How to style a Scandi-style Christmas with Eucalyptus & Wood

Very often in life, we need less. This could not be more true than for the upcoming festive season. After the craziest year ever, we can really all do with less. Less drama. Less mess. Less clutter. Less waste. Less noise. Less voices. Less cleaning. Less cooking. Holly Becker of Decor8 Blog describes it as a Slow Holiday. A slow Christmas. This resonates so much with me. Isn’t that what Christmas is really about anyway? Slowing down & focussing on the real meaning of our existence & the fact that Jesus Christ was born?

If that is where your head space is at, then this beautiful minimal tablescape is for you! I hope you love it as much as I loved putting it together.

I might have mentioned this a million times already, but for me, no other time of the year is more magical than Christmas time. And since Christmas also coincides with the long summer holiday in South Africa, many of us here on the sunny tip of Africa take our long annual vacation in December. This means that many don’t have time or space or capacity to do elaborate Christmas settings. Many prefer to chill in the shade, relax on the beach or in the farm dam or pool, rather than slave away with Christmas decor & large festive feasts.

Maybe you are just really over large Christmas trees & over-the-top festive decor? Maybe you are moving towards a simpler home & outlook on life?

You will notice that I’ve kept it super simple by using everyday cutlery & crockery for this table setting. I specifically also did not use place mats or a table cloth or elaborate glassware here. The wooden table is beautiful enough & this adds to the uncluttered style.

The beauty of this theme is that the minimalist decorations do not make the room look or feel less inviting. It simply creates a calming, beautiful atmosphere – which is exactly what we need this time of the year. The use of loads of candles, makes you feel like you have indeed stepped into a festive room.

What you need to create this Christmas look:

• Wooden beads
• Thread & thick needle for stringing beads
• White yarn
• Wooden Xmas trees – the ones used in this shoot are from Country Road (Woolworths, last season) but you can also make your own wooden xmas trees with sticks or driftwood
• Loads of white candles
• Eucalyptus branches or other available greenery of your choice
• For a simple wreath: one or two round frames (an embroidery hoop or wire hanger can also work)
• Fairy lights
• White, silver, grey cutlery & crockery
• Linen napkins (I used new dishcloths from PEP home as napkins for this look)
• Minimalist glasses

The understated elegance of this theme will work well at a beach house, country house or in the bush. In Cape Town, Tzaneen, Sydney, or even Copenhagen.

With this theme you can still go the wreath route whilst staying with your minimal scandi-style theme. I used two beautiful round frames (on sale from Country Road, last season) & attached Eucalyptus branches to these with sticky tape. You can also bend a white wire hanger into a circle or simply use an embroidery hoop to create a similar minimal wreath.

Thanx for visiting. My wish for each & every one of you is a wonderful, blessed & safe festive season.

Yolandi ♥

Images: Melanie Mare photography

Ps.If you prefer a black & white Xmas, then look no further than this post. Or maybe you’re after a more feminine festive look? Or a colourful disco-XMas vibe?