ornaments... not just for trees

so usually, the BIG DEAL in a post on holiday decor is the Christmas tree.
sorry to disappoint, friends, but THIS is the tree that we ended up with.
my severe back pain limited my mobility and strength to the point where i knew
that i couldn't wrestle our normal 9' tree into the house and set it up. no way.

instead, i grabbed my little 4' white pre-lit tree that usually goes in my office/studio,
and a bar-height round table served to elevate it up to a decent height in the living room.
a vintage chenille bedspread served as a combination tablecloth/tree skirt,
and a slight few ornaments filled in the branches. and that was fine.
(it can't always be a big reveal, especially when one's health is at stake!)

but what was i supposed to do with ALL of the other ornaments
that normally fill our regular 9' tree?!

'continue reading' to see how i used some of them...

most of our large ornaments wouldn't fit on that small tree,
so i gathered them into white ceramic + ironstone bowls + platters.

the copper, bronze, brown, and clear ornaments (some plastic, some glass)
help to coordinate with the wood-grain trees that formed our theme,
and also managed to spread a holiday mood into the bookshelves in our living room.

it's such an easy solution... glass vases + bowls work beautifully for this, as well.

in years past, i have suspended ornaments from the rusty metal chandelier over the table.
i didn't do that this year, but i wish i had!

if i HAD a mantel, i'd use ornaments there, as well... i've done that in the past:

see more details here and here

i also used ornaments in my table centerpiece... 

see more details in my next post!