I have absolutely no shame in putting up my Christmas decorations the week before Thanksgiving. There are no rules when it comes to your first holiday season in your condo. I had put my fall decorations up the first week of September, and I was patiently waiting until I could decorate for Christmas.

This year’s Christmas decorations are brought to you by Target, Walmart, and my mom’s seasonal closet. I knew I didn’t want to spend too much on ornaments, and I’m glad Target and Walmart both had affordable and cute decorations.

I recruited Josh to help me decorate, but mostly because I needed him to carry the tree up from my basement storage area. We made a whole festive night out of setting everything up because I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For dinner, we made our own pizza, and it was really good. I bought a pre-made crust and we put sauce, mozzarella cheese, peppers, onions, and sausage on it. You cook it for about 10 minutes and then it’s ready to eat. I served it with Caesar salads on the side. When it came to decorating, I made us festive drinks to have: eggnog and rum with some nutmeg on top. Since I’m not a professional drink-maker, I just eyeball the rum using a shot glass, but it was good enough that both of us went back for a second glass.

The garland on the dining room light is from my mom, and the wheelbarrow on the table is from QVC. I originally was going to put the wheelbarrow on the sofa table behind my loveseat, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to see all of it. My mom suggested using it as a center piece on my dining room table, and it looks great.

The pillows and the blanket are from Home Sense, which I got at the end of October. In the picture on the left, the Jim Shore Santa figure and candle on the end table are from my mom, and in the picture on the right, the black wire tree on the end table is from Walmart, and the “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” sign on the wall is from Target.

And I’ve saved the best for last: the Christmas tree! I was given the pre-lit fake tree from my parent’s next door neighbor; she had never used it and offered it to me for the condo. It’s 7.5 feet tall and I was nervous it would be too big or wouldn’t fit with the ceiling but it looks so good in the living room.

The ball ornaments and tree topper are from Target, the wooden garland and snowflake ornaments (mine are more of a rose gold color) are from Walmart, and the tree skirt is from Amazon. I am so happy with how the tree came out.

On the TV stand, the small trees and stockings are from Target, and I picked up the little stocking holders from Walmart. The white lights are old, and the little brown pot on the lefthand side is from my mom.

In my home office, I set up the little two-foot tree that I’ve had since college and added a string of white lights to my bookcase. I didn’t decorate anywhere else in the condo; I really wanted to focus on the dining room and living room area since that’s where I spend most of my time.

I’m sure as time goes on I’ll collect more Christmas decorations, but for what I have now, I’m really happy with all of it. And again, absolutely no shame for putting up my decorations so early.