This year I tried to be budget friendly and make decorations from things around the apartment or vintage items that didn't cost too much. I found old christmas bulbs on etsy and they arrived in the most beautiful old Woolworths boxes I could barely part with them. The icicles are from Anthropologie, then I filled in the rest of the tree with old rusty keys I found, and chandelier crystals from eBay ( loved the crystals so much I even made earrings out of the leftovers. I made an origami star with some of the urban outfitters catalogs that seem to pile up month after month, despite my best efforts to cancel them. The 3-D snowflakes are very easy to make. All you need is some printer paper, a glue slick and a stapler.

I had my heart set on tapered candlesticks but forgot I don't have enough candle holders so I made do with leftover Miller High Life bottles. Didn't even peel off the gold label because it went with my theme! I found some stripped branches in the floral district, stuck them in a vase with some black eyed peas to steady them, and voila: center piece!

The egg nog trifle is a concoction that I made up on a whim but I am working on making it into a recipe and will try to post soon. It was made from layers of brandy soaked panettone and eggnog custard and was yummy.

Now the only thing left to do is put on some festive tunes. I prefer to mix in a few non christmas songs so you get a little break. Listen along here.