My Home Office Christmas Decorations

When we bought our house, we quickly decided that the extra two bedrooms would be an office for each of us. Both Jim and I have work-from-home components to our jobs – his when the weather is bad, and mine during breaks from teaching as I plan and lecture write – and it’s immensely helpful to have our own spaces in which to do all that. Particularly since the kind of bad weather that forces him to work from home usually happens when I’m on winter break, and so we’re often working from home at the same time.

Looking down the road, if we decide to have kids before we can upgrade to a larger house, we will have to surrender our individual workspaces and combine the two. But for now this arrangement is working out very well. Overall, it’s been really quite delightful to have a workspace that is truly my own for the first time. It’s done some really great things for my productivity overall. But as the holidays began to approach I ran into a little bit of a problem – the Christmas decorations that used to grace my workspace had already been utilized in the regular living areas of the house. So, beyond my christmas mugs, when I was working in my office, I wasn’t getting the Christmastime coziness that really feeds me this time of year.

Which of course meant… I had an excuse to buy more Christmas stuff.

Cue an excited squeal from me, and an exasperated eye roll from Jim.

Choosing a Color Scheme and Style

It started off when I saw these gorgeous felt deer in Michaels a few weeks ago. They match my overall office color-pop aesthetic so perfectly that I was instantly married to the idea of a candy-colored christmas theme for my office.

Now, to be honest, the idea of sticking to a specific aesthetic with my Christmas decorations is honestly kind of a new one for me. I’ve always just kind of bought what I like without thinking about any “big picture.” Have some patterns emerged? Sure. Tweed reindeer and glitter everything being two of the biggest. But as for color schemes, there’s not really one. My decorations also vary in style widely. I’ve got modern bright colors, vintage decorations that have been passed down from my great aunts and grandmothers, traditional reds and greens, bright golds and sleek silvers… Honestly, my house kind of seems like a Christmas store threw up all over it.

And I love it.

But I also kind of love the idea of having a themed room. While the deer themselves, along with some ornaments for my mini-tree that had been carefully gleaned from my bigger collection, gave me enough of a Christmas fix for this year, I’m hoping that by next year I can have a bunch of additions to really pull the room together. Considering that my office is also my craft room – I also very much want the decorations to have that homemade kind of flare. Embroidery, knit, crochet, you name it. So, using the reindeer as as the basis for my palette, I’ve begun planning for next year.

Planned Projects

First on the docket is going to be a stocking to match the deer, and I’ve actually already started it. I’m using an old tried-and-true pattern: The Polka-Dot Christmas Stocking by Priscilla Hewitt (ravelry link). I’ve made several of these before, and they’re generally a quick project for me. Since they’re basically just making 17 hexagons and sewing them together, it’s also relatively mindless crocheting until you get to the construction stage – something that has been made easier since the last time I made one, as a construction diagram has been added to the pattern.

I also want to make some garland for my mini-tree using the yarn I bought – the beads and wrapping ribbon I’m using this year just isn’t doing it fully for me. I’m used to a really loaded Christmas tree, and my little one currently feels a little sparse between the branches. I’m also thinking of making some christmas themed bunting for the book cases, and maybe some amigarumi trees to match.

So overall I’m excited to get started, so that next year my office can be decorated just as heavily as the rest of the house. And having this commitment to making most of the new additions handmade is really leaving me motivated to get started on some of my goals for the New Year – something I’ll be posting about in a few days.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year, and here’s to a wonderful 2018!

Do you decorate with a theme? Or any favorite Christmas DIY projects?