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Welcome to my Christmas front porch, just in time to kick off the 2019 holiday festivities! This simple to recreate tour features lots of classic items like poinsettias, a large evergreen wreath, red mercury glass candlesticks, and a boxwood door wreath. It also features a tiny little dog, cinnamon rolls and some boozy hot white chocolate. This year I challenged myself to only spend $20 on my porch. Want to see how I did it? Grab a drink and get ready for Christmas decor picture overload!
When I shared last year's Holiday porch tour, I greeted my guests with my Quick 5 Minute Cranberry Ginger Ale Punch and it turned out to be a huge hit! Since I know you guys really love a good beverage, I greeted guests with a homemade hot chocolate drink. I made it with lots of white chocolate, milk, cream and a few other special touches. I'm sharing the full recipe later in the week, so please do drop by again! I'll be sure to share the adult version (for my friends who kept telling me about marshmallow vodka) and of course a family friendly version as well!
While we are talking about friends, I should first point out that this Christmas Front Porch Tour Blog Hop is all because of my sweet friend Amy, over at Atta Girl Says. Amy and I have been friends for several years, and she's a gem. Not only has she kept my blogging spirits up through the years, she also always has a listening ear for anything under the sun I might want to moan about. Plus, because she does things like the holiday hop, I am constantly stretching myself to decorate and pretend like I know what I'm doing. If mine's not your style, scroll all the way to the bottom and maybe one of the others shared in the picture above will be more your style! There is something for everyone!
Plus, because she does things like the holiday hop, I am constantly stretching myself to decorate and look like I know what I'm doing. Because, trust me, I don't. If I didn't have Amy in my life, our pink peony wreath from Easter would still be on my door. It's good to have friends like that in our lives!
We've lived here for 12 years and I still haven't gotten used to having a narrow skinny covered entryway. I miss having a true southern front porch! It's a challenge to decorate around for sure. Remember I also mentioned that I only spent $20?
I challenged myself to spend very little, and to use what I already had. The funny thing-- I have yet to get down any Christmas boxes from the attic. Yes, you read that right! So how did I do it? Let's start with some details:
Mercury glass is one of my favorites. I usually have it in my living room all year long, so the glass candlestick gets moved around all year long. The vase that is holding the poinsettias is a basic glass vase (from Ikea), that has been sprayed with Krylon Looking Glass Silver Spraypaint.
The red mercury glass candlesticks I got a few years back at TJ Maxx -- you can spy them in my 2014 Holiday Procrastinator's Home Tour. They don't get packed away with the other Christmas stuff because I usually pull them out for Valentine's Day. So they spend most of the year in the hall closet, where I can pull them out at times like this.
The white gate leg table is a project that I'm so glad I did. It is such a handy table to have. For the front porch it makes a perfect serving spot. Most of the year it lives in my dining room and houses my cappuccino machine and extra cutting boards and trays. I'm glad I went with the white chalk paint, it's such a classic finish. Hard to believe I painted this in 2014!
The silver tray I picked up this year at an estate sale, the cake stand was a Target dollars spot find and the cinnamon rolls are from the store bakery. I simply shook on some Christmas sprinkles. The Poinsettias were part of my bargain finds. They were on clearance at Lowe's for $3 each! I kept thinking the first one I saw was mis-marked, but they had an entire section of them! The worker told me new batches had come in, so I loaded up my cart!
The plant holder I have the poinsettia in was a find while shopping in Waco. I used it in my Fixer Upper Inspired Christmas House Tour in 2016! It's wrapped with fairy lights here, for that extra pop. The red linen napkin is from World Market, and the tiny vintage jello mold is a find from Round Top. And to be able to show off the pretty white of the white chocolate, I served it in whiskey glasses. Because, why not?!!! You can find similar glasses here.
Some of the poinsettias were double ruffled blooms that are just amazing! I kept classic shaped ones though too. Red was the only color available at the clearance price, but I would have loved to have snagged some cream colored ones as well. It's been hot in Texas, so they will do okay for now, but if the temperature drops below 45 degrees, I'll have to bring them in. They aren't heavy, the only problem will be if I remember or not!
The wreath was my mother in laws. After my husband's father passed, we moved her to be closer to us. We had to downsize a lot of her stuff, and it a lot was donated. We ended up with a bigger moving van than expected, and at the last minute I put this in. After I got it home I remembered how big it was. There is no way it would fit on her door. But I realized today it could fill up the empty wall of brick in the entry way.
Last year I used the DIY Wooden Sign, but I love how much area this wreath covers. I'm pretty sure she got it at Costco. There are several similar to it (although not that big!) that I've included on my wreaths worth buying on Amazon post from earlier this week.
I love that it has 3 poinsettia flowers on it, so it naturally coordinates with the other items I've used! The snowflakes were a last minute addition. I bought them at Hobby Lobby in the craft section and painted them this year. They are hung by double sided tape directly on the brick- they are that lightweight!
The bench has a fun vintage Santa pillow and a plaid blanket. There are ornament lights strung on the back. And there is Kozy the dog on the bench, wondering why in the world she isn't inside napping.
You can also spy a few greenery sprigs against the poinsettias. While shopping at Lowes, I picked scraps of leaves off the ground in the garden section. When I went to check out, I was going to ask if I could buy them but the girl told me tree droppings are free! Score!
The only thing I purchased besides the flowers was a new door mat. Somehow I didn't get a good close up picture of it, of course!
Here's another shot of the goodies as you get closer to the door. My boys were so excited to come home and see cinnamon rolls on the porch!
I went with a more classic wreath for the door- the simple boxwood wreath that hangs year round around the house. It's from Pottery Barn, and has the fairy lights built into it. I scored it at the factory outlet a few years ago after Christmas, and it's been such a work horse. This year I hung a simple wooden "Let is snow" sign from the Dollar Tree on it (after I painted it white). I love the tiny red ribbon that it hangs from.
Also, it's really hard to take a picture of beveled glass, so sorry about the blurriness! Let's take a look at another glass.......
I think that's it! Now to get to the inside of the house! I think in order to complete that, I will have to get the boxes down from the attic. But I think I did pretty good with what I had on the ground floor! Have you checked out the other front porches on the tour? They put mine to shame! Please check a few out and let me know which is your favorite! Be sure to hop back in later this week for the recipe for that yummy hot white chocolate!
Please share the inspiration from this post with others! Pin to your favorite Christmas Decor Board!
Find my 2020 Christmas Porch Tour here!
More Christmas Porch Inspiration
Be sure to visit all the participating bloggers for festive decorating inspiration for your front porch, patio, sunroom and screened-in porch.
Atta Girl Says // The Frugal Homemaker // House of Hawthornes // Southern State of Mind
2 Bees In a Pod // The Chelsea Project // Virginia Sweet Pea // T. Moore Home
Top Row: Our Crafty Mom // Postcards from the Ridge
Bottom Row: Cottage at the Crossroads // Worthing Court // Major Hoff Takes a Wife
Merry Christmas my friends!
Susie | Chelsea Project says
Lovely collection of cozy elements. Wonderful idea to add a bench and side table. And I'm always happy to see poinsettias. Guess that's the old-fashioned girl in me. They add so much color and texture. Love them.
Atta Girl Amy says
Before we get to my comments about your porch and how sweet you are, I need to know more about marshmallow vodka! Come to mama! Cannot wait for your drink recipe.
Your porch is beautiful; love all the red and Kozy the dog, too. And we are simpatico when it comes to mercury glass. It's my favorite, all day, every day, every season.
I'm so glad that blogging introduced us to one another. I am so glad we became friends. You're such a great supporter and sounding board, and we have had some great laughs, too. Love you, friend!
MrsMajHoff says
I know, right? I had another friend tell me about the marshmallow vodka. And yes, lots of laughs.
MrsMajHoff says
Thanks Susie! I think I underestimated poinsettias for too long!
Paula@SweetPea says
You made your narrow entryway look fabulous! What a great deal you got on those poinsettias. Your mother-in-law has to be happy that you are using her wreath. I'm with Amy, I want to hear more about marshmallow vodka. That sounds pretty tasty, especially this time of year.
MrsMajHoff says
Thanks Paula!
Suzy Handgraaf says
Such a pretty, festive and cozy porch! Great idea to add the candlesticks!
Marian says
Hi,
You did a great job on your porch. I also have a challenging space. You have made it seem sweet and easy. I like the snow flakes surrounding the big wreath. They add interest to the brick wall. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.
Angie @ Postcards from the Ridge says
Your porch is so cozy and welcoming! I love the bench and the table with the treats. And your pooch is the perfect little greeter!