When you earn the nickname Jingle Belle you must be reigning in some serious holiday cheer. I even earned this adorable badge of honor for my jingle fever. Can you hear those sleigh bells ringing…

Last week, Big Lots judges deliberated over seven entries in the #BigHoliday blogger challenge. Each of us were given a $250 gift card to Big Lots and told to chose a room in our home to decorate for the holidays. I chose one of the busiest rooms in our house, the kitchen. We have a pretty large kitchen so I chose to primarily focus on the eating and sitting areas as you can see below.  

For starters, let’s take a closer look at the mantel. My grandmother’s antique mirror was adorned with one of the many beautiful wreaths to choose from at Big Lots. I chose to keep it understated so it would complement the mirror, and not compete. The glittered tinsel and pinecones were attached to the mirror using a wide gift ribbon and hooked onto the top of the mirror. Easy! I love my mantel decor to be symmetrical so each side is balanced by two free standing trees on a burlap stand and two larger stuffed ornaments.

The standing moose, shown below, is a part of Big Lots’ new Woodland Wonderland collection. After spotting him while shopping the site online, I had to have him for our mantel. His weighted feet allow him to stand on his own and his whimsical expression is one that makes us a laugh a little more. I’ve also added boxes wrapped in foiled gift wrapping for its reflective quality. It adds just the right amount of holiday sparkle.

To the left of the mantel hangs a drawing made by my grandmother and underneath is usually our hot beverage station. Our coffee maker was replaced by a prelit cashmere tree set in a beautiful urn. Would you believe this tree is sold in a set of 2 for only $40? Such deal, right? 

 And how cute is this penguin cookie jar? He is the keeper of Santa’s cookies and of course a few are reserved for Mom and Dad ::wink-wink::

I like to think having a few wrapped gifts along with a few exposed toys will keep our kiddos motivated to stay off the naughty list. Talk about incentive…

I’ve added red ornaments and these plush fabric ornaments to the tree. I love the attention to detail and the texture their little knit bodies bring to the tree’s decor.

Our table centerpiece consists of more plush ornaments surrounded by more glitter tinsel and LED lit accessories. The trio candle set is battery and remote control operated. I can even put them on dimmers so when the lights are out, they really set the mood for a quiet evening or early mornings. The lantern is also battery operated and can be used for either indoors or outdoors. During our winter power outages, I’d feel completely comfortable giving the kids one of these to take to their room at night. Everything is corralled on a red tray for easy removal at dinner time. 

 The door leading to our deck gets a lot of daily use, mainly letting the dog out to bark at joggers (just kidding) so I had to keep the decor simple. A line of garland trims the door way and I’ve accented the greenery with a string of ornaments bunched using zip ties. I’ve polished the look with the same wide ribbon used on the mirror. Again, easy! 

Did you notice I moved the sitting area to the windows? The new footprint gave us more room to move about the kitchen and easier access to the windows. This way we can still enjoy our reading and warm beverages while spying on neighbors. Kidding again. Not kidding. 

Again simplicity is key! Instead of decorating with poinsettias, I’ve opted for red roses. There’s also a small bowl of blue ornaments to repeat the teal blue you see in the pillows. Both solid pillows, orange and blue, were only $10 at Big Lots. Yup, $10! While shopping for decor, you can also find great deals on toys and games. Having this area in the kitchen makes it great place for the kids to join us while we are cooking. 

Continue with us on this joyous holiday ride by following along with Big Lots and visit  the challenge page to see six other beautiful blogger reveals! Lastly follow the #BIGHoliday hashtag on Big Lots social media channels to gain more inspiration for making this year’s holiday decor memorable!

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This post was sponsored by Big Lots in celebration of its #BIGHoliday campaign for National Decorate Your Home for the Holidays Week. All opinions, solicited and unsolicited, are my own.