$200 Home Depot Giveaway + $5k Sweepstakes!!

By Mandi 12/18/2013

Merry Christmas to you!

Today I am teaming up with my pals at P&G and The Home Depot for a fantastic giveaway AND a chance to win (say the next few sentences with your best Rod Roddy voice) a Home Depot gift card worth… Five Thousand Dollars! You will also win $500 toward a Merry Maid cleaning service AND a whole slew of Proctor and Gamble products! 

Money and a clean house (that you didnt have to clean?  Is this heaven?) it is literally like winning a whole Showcase Showdown.  (Speaking of cleaning, remember last Christmas when I gave Court the worst Christmas present ever?)

All you have to do is vote for your favorite Christmas Decor (I mean it, thats it!)  There are 10 amazing bloggers to choose from (yours truly included) and all you have to do is pick your fave!  (psst I would love it if you voted for Vintage Revivals, but only if you love it the most!)

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P&G THD Seasons Cleanings How to Vote

 

But before you head off to enter to win the dream of all dreams, I have a giveaway right here for you on Vintage Revivals.  Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a $200 Home Depot Gift Card and some of my favorite P&G cleaning supplies to add to your arsenal! (if you are reading via reader click here to be redirected to vintagerevivals.com)

Giveaway to The Home Depot

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Now go enter the Seasons Cleaning Sweepstakes! 

I am rooting for you!  xo

Love Your Guts

465 thoughts on “$200 Home Depot Giveaway + $5k Sweepstakes!!”

  1. My tip would be to use up what you have around your house! Get your kids involved and have fun! Keep is simple and they way you want it!!!

  2. Mandie – of course I will vote yours! Loved your white christmas decorations this year!

  3. Absolutely love the two types of christmas lights advice Mandy! Completely changed the look of my tree! Even the hubby commented on it. 🙂

  4. My tip would be always wrap your lights around a wrapping paper cardboard tube when you are taking them off so there not knotted for next year!

  5. Just discovered your blog & I am already hooked! This is would be an awesome giveaway to win.

  6. My favorite decorating tip at Christmas time is hanging mirror bits on the Christmas tree to magnify the sparkle of the lights!

  7. Totally voted for VR!!! It’s my favorite blog for sure!! I’d love to win!! Merry Christmas Friend!!

  8. Aah I would love to win! I am just about to start decorating a nursery for my first little one! (Shh, we haven’t announced it yet!)

    1. Well let me be the first to congratulate the crap out of you!!!! That is SO exciting!!!

      xo
      m

  9. We have a 2 year old and a baby due in February-could definitely use some help in the house cleaning department!!

    1. Oops didn’t leave favorite decorating tip……right now I have lemon, rosemary, and vanilla extract simmering on the stove. Makes the house smell amazing even if it is a mess!!

      1. You must be reading my mind Allison! I was just thinking I needed something amazing simmering on my stove! I am TOTALLY going to try that combo!

        xo
        m

  10. My favourite holiday decorating tip? Let someone else string the lights for you on the Christmas tree so you don’t end up swearing at them and shoving them in the tree just to be done with it. LOL

  11. Favorite holiday decorating tip: don’t stress about it! (and get the kids involved- if you can)

  12. Sweet. My husband and I are going to do some house work and $200 would come in real handy.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  13. my favorite tip… being very selective with decor. It doesn’t have to look like Christmas threw up everywhere… use what you have as part of your normal decor. And it makes clean up so much easier.

  14. Oh, I’d love to win this! And I do heart your Christmas decor. I’m itching to try some of the Himmeli turoials as soon as the holiday madness is over. 🙂

  15. I love to add lights and some sparkle to every room. whether its a string of christmas lights or a festive candle or some glittery mason jars, just a little light and shimmer to brighten up the holiday mood!

  16. I love to keep things simple and use as much natural items as possible! Also when I pack it away i flick in a few dryer sheets to keep everything smelling nice

  17. I was just reading a DIY on making your own ornament garland and wreaths. Great cost saver, so that’s my favorite tip this year!

  18. Thank you for the giveaway! My favorite tip – buy your tree big, then trim it and use the greenery to decorate 🙂

  19. I’m not sure this counts as a decorating tip but I love to put a stick of cinnamon, orange slices and some whole cloves in a small pan on the stove on low. It makes my house smell like Christmas!

  20. Favorite holiday decorating tip? Get someone else to do the work! 😉 Actually, I love to let the kids put the ornaments on the tree – it doesn’t make fore the most magazine worthy look, but I love the excitement they feel and the happiness it brings.

  21. I love love love the “old fashion” multicolor outdoor christmas lights. A great way to mix vintage and modern.

  22. Every time I try to enter the sweepstakes or vote for you, I get an error. Invalid Entry. I know how to fill out a form – I swear!

  23. For us what works is getting the house ready the weekend before Thanksgiving. It is just too busy after that!

  24. My holiday tip is to keep a Christmas book or running list on your phone for gifts. I used the notes feature on my phone this year. I put in everyone’s name that I need to shop for along with ideas for them. Then as I buy for them I note it along with what I spent and what I actually purchased. It helps keep me on track and from over spending.

  25. My favorite tip is letting my husband fluff the 9′ tree! Also you need a pair of earplugs to keep you from listening to all the swearing in the fluffing stage!

  26. I use those command hooks and strips… it doesn’t leave marks on my wall but I can add a lot of extra decor that I normally don’t. 🙂

  27. It sounds silly, but learning to string the lights back and forth instead of wrapping them around the tree pretty much was life changing for me!

  28. I set the tree up and haul out all the decorations. Then I let the kids have at it. Funny, but they always do a great job.

  29. My tip would be make it personal! It doesn’t have to look like a magazine shoot!

  30. I LOVED your tip about two different sized Christmas lights for the tree! Ours looks so much better!

  31. For holiday decorating – I love tons and tons of poinsettias! I buy them on Black Friday every year at Home Depot for 99 cents – 12 of them!

  32. Sticking with a theme but including items that bring back memories (like homemade ornaments).

  33. Make homemade ornaments! I love taking ornaments out each year and reminiscing about how they were made and with whom.

  34. tip: remember that all of the holiday decorations you put up, you’ll have to take down. so, better to keep it simple!

  35. My tip is to find things you love – maybe that remind you of your childhood – and use them in unexpected places. You don’t have to cover the house – let your personality peek out here and there.

  36. Less is more! Don’t overload your house with knick knacks 🙂

    I am so voting for you! Your Christmas decor is my favorite!

  37. My favorite holiday decorating tip is just to have fun with it! There is no right or wrong as long as it makes you happy and spreads a little holiday cheer!

  38. 3M strips are my best fiend during the holidays. The more lights the better for me…..inside and out!!!

  39. hmmm…I think using ornaments as other things. last year on after Christmas mega clearance I got a set of 3 landmark ornaments that are all sparkly and gold and fancy ish. I prop them up as travel décor items-you’d never know they were to be hung on a tree!

  40. My favorite Christmas decorating tip is to remember that Christmas only comes once a year, so go all out crazy 🙂 I’ll never forget how magical Christmas was as a child, and I want to share some of that magic with the little ones around me.

  41. My decorating tip would be to lay out everything you plan to use before you start. Getting a visual of everything helps so much!

  42. Less is more. I have found that editing my decorations to the most meaningful ones (ornaments made by my kids, family heirlooms etc) made me appreciate them more then when they got lost in the shuffle of the Xmas bonanza.

  43. My favorite holiday tip is to keep it YOU! Even though its seasonal decor, it needs to reflect your life and style.

  44. Decorate as a family. I love to include my kids and talk about old decorations and where they came from.

  45. Tip – Christmas comes once a year, leave the ‘paranoia of what the neighbors will think’ behind. If it makes your husband happy as a kid to put up an 8′ snowman in the yard, let him do it. Just claim the inside of the house as ‘YOUR’ decorating territory!!

  46. Gosh, do I have some projects to do. Pick me!! Christmas is about God becoming man for the salvation of the world. Everything else is just icing on the everlasting gloriousness of the cake! 🙂

  47. What a great givaway! My husband and I just bought our first house and all I want is for it to be clean! That would be a Christmas Miracle. 🙂

  48. i am terrible at holiday decorating. but i like having a few key pieces that make me feel festive. i like to keep it simple. :]

  49. My boy friend LOVES your wreath and tree DIYs! I think it’s the first “homey” thing I’ve ever showed him where his enthusiasm matched mine! KEEP IT UP! You’re making my house a happy one! Happy Holidays! My tip: LISTEN TO MANDI!

  50. I honestly really do like Vintage Revivals Christmas decor- it just looks so clean and bright!
    My holiday decorating tip is to stop worrying about what day to put up the decor- who cares if it’s up on Thanksgiving! It’s a lot of work so enjoy it longer

  51. My tip would be to only decorate with what you LOOOOOOVE and only do the parts that make you happy, otherwise the holidays turn into a nightmare of obligations and crap you secretly hate. Like my Christmas village–total PITA, but I really do <3 it, so it doesn't seem like that much work to me. On the other hand, I could care less about decorating the front yard to look like Winter Wonderland, so the one time we did it, I cursed and sweated and had a miserable time and then muttered under my breath every. single. night when I went to turn on all the various crap out there. And I complained when we had to take it all down and put it away. The next year, I got smart and gave that junk away. SO much better!

  52. My favorite tip I actually learned from you! Use decor that you can recycle and keep year-round so it doesn’t end up sitting in a box for 11 months after Christmas is over 🙂

  53. Tip: When in doubt- bake some cookies to give people- they will never notice what decorations you have if you keep them occupied with cookies!

  54. Favorite tip: only turning on the Xmas lights means you don’t have to spend as much time cleaning!

  55. Tip: let the kids be in charge once in a while (staying up late on school nights watching Christmas movies, eating way too many Christmas goodies, oohing and ahhing over lights, counting down the days in a fun way, shaking the presents, ornament clusters on trees, etc.) Christmas is so much more fun through the eyes of a child.

  56. Best tip? You can never go wrong with red, green, and gold for Christmas. Adding pops of red to your home (even if it’s not considered Christmas decorations) is always cheery for the holidays!

  57. Your stuff was by far the best–totally voted for you! 🙂 As far as a tip, I’m actually moving in with my boyfriend soon, I have no kids or nieces or anything and we usually do Christmas at my folks, so not really a lot of personal tips to give out so far because my place doesn’t get decorated. I guess my best tip would be to skip the crowds and do as much online shopping as possible! Most places have free shipping and you don’t have to fight anyone over the last “Tickle Me Elmo”! 😉

  58. Let the kids help decorate the tree and then spend the rest of the season rearranging it! 🙂

  59. I’m all about simplicity, but I love it when my house smells like Christmas. I love using essential oils to do this!

  60. My favorite decorating tip would have to be glitter. It’s the only time of the year you can go overboard and no one can judge you. Bedazzle that sh!t.

  61. keep it simple. I tend to go overboard but this year I am cutting back and trying to enjoy the season more rather than spending all my time stressing to make everything perfect

  62. I love using fresh greens trimmed from the bottom of our tree and christmas bulbs for decorating!

  63. My favorite decorating tip is to remember that Christmas is about family and memories, not about how pretty you can make your house look for Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram/Etc.

  64. Use two different bulb sizes on the tree, always! It instantly makes I so much prettier. I love Ikea’s snowflake bulbs mych up with your standard LED strand.

  65. Don’t stress the cleaning!! pick up, straighten up and do a big clean up the weekend after the new year!

  66. Don’t decorate the lower half of your Christmas tree, for little people will destroy it all. Oh wait! Maybe that was what I wish someone told me this year with my carazy 1 year old 😉

  67. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to use what’s available right outside your door. My husband and I hike and find gorgeous pine cones and boughs to use for garland and wreaths!

  68. Candles make any place- indoor or out, a cozy place to be! What a stellar giveaway that anyone would be pleased to win!

  69. Hands down yours wins, those geometric ornaments are AWESOME. I did one of my trees in all white hand made paper ornaments this year, thought it was great until I saw yours LOL I love your tree so much you did a fantastic job 🙂

  70. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to look on Pinterest!! You can find the best ideas there!

  71. Love that you have this giveaway! I was just at Home Depot with the hubby and he pointed out “several” tools he wants!

  72. To hang a wreath or other decoration on a door, use a push pin with a flat head, and attach the wreath with a ribbon pinned to the top of the door. That way there is no nail hole in the door, and no glue residue leftover when you are done with the decor.

  73. Favorite holiday decorating trick is to pick up tree trimmings from the Xmas tree farm and disperse them liberally throughout the house!

  74. My best advice when you have kids, is to relax and enjoy the time WITH them rather than trying to make everything perfect FOR them. They will appreciate and remember the time you spend with them much more than the decorations…

  75. i loved your tip using two different sized bulbs on your tree, but when i went to look for the globe trees they were out. SO, i bought a big package of ping pong balls and cut small holes in them, then used them to cover a few strands of regular lights. It gives the same effect of the multiple sized lights, plus it was fairly inexpensive! 🙂

  76. Love love LOVE the different wreaths…especially the dowel. I’m definitely doing that for next year.

  77. My favorite tip would be something I’m working on this year – to not feel like you have to use some of your decor just because you always have or because it has some kind of sentimental value. Use what you love, and if you don’t love what you have, that’s ok! You can DIY something for very little cost, and be much happier about your home.

  78. I don’t have any cleaning tips (my house is a mess) but it does smell good. I have cinnamon and vanilla simmering on the stove plus the fresh cut tree smell!

  79. What a fantastic giveaway! My tip is to slow down and relax and don’t take things too seriously – keep your sense of humor! Marry Christmas!

  80. Use lots of non-flammable candles. They create a nice ambiance along with all the other decorations.

  81. My tip is to slack a bit on the cleaning over the holidays and just relax and enjoy them!

  82. My favorite holiday tip: Remember to keep your Christmas spirit. The season flies by so quickly, and we’re rushing around trying to check everything off our list. I usually try to remind myself that what I’m frantically trying to buy this year, I may not even care about in less than two years. So, don’t freak if you don’t get everything on your list (or their list), it’s more important to spend Christmas with the ones you love.

  83. My favorite Christmas decorating tip is: When adding ornaments to your tree, do it in layers. I start with all the ornaments that match. For instance: we put all the gold balls that match on the tree. Then, gold glitter balls, and so on. Last we put the “one of a kinds”, with the more “cosmetically challenged” ornaments to the hidden parts of the tree. LOVE your blog, and of course I voted for you!

  84. I’m pretty sure your decor takes the cake! I love fun and funky home-style Christmas deco. Great giveaway!

  85. My tip is for artificial trees. My parents wind the lights on each individual row of branches (from the front to the back of the branch almost like a zig zag pattern) before putting on the next row so the tree really looks like it’s real because it’s lit from the inside out. Everyone always thinks they have a real tree!

    demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

  86. I made some paper garlands this year with scrapbook paper, punches, and my sewing machine. Not inventing the wheel, I know, but I love how quick and easy they were and super cute. They kicked up the festive notch quite a bit with very little effort and even less $$! 🙂

  87. If you didn’t use it decorating last year. Get rid of it. One item in, one item out.

  88. This would be such a cool thing to win! I don’t even own a home, but my brother-in-law just bought one and I would definitely share (most) of this money with him 🙂

  89. I never decorate for the holidays because I’m a grinch, I guess. That will probably change when I have kids but until then, it’s just one more thing for the animals to get into!

  90. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to go for a walk and look for inspiration! I bundle up and grab a bag and while I’m on the tralis near my house I pick up pine cones that I can throw in a bowl on my console table, some sticks I can put in a vase on my mantle, and pieces of evergreens and holly that I can put in jars on my dining room table. It’s free, it’s simple and can stay up all season instead of just for Christmas, and it tires out my little puppy so that I can relax later! Win, win, WIN!

  91. I’m a disaster at holiday decorating so I’m paying close attention to everyone else’s tips!

  92. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to fill in greenery with baby’s breath. It breaks up the monotony of all of that green and looks like a pretty dusting of snow. 🙂

  93. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to GO WILD! It’s only for a short period of time, and it’s supposed to be FUN, right? So – the crazier, the better…why not!

  94. Tip, don’t over do it. Use lots of fresh greens and supplement with some store bought berries and glass balls. I get my greens from the discarded tree bottom boughs from Home Depot, for free!! Save time to savor the family!

  95. Favorite tip is using fake garland and extra lights around the house. You don’t know what lights can do to a room.

  96. I use 3m command hooks to hang all of my Christmas decor and then I can take them down and store them with the decorations for next year without putting holes in my walls!

  97. I love using paper in different ways to keep costs low and I can reuse them from year to year or if I don’t want to, it was inexpensive so I don’t feel bad tossing it!

  98. My favorite holiday decor tip is to start with a blank canvas. It is so much easier to decorate for christmas without all of your regular decor out and making things look crowded.

  99. My favorite holiday decorating tip – I love holiday wreaths. I go to a goodwill/resale store and purchase all of the wreath forms with ugly decorations on it for very cheap (much cheaper than paying $40 for a nice wreath form at a craft store). Then I rip off the ugly decor and add my own!

  100. Garland hanging in doorways, on the mantle, and as a wreath is my way of getting out of all the other holiday clutter I’ve saved over the years. Hang the same bulbs on the garland that I use as filler on the tree and voila, pretty easy Christmas decor!

  101. I think yours is my fav because I have a stunning silver dear head much like the ram and would love to do something like the wreath you did.

  102. Holiday decorating tip: who am I kidding? I have no decorating “tips.” I use the same stuff year after year, in the same place year after year, because (1) I pay a lot of money for it, (2) it’s sentimental to me, and (3) I like what I like and I don’t change my mind too much about what I like. Every year I throw in one or two “updates” so the look doesn’t hearken back to the mid-90s when I started decorating on my own. My biggest “tips” have to do with packaging and organizing all of it correctly to keep it pristine for 20 years!!!

  103. I can’t say I have a decorating tip, really, since I come to your blog for those. 😉 I guess I’m all about keeping it simple and classy but still modern and fresh. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

  104. We hang garland along the long hallway and the main front room where the Christmas tree is. We leave the nails in the wall all year long so it is so easy to just drape the garland. They are small enough so you can’t see them the rest of the year. It has saved many hours on a step ladder as well as my sanity.

  105. Now that I’m decorating with a 2 year old, my decorating tip is to get them involved in the decorating so that hopefully they won’t be so interested in touching every single little thing!

  106. Don’t forget about good smells. If you have an artificial tree you can make the house smell great with a fresh pine wreath or garland. Also, throw some cinnamon sticks, orange peel, whole cloves, a sweet apple sliced in half (not granny smith), star anise and water in a small crockpot and let it simmer. Your house will smell great and festive!

  107. I love your approach to all of your decorating and designing, so it’s no surprise that I also love your Christmas decor this year!

  108. I keep my stocking hangers up on the mantle all year, they are on the underside with clear hangers and command strips! You can’t even see them!! Thanks for the giveaway!

  109. I like to always have a nativity set at the center of my decorating. Helps me remember the “Reason for the Season.”

  110. Christmas is for family. Keep it simple, make memories, and remember that perfect is only perfect for your family.

  111. Since we have an artificial tree I use Scentsy Warmers and Christmas scents to make my house smell like I have a real tree with a touch of cinnamon!

  112. I love looking at all the beautiful blogs this time of year, but can’t imagine changing my tree ornaments! These are our souvenirs from past travels and each year the kids get one that symbolizes something special to them that year (a tradition from my mom!). Decorating the tree brings back tons of memories and my kids are now old enough to ask about each ornament’s story!

  113. The past few years I started going with themes for decorating the tree, sometimes with a color scheme, this year it’s a flora & fauna tree (all ornaments have some kind of plant or animal.) I decide on next year’s theme during the Christmas season this year, so when I pack the decorations away, I separate out a box that is just the ornaments I’ll use next year. (I’m already eyeballing all the ornaments that will work for next year’s metallic & white, stars & angels tree).

  114. I love our collection of Santa photos. For years, I just crammed them in a drawer and never looked at them again. A few years, I bought inexpensive frames for each photo and now they line our mantle and console. My daughter is 10, so I promised this would be her last year doing a Santa pic – but I’m glad I have 10 years of her growing up!

  115. Marry a Jewish man. We decorate inside but we are completely off the hook for outside decorations!

  116. We love to keep things personal. An ornament wreath made of great-grandma’s one off’s. Our tree is covered in fun ornaments from friends and family. We also keep an ornament wreath with our souvenirs of travels. So fun to pull everything out each year and remember the memories associated with each item.

  117. I have an artificial Christmas tree that was always a pain to put up and take down. I now leave it put together all year long, leave it in the workshop covered by an old sheet until after Thanksgiving. I carry it in to the house all put together with the lights already on it. All I have to do is add the decorations. After Christmas, I take off the decoration (to avoid them being broke while moving) and take back out to the shop and cover again until next year. It saves me so much time but you have to have the room to do it.

  118. The best Christmas decor in my house involves my grandma’s hand-me-down vintage shiny brite ornaments!

  119. WOW! What a great give away! We haven’t even been able to put up a tree in the family room because we are replacing some windows with Home Depot! I love to repurpose and dress up what I already have out in the rooms to make it a little more glitzy and glamy. Plus I don’t have to put stuff away to put out Christmas stuff and then reverse it when the holidays are over!

  120. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to use seasonal fruit to decorate. One example is stringing cranberries to hang on the Christmas tree.

  121. My tip is to use the free decor nature gave ya! Go for a walk in the park to collect line ones and pine boughs. Free, and bonus…. The house smells super fresh

  122. I have been eyeing those Himmeli items in the Hruska shop on Etsy for so long and wanted to DIY it but never had any clue. Thanks go your post, that is the first project I’m going to tackle after Christmas. So, obviously I voted for you in the Home Depot giveaway.

    Merry Christmas:)

  123. i always liked the idea of using leftover christmas cards to tape to the front of the christmas box just to keep things pretty.

  124. Lots and lots of sparkle and shine for Christmas! Holiday decorating just can’t be too tacky for me, bring on the tinsel : )

  125. I love Home Depot and being able to get creative with the ideas I have or find on pinterest.

  126. I use what I have! I fill jars around the house with cheap things like jingle bells and candy canes. Pom poms and ornaments as well as ribbon are so easy to fill things and are affordable, especially if you reuse every year!

  127. I really want to get crafty next year and make a ton of decorations… hopefully I’ll have some extra money! Love your ideas!

  128. Keep it simple! Use vases and florals from other seasons. Vintage decor from family brings back magical childhood memories and saves money!

  129. My favorite holiday decorating tip this year is to use what you already own. This is my first year decorating for Christmas, and I have only spent $10 (it helps that my apartment is tiny)! I have repurposed some things I DIYed for my wedding (like a monogrammed wreath) and themed the Christmas color scheme accordingly.

    https://poshpurpose.blogspot.com/2013/12/diy-monogrammed-wreath.html and https://poshpurpose.blogspot.com/2013/12/low-budget-christmas-decor.html

  130. My favorite holiday decorating tip is, like you, to use things I will love all year. Also, lots of lights and fresh greens are musts!

  131. I started doing a “toy tree” with my little kids. I didn’t want to worry about them messing up the tree so I used plastic ornaments, and stuffed the tree with their toys. It turned out cute and colorful, and never looked the same from day to day, but I kept my sanity and had to say “NO” a whole lot less! 🙂

  132. Awesome giveaway! And my holiday decorating tip is similar to the “keep it simple” ones – aside from the tree and stockings, decorate for the season so that when Christmas is over, you don’t have to redecorate the whole place; just take down the tree and a couple of other things, then sit back and keep enjoying the view with minimal work. 😉

  133. I love to use unusual colors for decorating during the holidays and to re use “non holiday” items in a holiday way.

  134. White twinkle lights are my go-to lighting decoration. You can’t go wrong with soft white lights

  135. tip: mix big chunky colored lights with tiny twinkling white lights to add dimension to a tree

  136. My decorating tip is to just keep things simple. Too much of anything can ruin the whole look.

  137. So Great! The Merry Maids service alone, I would just die! My holiday tip is really a more of a motto: You do you. I think you should just go with what you like, what works for your family, and call it a day. If that means you have special Christmas scatter rugs, soap pumps, and the like (Shout out to Mema!) you should rock it, no apologies. If you are feeling just a few touches here and there of whatever it is that says Christmas to you, awesome! And neither camp should be giving the other the Mean Girl look. Judgement free, holidays ya’ll! You do you.

  138. I try to keep things simple-I don’t go crazy, it’s less clean up! LOL! Merry Christmas!!

  139. My favorite tip is to use Command strips/hooks for everything. Easy clean up, about the same cost as a nail and then the subsequent repair materials, but without having to actually take the time to repair any holes.

  140. My tip is keep it simple and include the kids in your crafting and decorating. There is nothing more special than seeing my kids excited year after year by all the ornaments and such they have made in years past.

  141. I just voted for you!! I hope you win; I love your Christmas! I made one of your wreaths the other day and I’m totally hooked to!

  142. Favorite holiday tip…getting your tree up earlier than 7 days before Christmas really helps spread the Holiday Cheer….sadly, there have been very few years that I’ve actually managed to do follow this tip 🙁

  143. Tip: start early so you can enjoy the decorations for at least a few weeks! Use LED lights…brighter and energy efficient.

  144. holiday decorating comes down to 2 things for me: KISS (keep it simple, stupid), and use only items you love, rather than using something just “because I have it”. 🙂

  145. Its been said before, but its cause its true! Use stuff that can be used throughout the year. IE. Don’t go crazy with santa stuff. Use greenery and ribbons and other awesome things. So, yeah.

  146. I like to keep it simple. Do too much and things look cluttered (and visitors get overwhelmed trying to see everything).

  147. I love getting the kids involved in the decorating process. The results may not always be “Pinterest-worthy” but it definitely makes the best memories!

  148. my favorite tip is to use natural things. I love a rustic feel, and pinecones, berries, antlers, and sprigs of herbs and ever greens really look festive when all put together…. and you get to throw most away (or compost!!!) so you dont need to store it each year…. soooo green

  149. This would ROCK for our home renos…yes, I am sitting here, a mere 7 days before Christmas (where we will be hosting 24 people Christmas day) without a sink, faucet, and counter tops.., Lovely time for a renovation, right?!

  150. fave tip…don’t let it stress you out. Stay simple if it means less stress. I cannot imagine Jesus enjoying you getting stressed out over every last detail. Instead, focus on the meaning of the holiday!

  151. Dressing up items with a little Christmas cheer that are already part of my regular decor. Some bling here, ribbons/bows there. :o)

  152. My favorite decorating tip is using white lights all around the house to make the inside feel enchanted! PS I added those globe lights to my christmas tree this year and have gotten SO many compliments on it! THANK YOU!

  153. A clean house? I don’t even know what that looks like ha ha!!! A HD gift card would be the thing I need to jump start my kitchen update.

  154. I put up all my greenery and a lot of other decorations with command hooks, using green pipe cleaners or clear fishing line. It has really made things easier since now I do not have to put nails in the walls.

  155. Beautiful decorating tips! Thank you everyone. PS – I LOVE Pintrest for great ideas too!

  156. When your husband says that he can cut a Christmas tree down off of your own land, say that it is probably not a good idea. Otherwise you may end up with a large bush in the middle of your living room that turns a very ugly shade of brown/red, spreads out to twice its size and looses all of its needles in less than a week.
    My best decorating tip is to get a nice tree that will last more than a week and is actually a tree, not a bush.

  157. Best tip I know– don’t turn into a Holiday-zilla, lol! Let it be fun, even if it takes an adult beverage or two! 😉

  158. I’m so in love with the Ho Ho Ho Yo pictures that I copied from your site and put on my wall. Sassy + traditional – makes me smile every day!

  159. My tip is to use homemade decorations and have the kids help,, it adds a nice personal touch and brings back memories every year.

  160. Love all the giveaways. Tip for cleaning grout: oxyclean! I tried a million things and this worked the best with the least amount of scrubbing. I used 1-2 scoops in a pitcher of warm water and poured it over the lines of grout, let it sit for 30-60 minutes and then scrub away with a grout scrubber and it is clean. It lifts up the junk and floats around the water. Yuck! Just make sure to pour more of the mixture on during the waiting period if it starts to dry up in an area. It needs to stay wet.

  161. Best tip: Keep it simple and go with the color scheme of the decor you have…don’t fight it 🙂

  162. I like to be casual and just have fun doing what you want. I think going against the grain is fun.

  163. Best Tip – Use decorations that have been passed down from your parents. It always brings back great memories of celebrating Christmas as a kid.

  164. Sooo if I win any of this home depot goodness, I might just start trying every single project in your archives! Slightly obsessed 🙂 in a totally not weird way… If that’s possible! Lol!

  165. My favorite decorating tip is to pick a color and center your decorations around that. I LOVE your white, it’s so clean and crisp and since I live in AZ it would be a great way to bring in the typical winter, snowy Christmas that we never get to see. A few years ago I did purple and gold decor and I loved it. Gold ANYTHING is my favorite though! ps..Obviously I voted for you!

  166. I don’t usually decorate with red, so bringing it out at Christmas time makes it even more special!

  167. Would soooo love to win this as we are, as I write, renovating our downstairs with new bathroom, floors, walls, kitchenette…….This could be quite handy (in more ways than one : )

  168. I like to use things I already have (bowls, baskets, trays, etc.) and fill them with natural things from my yard (greenery, pinecones, nuts and berries).

  169. This is our first Christmas in our own home and we’re definitely on a budget, so my holiday decorating tip is don’t feel like you have to do it all at once and DIY what you can! Our tree is burlap, silver, and white, which means we got to make a tons of holiday stuff around the house using just computer paper since, voila, its’ white! Thanks for the great giveaway!

  170. Mandilicious, you are my hero! Everything you do seems to be filled with such joy, I can’t help but smile.

  171. My favorite holiday decorating tip is simplicity. I rotate what I put out every year….keep it simple. Clutter stresses me out and I don’t need extra stress.

  172. Christmas decorating tip… Collect a few special ornaments each year for the tree and in a few years your tree will be full of happy history.

  173. I like to use simple items that can be left out through the entire winter so we can enjoy them longer!

  174. I love to decorate with a color story in mind. This year, I have metallics, red, and white, plus a bit of rustic charm with burlap and twine!

  175. My favorite holiday decorating tip is to stick with a limited number of colors and don’t feel like they need to be red and green! We have been using silver, gold, and green accents and just love it. Glamorous yet simple and warm. Happy holidays!

  176. My tip is to make sure you include sentimental items in your decor. I was always so obsessed with having a department store worthy tree, but my husband’s grandmother gave us a box full of ornaments he had chosen from her tree over the years. At first I was reluctant to mix their varying styles in with our decor, but after putting her ornaments up I realized our tree is SO MUCH BETTER and 100% unique!

  177. Put little mirror tiles on the inside of your xmas tree! Really bounces the light around!

  178. Love all the simple, monochromatic schemes I’m seeing all over blogland this year. Very inspiring!!

  179. I would say my holiday decorating tip is to make your decorations your own. Infuse it your home decor style. Don’t just buy the tacky holiday decor. Its way more fun to get creative and spread some holiday cheer in a subtle way.

  180. TIP: Use command strips everywhere and anywhere that you can so you won’t have holes in your walls.

  181. TIP – read the holiday DIYS from the many wonderful blogs so that you can make your home a welcoming and more inexpensive for the holidays.

    1. Also my favorite tip is for artificial trees use old belts or thrift store belts to cinch of your tree for easy storage 🙂

  182. Ahhhh! Thank you for such an amazing opportunity. As far as my favorite idea goes, I love your straw ornaments! So simple, so clean, so cute!

  183. Winning would mean new kitchen cabinets for me!!! No more eating sawdust from the old ones I got now!!!!

  184. Um, I’m Jewish, so I don’t celebrate or decorate for Christmas, but for Hannukah we hung up our 2.5 year old daughter’s school artwork all over the house. To watch it fall down 24 hours later. 🙂

  185. I love my decorations to flow throughout the house. I also use ornaments on the tree that I had on my tree as a kid and also that my husband had as a kid.

  186. Picking a color scheme and sticking with it. That way you won’t buy every adorable holiday thing you see in the stores…and you’ll save money!

  187. All I want for Christmas , Is…money to spruce up my home and for Mandi to win all the votes in the world.

  188. It would be amazing to win this giveaway…and unbelievable if I could win the sweepstakes! This interior design student is broke from art school, with lots of DIY projects with sadly waiting on her to-do list.

    My favorite Christmas decorating tip is to layer large and small items with different textures for a polished look while sticking to a single color scheme. Also, my dad always says, “fake tree, fake Christmas”, so there’s that!

  189. You always host the best giveaways! My favorite tip would be to not feel like your décor has to be ‘in’. Just decorate to your hearts content, whether it could be featured in a magazine or not.

  190. There are so many things I could do with a Home Depot gift card! For me, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a real tree, decorated with collected ornaments for decades of past Christmases, so my tip? Get a real tree!

  191. My tip is to shop your house! You will be amazed at what you could put together with practically nothing. Believe me, I don’t have much $$ or decor but I’m good at being thrifty and making things look special.

  192. I love incorporating my kids artwork over the years into my holiday decorating. They get excited as well!

  193. I love to make sure I have some holiday decor that’s not so Christmas oriented. So much of winter follows the holidays and I like continue to make everything feel cozy. Lots of whites, winter throws, plaid, candles, a little bit of greenery.

  194. LOve hd so much!! I made thirty of your himmeli ornaments for a party last weekend! 🙂

  195. LOve hd so much!! I made thirty of your himmeli ornaments for a party last weekend! 🙂 !!!

  196. Gosh, I don’t think I have any great decorating tips. I haven’t put up a single thing this year aside from the Advent wreath we purchased from church.

  197. My favorite tip is think long term… we all PLAN to take them down after/get around to it/ect and then it’s March and my wreath is still up… I like to gravitate towards ‘winter’ theme versus Christmas to encourage this long term without being tacky!

  198. Keep it simple and don’t stress (too much) that you didn’t do something you planned to do.

  199. IS anyone else having trouble entering the contest and voting on the HomeDepot website?

  200. Google Chrome for the win! That helped..

    Holiday decorating tip would be keep it fun and light. Use things you have around the home to make it personal!

  201. MY HOLIDAY DECORATING TIP IS… DON’T STRESS! ONLY FUN ALLOWED. IF IT’S NOT FUN, DON’T DO IT! EVEN IF THAT MEANS YOU HAVE NO TREE, OR YOU HAVE NO LIGHTS OUTSIDE, OR WHATEVER. ONLY DO WHAT YOU ENJOY!

  202. I’m big on more is more – but take your holiday decor in phases! It is a much more enjoyable and thought out process when you take time (say a few Saturday afternoons) than giving yourself decor anxiety by rushing the whole process into one day!

  203. When decorating, I like to stick to two to three colors so the decorations in the house don’t look to distracting. This year i am all about red, silver and glitter white!

  204. My favorite tip is this: go for a walk! Pick up pretty things you would ordinarily step on! Or, go to the dog park, smile as the pups frolic and play, then since you’ve decompressed and see the world through more simplistic eyes, look around. Cones, berries, branches, moss…it’s all so beautiful and perfect for holiday decorating and beyond! Merry Christmas, happiest of New Years, and thank you for the awesome giveaway!

  205. My favourite decorating tip? Buy (or make) plenty of wintery neutrals like creams or greys, so they will carry you through any Christmas’s. Even if you change your complimentary colours!

  206. Use something from your childhood. Every time you see it, it brings back wonderful
    Memories.

  207. My holiday decorating tip isn’t rocket science ; ) I love creating an entire sensory experience, not only with decorations, but also with holiday scented candles and hand soaps, as well as Christmas music (Bing, Frank, She and Him). Throw in some yummy treats (like peppermint jo jo’s) and laughter with friends, and you’ve engaged all the senses. Simply having a wonderful Christmastime.

  208. I use decorations that have been handed down to me from my mother. I also put up the decor that my children made first! I make sure that they know that I am the MOST proud of it! Thank you for this chance! It would be a nice blessing for us.

    ninigossett at gmail dot com

  209. Remember you can make something beautiful and transform the feel of a room with simple things you already have around the house – like strings of handmade snowflakes (paper, scissors, iron them out, and put them on a string) so lovely!

  210. totally voting for you! you are so incredibly talented and creative, thanks for sharing your ideas with us!

  211. My favorite decorating tip is… it doesn’t have to be perfect. I let the kids decorate the tree and no not micro manage. Christmas is fun when you don’t let it overwhelm you. I figure my tree will not be pictured in a magazine, but my kids LOVE it. That is all that matters. Merry Christmas! LOVE YOUR GUTS, TOO

  212. I love a homemade Christmas. It’s always a busy time of year, but we really try to put the personal touch on our Christmas decor — homemade garland, DIY gingerbread house, etc. My favorite piece is that we have made a penguin ornament every year, we try to think of a new material to make our creation with. It’s a small thing, but it is so fun to see our little penguin family grow each year!

  213. i LOVE LOVE LOVE your white christmas tree. totally inspired to stick to one color with mine this year!

  214. I say keep it simple and use things that you already have. I used to decorate the whole house with boatloads of Christmas crap. It looked like Father Christmas threw up all over our house. Now I just focus on the tree alone and then switch up how I have things styled around the house to give it a more holidayish feel.

  215. Use fresh greenery on the mantle and on the table. I use a fake tree now because adding the lights to a real tree used to take me 8 hours! Now I use fresh greenery anywhere but the tree! Keepin’ it simple!

  216. Always get a tree out with some twinkle lights and ornaments! Nothing else says Christmas decor to me than the tree! Then build off of that if you’re inclined to do so!

  217. My fave holiday decorating tip is less is more! Some years when I go all out, that’s great, but years like this year where I’ve went simple, that’s okay too =)

  218. Best decorating tip has to be putting away things grouped by location of decoration. That way you remember exactly where all those ornaments and random garland strands ended up!

  219. I love the simplicity of folding the pages down(2 folds each) in a magazine to make a fun , free, modern twist on a Christmas tree!

  220. Don’t put up a tree if you have a new kitty! Yikes!!! Love your blog, I am quite the lurker here.

  221. tip: nothing wrong with keeping the decor simple, so there is less clean-up!

    Entered the rafflecopter as “Wild orchid”

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 at gmail dot com

  222. We put our tree up with just lights on Oct 31st! We’ve never done that before, but have enjoyed it so much! Don’t be afraid if putting up some simple decorations early!

  223. My favorite holiday decorating tip: Mix it up with vintage ornaments, thrifting finds, and things from nature! Currently I’ve got a tiffany-style lamp next to a giant piece of tree bark from a pine tree that came down in my parent’s yard, paired with thrifted metallic tealite holders sitting on a shelf next to our vintage tree.

  224. Best decor tip: use what you have. Try to think of things your backyard might have. For instance, cut the dead limbs with round ends from crypt myrtles and spray paint silver or gold for tree and garland filler.

  225. The odds are against me, but I can’t say I didn’t try! Love this and everything you do! Keep on Keepin’ on my good mam!

  226. Voted (for you of course). Man I could really use that gift card. Our house has a Home Depot right down the street, walking distance! We are there a couple times a week 🙂

  227. Let the kids join in the fun. Don’t worry so much if the tree doesn’t look like something out of a magazine. If the decorations are only for Mom, that’s a little lame.

  228. If you have no time to decorate, throw some white lights around the room! (on the mantel or in a big glass vase) It feels cozy and Christmasy with pretty much no effort.

  229. Two holiday tips: (1) take time to spring clean first, this way you aren’t doing extra when you can decorate & you don’t stress about time delay due to cleaning (2) keep it fun, especially for the kids. We have all Disney ornaments on our tree with special ones sprinkled in. My daughter loves to play with the interactive ones every year. It’s great!

  230. The fun is in the creating! So enjoy your time making the project! Tips and projects on this blog will help!

  231. i keep paper clips handy. they are great for twisting and using as ornament hooks, as wire to hold garlands , as hangers for wreaths and to hold strands of lights. i also keep them handy for cheese cube picks( especially the cute colored ones), and as money clips in cards.

  232. Awesome giveaway! We just bought our first house, and a Home Depot gift card would come in super handy! My tip: The kids don’t care if your decorations don’t make the house look like pottery barn! 😉

  233. I love incorporating old/handmade craft ind of decorations with newer, trendier stuff for more meaning and memories behind the decor! Thanks for the giveaway mandi!

  234. Hmm, I’m not sure if I have any holiday decorating tips but there are some pretty good ones in the comments. Maybe just to follow your heart. You are the one thats going to live/enjoy the decorating. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.

  235. Favorite holiday advice… well not sure its advice, but its the one time of year that I rearrange the living room to put the tree in a new location. I love mixing it up and the kids have fun making sure the tree is the focal point from all views!

  236. My favorite tip I’d to just go with whatever makes you happy. Every year I sort through storage boxes of Christmas stuff and decide what to use and how to use it. Some years I only use a small amount of my previous years decorations, other years k use it all! If you stay true to your decorating style you can’t help but be happy with the end results.

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