Cozy Kitchen Window ⋆ Growing Up Kemper

Happy December 1st! After we got our tree cut down on Friday and I nabbed the last of the new Christmas decorations that I’ve been cyber stalking, I feel like the house is finally coming together. I’m about 90% decorated around here!

One spot that I’ve always neglected but made especially cozy this season is my kitchen window. I have a pretty windowsill that I spend more time than I’d like to admit looking out, but I’ve always just left it with our day to day decorations during the holiday season.

Not this year! I had visions of a nostalgic Christmas village like my parents and grandparents had in their homes. Something that was simple and pretty that can shine a little magic into a popular spot in our home.

*All items sourced at the end of the post*

At night, the village lights up with a warm glow in their windows from a small strand of 50 mini lights I have strung under the snow and into the back windows of the houses. It’s the perfect subtle glow for a small area.

Instead of going with the traditional Christmas villages that are becoming increasingly more expensive as they’re regaining their popularity in homes today, I went with a more neutral, monochromatic look to the houses with these porcelain homes from the Wondershop section. Each cost $5, but you can also find them in 2-packs in stores in the Target Bullseye Section. The roof is frosted in glitter (doesn’t shed…thank goodness!) to give them a little extra shine. And with the windows and doors in the front and the back of the house, it’s the perfect way to add fairy lights inside or to push through a bulb on your strand of lights like I did here.

Bottle brush trees are all the rage right now, but that also means that their cost is going up with the popularity. I found a great deal on beautiful trees at Michael’s this season. They come in 1-3 pack of trees, depending on their size, and are marked down 50% going into December right now. My store was fully stocked with these trees in-store, but they are also fully stocked online, as well. I’ll link all three sizes at the bottom of the post if you’re interested in recreating this scene in your homes.

To add a little more winter beauty to the windowsill, I added pieces of cotton around the trees and in between the houses to hide the wires of the lights and make a snowy landscape for the village. So Hallmark-y, right?!

As for the garland, I took an old garland that I had lying around and simply added mini lights and stems from Michael’s. I added more flocked stems to the piece to add to the snowy landscape scene. If it’s snowing in the village, it has to have snow in the trees, too, right? 🙂

The easy part of hanging garland in such a low-traffic, no-touch area is that when you put the stems into the garland, you don’t have to attach them with floral wire or zip ties. I just stuck them in haphazardly around the garland as I saw need and I moved on. Nothing has been attached too securely and it’s held up well. When you’re dealing with garland on a fireplace or a stairway garland, you have to attach them well or pieces will begin to shift and fall down as wind, hands, and other decor pieces touch them.

A cozy spot to bring a little holiday magic. That’s what I always want my house to feel like this time of year. Don’t have a window like this one? Think about bookshelves, china cabinets, kitchen islands, dining room table centerpieces, or even your fireplace mantle. This adorable little village and bottle brush trees can be assembled just about anywhere to spread a little more softness and cheer.