Boys Room Christmas Home Tour 2020

Heeeeyyy!! Come in, come in from the cold! Welcome to our home here in the Maryland countryside, about 40 minutes from downtown Washington D.C.

I’m so happy to be one little stop on this fabulous annual Christmas home tour hosted by Jenny Williamson of Evolution of Style, and Christy and Amy of 11 Magnolia Lane.

Well, we made it. And what a journey 2020 has been, huh?

Who would have thought when that ball dropped last December we were all marching straight into a minefield. There have been so many things to thumbs down about 2020, but the silver linings this year? For us, they’ve seemed to shine especially bright.

And maybe that’s just because this year has offered us a dose of perspective bigger than we’ve ever choked down in the past. When you realize how dark the dark can be, it makes the light feel that much warmer and inviting, doesn’t it?

Today the 2020 holiday home tour is all about bedrooms, and I’ll be showing you around our youngest son, Hudson’s room.

When we moved into this home back in 2013, he was just 2. And above is a shot of his space. It was pretty much a blank slate.

Hudson loves all things outdoors, so we tried to bring the outdoors in when designing his little space. It’s all about camping, fishing… hiking…

Everything minus the mud puddles, pretty much.

Hudson and his sister made paper snowflakes this year and hung them from his (faux) antler chandelier. And we took a little Christmas tree that was in our bedroom last year and put it in his room.

Last summer, our family traveled to Yellowstone National Park for the first time. While there, I picked up at least a dozen outdoorsy Christmas ornaments (that were all on serious sale…thanks Christmas in July!). So Hudson needed a bigger tree this year to display them all.

They are gorgeous, vintage-looking glass ornaments. And all of them are very outdoorsy. Perfect for his space. Things like this little canoe below…

We used bandanas for garland again this year. Bandanas are great for decorating! If you have never thought about using them anywhere, give this post a look. It has over 25 bandana decorating and craft ideas you can try.

There aren’t many things more economical than dollar store bandanas. And they add a punch of color, to boot.

I already got a little crafty this holiday season. Hadn’t planned to, but my friend Sarah from Sadie Seasongoods posted this DIY Hudson blanket ornaments, and I HAD to make one for Hudson’s tree.

It was a super fast ornament to make, too, given the right tools. Sarah made hers a little differently than I made mine, just because of what I had on hand.

I actually used a paper cutter for the felt. The felt I used was that stiffer type, which worked perfectly for this project. So a paper cutter coupled with a rotary cutter, which Sarah did recommend. It’s a GREAT little ornament craft, so check out her tutorial if you want to make some!

Besides his outdoor-themed tree, there are only a few small touches I added in this room for the holidays. A pair of vintage snowshoes in the corner.

Some vintage Christmas lightbulbs in a wood bowl, a couple of twig reindeer, and a great woodsy, holiday scent from my fave candle company, Good & Well Supply Co. I talk about their awesome national park and monument themed candles in this post for Small Business Saturday.

If you have any of those vintage light strands at home…you know the ones that will instantly give you a third degree burn the minute they are plugged in?

Instead of discarding them, I gathered about 20 awesome ways to repurpose those vintage Christmas bulbs!! And they are DARLING.

Usually we put our whole DIY Christmas village under a tree we put in the living room with our Lionel train set, etc (see below). It’s a big undertaking to put it all together. And this year, I just wasn’t feeling it.

We traveled a lot this fall (in a very COVID-safe fashion). I was bad about posting all of our adventures on social media. But if you’re interested, many of the tips we learned about traveling during a pandemic and details of where we went are over on Readymade Travel Plans.

Since the kids will still be in homeschool mode come January, we are considering hitting the road again for a while. So I didn’t want to get CRAZY with the Christmas decorating this month, only to have to put it all away again immediately after the holiday.

I broke up the village pieces and put a few buildings in each of the kids’ rooms, under their little trees.

These are NOT Dept. 56 pieces. They are hand-painted. Much more affordable, but MUCH more time-consuming! It’s a bit of a passion project that I’ve had over the years. A passion inherited from my mom…

And happily being passed on to my kids. My daughter seems especially excited about painting her own village.

You can read more about this project in either this Christmas village post, or this village update post.

The kids seem happy to have a little piece of the village in each of their rooms this year. And I was happy to not spend as many hours decorating.

As Garrison Keillor used to say, “That’s the news from Lake Wobegon”. Oh how I wish the 2020 woes really would be gone. But it seems they want to linger, at least for a few more months. I hope that you and your family are staying safe and healthy.

If nothing else, 2020 has taught us to steel ourselves against adversity, cultivate patience and live in a way that’s a little less planned and perfected. It’s been more real, more raw. Yes, there have been plenty of thumbs down moments. But hope springs from the darkest, deepest wells. And there are so many reasons for hope. And gratitude.

I dare say I am thankful to have traversed this minefield of a year. Yes, there were many times when it felt these challenges were pulling us all apart, but at the end of the day…or the end of the year, we got through it together.

I’ll leave you with our tribute to 2020. Our COVID Christmas tree…

Sitting atop our kitchen table (aka Jack’s homeschool desk) is our little tongue-in-cheek tribute to one helluva year.

Complete with tp garland (yes, we could actually spare a square come December!), masks, alcohol swab and

pocket hand sanitizer ornaments.

It’s a spectacularly tacky tree for a spectacularly insane year.

Now go off and enjoy the next home on the tour! It’s at Brianna’s place, Bloom in the Black.

Happy holidays and big, beautiful blessings to you for 2021!

Monday, November 30th (Front Porch/Outdoor Spaces)
Southern Hospitality | Setting for Four | Southern State of Mind | Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss | Most Lovely Things | Cindy Hattersley Design | The Creativity Exchange

Tuesday, December 1st (Entries/Dining Rooms)
11 Magnolia Lane | Home by Heidi | A Stroll Thru Life | This is Our Bliss | Summer Adams

Wednesday, December 2nd (Living Rooms/Dens)
11 Magnolia Lane | Evolution of Style | Dixie Delights | Jessica Welling Interiors | Sincerely, Marie Designs | Classic Casual Home

Thursday, December 3rd (Kitchens/Laundry Rooms/Misc.)
Citrine Living | Quarters One | Style House Interiors | A Blissful Nest | Painted by Kayla Payne | A Stroll Thru Life

Friday, December 4th (Master Bedroom/Kid’s Rooms)
Sincerely, Marie Designs | Pink Peppermint Designs | The Heathered Nest | Bloom in the Black | Evolution of Style | Dixie Delights