Happy first Monday of November!!

Y’all know what that means…

It’s time to get in the Christmas spirit! Haha, at least at the Cochran house!

Every year on November 1st, I take the day off work so I can deck the halls! I knew this year it would take more than one day because I’m a little slow moving these days…. 33 weeks pregnant!

I gave myself through the end of the weekend to finish the decorating and with the help of my two personal elves (love those boys of mine!) we are officially ready for Christmas at the Cochran house!

This little elf is so excited!!

Turning our house into a cozy Christmas cottage brings me so much joy!

There’s a few reasons I decorate early:

-It’s a beautiful time & wonderful time of the year because it’s all about Jesus!

-It’s my most favorite time of year! We love the Christmas season so much that we got married the week of Christmas!

-It’s a lot of work to decorate because basically the entire house changes decor for the Christmas season, so we like to decorate early & enjoy it all season long!

-We enjoy pumpkins/ fall for several months which I love, so I like to enjoy Christmas for as long as possible too! In my opinion, Christmas is the 5th season of the year! Lol

And no, we’re not skipping out on Thanksgiving! When decorating for fall, our harvest decor + Turkey decor is out. We pause from Christmas for a few days during Thanksgiving week and I’ll bring the Turkey back out for Brewer & his Thanksgiving books! We can be thankful and still have the house holly jolly, lol! I want to enjoy the decor longer than the 4 weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas! I take all of the Christmas decor down before the New Year so we can start the new year fresh, clean house, etc!

So those are my reasonings for decorating early but I 10000% respect anyone who likes to wait longer than the first week of November to deck the halls for Christmas! I get it!

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Today’s blog post is motivation for those who are ready to be in the Christmas spirit and if you’re not there yet, just take note for the next few weeks!

These are my top 10 tips for getting into the Christmas spirit!

1. Extra time with Jesus– remember the reason for the season! Pick out an advent devotion, something special just for the Christmas season to get in the holiday spirit while remembering what it’s all about!

I came across this one and liked it because it’s for the whole family!

Find it Here

2. Christmas books– I love a good Christmas book! Give me a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, & a cozy book, and I am all about it!!

I’ve linked some good books, below:

Click Here!

3. Christmas music– I really do thrive on Christmas music!! I love it so, so much!! This Christmas essential playlist on Apple Music is everything!

4. Christmas Movies- This is Brewer early this morning! Haha, he woke up wanting to watch a Christmas movie, so Home Alone it is! A classic family favorite! We can’t get enough of the classic Christmas movies! They bring so much joy!

5. Christmas Candles- just the smell of the season can put me in the Christmas spirit! My all time favorites are like an apple/ cinnamon Christmas scent or frasier fir like a Christmas tree!

I’ve linked my favorites:

here!

6. Cozy Blanket- I find myself putting extra blankets around the house to make things cozy! I think this time of year should feel cozy!

7. A festive mug– something about having a festive mug in my hand to go with the holiday season just puts some pep in my step!

Shop my favorites:

here!

8. A festive piece in your wardrobe- just like a coffee mug can put me in the holiday spirit, so can festive clothing! Like this Mama Claus sweater or anything that brings reminders of the Christmas season- colors, patterns, etc!

Shop this one, here:

Mama Claus Sweater

And now that we have littles, I love making their wardrobe fun & festive! Some of these things were actually bought last year for Brewer and I sized up so we could get two years of wear out of them! Some were fun finds this year!

Shop Brewer’s holiday wardrobe:

Tap here!

Baby boy has some Christmas attire pieces to match! I’m due December 22nd and Brewer came exactly one week early. So, we hope baby is here to enjoy Christmas with us this year but we know God has that special day already planned. It will be perfect no matter when it is! He will arrive on his birthday! But we are ready if he arrives before Christmas! ❤️

9. Traditions- Make a list of your family favorite holiday traditions! If you don’t have any, create some! Having traditions to look forward to, especially this time of year, is so so special!! Here we are at Dickens of a Christmas in downtown Spartanburg last year. This is something that we look forward to all year long and talk about all year! Find those special things that warm your heart. Doing a few festive things like this each year can really put you in the holiday spirit!

10. Deck the halls- and of course, decorate! Nothing puts me in the spirit more than having my house all cozy for the holiday season! I’ve collected my home decor little by little over the years. These are some pieces that are available this year that I am loving!!

Shop them, here:

Christmas Home Decor

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And those are my top 10 tips for getting into the holly jolly Christmas spirit!

I can’t get enough of the twinkle lights and beauty this time of year!

I hope this blog post will help you find some Christmas joy too! ❤️

*I will be back on the blog tomorrow for this month’s, “Tell All Tuesday” topic!*

See you then!