"Dec" the halls - Wilkinson's Super Scandi budget Christmas tree decorations

You'd be forgiven for not thinking of Wilkinson's as your first port of call for Christmas decorations. It wasn't the first place I had thought of and immediately headed to Next to gasp in horror at the prices of felt decs that I remember crafting at School. As our first Christmas in our first home approaches we're both bursting with excitement whilst our piggy bank is bursting with dust so this year will be Christmas on a budget.

We have been on the hunt for some (mainly) cool toned Christmas tree decorations for a little while now and were delighted to discover that not only did Wilkinson's have a nice little selection but they EVEN HAD GREY DECORATIONS which is exactly what we had been looking for.

Below are a few of the Scandi gems we bought today but I'm certain we'll be back as they have a fantastic "build your own wreath" display which is a lovely mix of berries, cinnamon sticks, foliage and mistletoe. All coming in under £4 means our frosted winter tree is starting to come together with some change to spare.

Clockwise: Grey wooden Robin, Red Tin Heart £2, Red Knitted Star £2, Foil Bauble £1.50

Clockwise: Snowflake Garland £4, Wooden Tree £1, Grey Wooden Tree £1, Knitted Candy Strip Bauble £1, Knitted Grey Heart £1.50

Clockwise: Knitted Heart £1, Grey Wooden Lovebirds £1.50, Teal Knitted Star £2, Bark Star £1

Grey Wooden Hearts Garland £4

The hunt continues for some more traditional Scandi decorations including the essentials such as a wreath for our red front door and the stockings for the fireplace. 

Where is your favourite place to shop for Christmas decorations and do you go all out to decorate your home during the festive season or keep things minimal?

Our next post will be all about trees and fingers crossed we find one before 1st December!

Rained off: a window shopping kind of day

We had big plans for today including fabric shopping, party shopping and another visit to the Scandinavian home ware city (much to the horror of Jim whose tolerance for the store has finally run out).

Alas, as with all British Bank holiday weekends our early morning trip to shop and do the garden has been rained off and we're cuddled up indoors studying*.
*One of us is studying; the other one is pretending to study whilst really writing this post and spending our money virtually instead.

I have a love/hate relationship with online shopping. As a 5ft 2, pear shaped fuss pot I often find online clothes shopping to be a bit hit and miss usually down to size and cut. For home things I love to browse online partly due to how easy it is to check a number of stores in a short space of time but mainly because we're still in the "all decisions are made together" phase and what I consider to be a fairly reasonable length of time browsing in one shop (an hour), Jim feels is slightly excessive*.
*Read: begs for nourishment and plans his hasty escape

As today has proved to be a wash out I though I would write a little post about my go to home ware sites when looking for home buys and what has caught my eye today. They are certainly not the only site I love to visit but they are a mix of my "go to" brands for ideas.

Who do you consider to be the best online sites for home ware? Do you find it easy to buy things for your home without touching and feeling it first?


Butlers (Uk and Europe)

We first discovered Butlers in Dortmund in Germany last Christmas. We were staying with friends during the Christmas Market and were lured in by the bright colours and the Christmas Jazz album (which you should purchase from their website!).

It's very similar to the Scandi city in terms of prices and ranges but it's their quirky extras that I find the most appealing. They have recently opened their online Uk store so the prices are slightly higher now they are in GBP but still very reasonable. Annoyingly their photos can't be saved so you will have to browse the website but there are always great seasonal items and a rather lovely "Fifties Forever" kitchen clock which I have my eye on in Light Blue.

Photo: Butlers

Rockett St.George

Photo: Rockett St George - £59 (plug included)
Jim has a master plan for this light in our dining room although I feel the kitten may see this as a very tempting game above our dining room table!

Photo: Rockett St George - £29.95 A floating book shelf - get in my basket!!

Photo: Rockett St George - £12.50 - love this!

Scandivis

Photo: Scandivis - £39.99 -
 I don't know why but I love these glasses so much, I think I'd start drinking Bourbon so I could use them for their true purpose!

Photo: Scandivis - £170 - Pricey but I haven't seen anything similar to this, have you? I'd love to know!

Photo: Scandivis - £31.25 - standard wine rack but wooden which I love much more than chrome or stainless steel

I'm still online now having a browse so there may be an update soon once the deliveries arrive! Where is your "go to" online shop? Do you order internationally or try to stick to within the Uk (or wherever you are?)

Have a lovely weekend and to those in the Uk let's pray for a little Bank Holiday sunshine!