can turn anything into a holiday decor piece? Our fruit bowl gets swapped for a red bowl with reindeer, our candy gets a seasonal update, and our music selections become Christmas music around the clock. I even find the perfect spot for our Bluetooth speaker, nestled in among some sparkly trees.
Vanilla Biscotti Small Jar Candle
I love how Wendy makes the candles the decor piece themselves. She has a beautiful kitchen which is a showpiece in and of itself, so it doesn’t take much to dress it up. The minimal design of the candles fits right in on her kitchen counter.
Vanilla Biscotti Large Jar Candle
The Vanilla Biscotti is the perfect way to make your home smell like you’ve been baking all day. While I am known for not being a fan of baked good scents, this one hits it out of the park and is the perfect accompaniment to a night of holiday movies on the couch with cookies. No one needs to know that the cookies came from the store while the delicious smell comes from the candle.
If you’re looking for the perfect hostess gift or an easy way to take your holiday decor to the next level, pick up a Chesapeake Bay Candle! Let us know in the comments which scent you’re most interested in trying out!
Save this post for later and pin this to your favorite holiday board on Pinterest!
