Decorate for the Seasons

I love the way American people decorate for every season and event, I think it promotes family time and togetherness.

Here in Australia our togetherness means getting together with friends or family and drinking silly amounts of alcohol.

Yes it may be consumerism however it can be done on a budget or you can buy quality items that will last the years

There are also many things that you can do with your kids and family whilst decorating your home to feel festive and cheery, who doesn’t want a home that makes them and their guests feel happy the moment they step in.

I have a few ideas to get you started

Australia Day is a given just like 4th of July, decorate your home with Australiana type items but it doesn’t have to be tacky

Then comes Valentines Day, you don’t have to go crazy, some gorgeous fresh roses around the home, a cute jar of valentines candy and maybe do a vignette with all your wedding pics on the sideboard

Now of course Easter, I believe Easter has lost its roots in Australia as a lot of events and it’s now all about how much chocolate you can eat or give your kids and having hot x buns, I love the little ceramic or grass look bunnies that you can decorate with and the pastel colours that come out are so cute, but hold back on the chocolate, why not get some real eggs and paint them with the kids then you can eat them afterwards

So whilst there is a big break between Easter and the next holiday being Halloween we can talk about the seasons

Summer

Brighten up your home with tropical decor and colours, if you like the beach style then go to town with it, or if you are a bit scared to go away from the neutral too much then simply add pops of yellow that will make every one smile, keep a big bowl of fresh fruit on the counter this also makes great decor, make lemonade and put in a glass drink dispenser for everyone to enjoy and get the kids involved and make fruit popsicles for those really hot days

Autumn

Use a lot of earthy tones around the home for this great season, orange, brown, yellow you get the drift, you can also add items from the garden to give it a lift like twigs (you can paint these) and autumn leaves, spend time with the kids by making unique wrapping paper using leaves and wax paper, kids can pick out the leaves and lay the pattern whilst parents then iron it together.

Winter

Bring out the fake snow, unlike a lot of America we don’t get real snow so we have to improvise, there’s lots of winter decor around now a days, snowflake window decals for the kids bedrooms, in the main house go for darker colours and lots of white fluffy items like cushions and throws, add a hot cocoa station with marshmallows.

Spring

Flowers, flowers and more flowers, bring in lots of fresh flowers and floral decor, use pinks and greens in decor, take the kids to the local flower market and pick out your faves, and teach them along the way what each flower is called. Enjoy a backyard picnic with the family.

Now for Halloween, which is the most non celebrated event in Australia however it is getting more popular, at the moment it just seems to be a reason for stores to sell more candy and kids to eat it. I’d like to see it used more to bring people together and why not start with your home, you can decorate the front of your home to show that you are participating or just do the inside for your own Benefit, even though Americans use pumpkins etc in the Fall (autumn) I think Australians associate it more with Halloween so bring out the pumpkins and some not so scary decor. And why not make costumes with the kids instead of buying them, it’s a great family activity that they will love.

Bring on Christmas, by far my most favourite time of year

As far as I’m concerned you can never decorate too much for Christmas but make it stylish, you don’t want a tonne of plastic kitschy items strewn all over the house as it will just look messy, if you have a mantle decorate with candles, stockings, baubles and greenery. The tree is the main attraction so make it count, have a tree as large as your home will allow, there’s nothing worse than a tiny 5ft tree sitting lost in the corner of the room, and decorate with pride, google tree decorating ideas for inspiration and get together with the kids and family and make some decorations. Add some Christmas cushions to your lounge and have a festive table centre piece. I will be doing some posts regarding Christmas DIY’s and decorating in the near future so look out for them.

Enjoy the seasons and your home all year round

Seeya GAM

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