Just like many others, I switched to working entirely from home back in March and it has been a little bit of an adjustment learning how to enjoy spending the whole day in one space. I love my apartment and put a lot of work into making it all comfy-cozy when I first moved in! Nonetheless, as soon as we got our first snowfall (which was early September in Calgary...) I couldn't help but get excited for christmas decorating.

I started trying to convince my partner that it was time to put up the tree two months ago, but he wasn't having it at all. He thinks that decorations shouldn't go up until December. So it was a tricky task to make my case for decorating early. I explained that string lights and snowflake decorations would make me feel cozy and enjoy working from home more, which sort of helped. I told him that it is always good for me to decorate early because I can put new crafts up on the website, but he still felt that October was probably too early for that considering everyone was looking for Halloween crafts (fair point). But my final argument tipped the scales: what if we focused on a wintery theme (after all, we are deep into the winter season now)? He finally agreed to decorate in November!!!

Even though we focused on a wintery-theme we still put up the Christmas tree too. I was really excited to decorate a beautiful tree this year so I ended up watching tutorial videos on how to decorate the perfect tree, which gave me some great pointers! Turns out I haven't been putting enough lights on my tree at all, but this year I made sure to string about 100 lights for each 2 feet of my tree. Another great tip, was to have multiple sizes of ornaments (specifically the baubles) because it adds some extra dimensions and depth to the tree. Speaking of depth, put larger ornaments further back on the branches and fancy or special ornaments closer to the front. After applying all of my newfound knowledge, I feel like I have decorated my best tree ever!

Besides our tree, my partner and I don't have very many decorations. But we do have these adorable plush characers that my grandma has given us for my birthday each year. They are definitely my favourite decorations! I think one of the most special things about being an adult, is getting to look around my house and see all of the keepsakes that my family has given me over the years to help my build my home. Like the christmas decorations from my grandma, the tea towels from my other grandma, and the cheese grater (which was actually one of the first things that my Dad bought for his own kitchen when he moved to university).

Since I did promise my partner that I would create a winter theme (instead of just Christmas) this year, I decided to throw in some 3D Paper Snowflakes. I ended up buying special paper for this project. It is translucent and thicker, which makes my snowflakes feel much more sturdy. Hopefully they last a long time! I created a cute little snowflake corner above my plant shelf with a few types of 3D snowflakes all dangling! Callum and I also strung fairy lights up all over our living room, so now I am excited that the days are getting shorter because it means more time in our pretty winter wonderland!

Juicebox (our playful cat) was pretty obsessed with the snowflakes. While I was making the snowflakes, I gathered the finished ones together in a pile. At one point I went to the bathroom and came back to find Juicebox rolling around in them!! Luckily, the snowflakes were okay (I'm extra relieved that I bought the special, sturdy paper). Then, when I was hanging up the snowflakes, Juicebox stood below me meowing and making hunting sounds. It was pretty darn adorable.

Having a cat and a Christmas tree in one space is not always the easiest... Especially if that cat loves to climb. For Juicebox's first christmas, we ended up buying her a massive cat tower with hopes that it would distract her from the tree. It did not. After that we tried everything: tinfoil on the ground, orange peels hanging on the lower tree branches, carrying her to the tower everytime she went near the tree. It didn't work very well... We were worried this year, but for the first day Juicebox was super well behaved! Sucess!! Or so we thought. We came out into the living room this morning to spot this... See anything wrong with the tree?

Yeah... We thought Juicebox had grown up and decided to stop attacking out tree. Turns out she just grew up and learned that if she climbed the tree at night she wouldn't get caught.

I can't blame her though because the tree is fun. Plus it's exciting to be that high up when you're small. When my sister and I were little, we used to get to put the star up on the tree. I can't remember how we decided who got to actually put the star on top, but whoever it was, Dad would lift us up on his shoulders so that we could reach the top of the tree. Now I'm old enough (and tall enough) to reach the top of the tree myself! It helps that we bought a shorter tree too *giggles*

I hope everyone gets a chance to have a fun time decorating their homes for the holidays this year (for whichever holiday you celebrate)! And that you can find ways to feel nice and cozy during this chilly winter season!

You might also enjoy visiting these sections on DLTK's Sites:

• Snowflake Crafts
• Winter Activities
• Christmas Activities

All photos in this blog post are copyright Kaitlyn Guenther.