Soft & Romantic Farmhouse Christmas Porch
Today, we’re sharing our soft & romantic farmhouse Christmas porch!
If you’ve had a chance to follow along on all our Christmas decorating adventures, you know I had zero plans to decorate with pink this year.
But my sweet bestie S changed all that when she surprised me with bags of pink glitter ornaments and offered to help decorate.
What a Difference a Year Makes…
Our lives looked completely different last year and honestly, so did the front porch! A day after S’s accident, my Dad set about making temporary ramps to accommodate S’s wheelchair, including a ramp for the front door.
While our real life didn’t feel normal at all, my parents really encouraged me to try and keep things as normal as possible during that time.
For me, that meant creating routines, staying consistent and a developing a schedule that allowed for both structure and flexibility.
It seemed like such an overwhelming ask. Even coming from a Dad that has the personality of Rambo and a Mom that has the personality of June Cleaver.
But looking back, it helped to save my sanity – and honestly, my Christmas spirit too.
Great Advice…
One of my non-negotiables during that time was talking to someone with experience in grief and loss. I know that might sound weird. Especially, given the nature of S’s accident.
But we really had no idea her recovery would take well over a year. Or how much the loss of independence for someone who had always been fiercely independent would affect S’s health and mental wellness in the months to come.
Every week, I would sit out on the front porch or swing in the swing on the back patio and listen as the grief counselor would pour love, support and encouragement into my life.
Many days just hearing her reassuring voice would be enough motivation to keep working at the job of being a caregiver which I felt like I had no clue how to navigate.
The grief counselor gave me multiple pieces of advice like when I felt frustrated, I should sweep the front porch. And when I felt like cussing, I should pull weeds.
I’m pretty sure we had the prettiest flower beds on the island during that time ?
Celebrating with a Soft & Romantic Farmhouse Christmas Porch…
The funny thing is, while S has fully recovered from her accident (Praise) every time I walk onto the front porch, I think about all the gifts that were given to us last year.
Gifts through phone calls, your sweet messages on the blog and cards in the mail.
I think sometimes it’s so easy to forget, especially during busy seasons like Christmas that we have the power to lift each other up with just a few words.
The day S showed up with bags of sparkly pink ornaments, we vowed to keep our Christmas decorations as simple as possible this year.
That way, we could spend more time enjoying all the festive activities the holiday season as to offer.
Our goal was to:
- To reuse as many Christmas decorations as we already had on hand in a fresh way
- Decorating only the common areas so we could spend more time enjoying Christmas activities this holiday season
- Making the decorations as simple as possible so it wouldn’t take days to clean it all up or put it all away
I’m excited to say we’ve carried those same sentiments over to our soft & romantic farmhouse Christmas porch as well.
Simple Decorating Ideas…
To keep things easy, I dressed the wicker couches on the porch almost identical to the way they were decorated in the entry.
We used a wreath we already had on hand for the front door and chose pink poinsettias,
and ornamental kale to flank both sides of the front door. I’m hoping this will make it super easy to transition from a soft & romantic farmhouse Christmas porch to a winter porch this year.
While I’m constantly dreaming of a snowy porch, the reality is it’s still pretty seasonal in Florida which means it could be in the 40s one day and in the 70s the next.
Thankfully, that means we’re able to enjoy afternoon snacks out here most of the time.
Easy Holiday Treats to Make This Season…
I made this “carrot cake wreath” with cream cheese icing as an alternative to making a gingerbread house this year. You can read all the details in this From the Front Porch post.
I also made marshmallows for an easy marshmallow bar and since I already had all the ingredients out, I decided to make festive candy-coated pretzels too.
All three projects are super simple to create and aren’t very time consuming.
Savoring the Magic of Christmas…
As we always say, the magic of the Christmas season seems to go by so fast!
Remember to take the time to enjoy every minute you can from riding on the Santa train to sipping on a peppermint mocha to allowing the wonderment of Christmas Day to wash over you in a fresh way.
Most especially, remember to take a few moments to create a holiday home that welcomes your family and friends with all your favorite Christmas decorating ideas.
Afterall, it’s the season of believing, of giving, of hope and of miracles too.
And if there’s one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s that all these gifts can happen when you least expect them. Even on a soft & romantic farmhouse Christmas front porch, draped with surprise pops of pink ?
Let us know how you’re decorating your porch for the holidays!
For more holiday porch decorating ideas, check out these posts:
- Christmas Front Porch Blog Tour
- Mad for Plaid Christmas Porch
- Nature Inspired Christmas Porch
- Holiday Door Decor & Decorating Ideas
- DIY Ice Skate Wreath
Many blessings,
CoCo
Oh my gosh that carrot cake wreath is gorgeous! And your other treats look yummy as well. My husband makes a mean chocolate pretzel rod:) Love all the pink! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
Thank you, Kathleen! We love pretzel rods because they’re the perfect mix of sweet and salty 🙂 The carrot cake wreath was super easy to make. You could totally do it! Hugs, CoCo
What a wonderful post. Grief can be caused by many things not just a death. Your porch is gorgeous.
You are so right, Katie! Grief definitely covers loss in so many more areas than I could have ever imagined. I wouldn’t have thought this at the time but looking back I’m thankful for the experience. It’s made me more aware and senstive to how loss in general and how it can affect all aspect of our lives. I hope your holiday season has been amazing so far. I can’t believe how close we are to celebrating Christmas! Hugs, CoCo
I would never have thought of decorating for Christmas with pink but it looks truly lovely!
That’s so sweet of you to say, Donna, thank you! Finding different ways to use pink throughout the year has been so much fun. Hugs, CoCo