Totally Tropical Christmas

Like the majority of you, my Christmas to do list is eye-wateringly long. It’s packed full of very important tasks that are yet to be crossed off and if one things for sure it’s that ‘creating a tropical Christmas in the living room’ is definitely not on it! Yet there I was last night hanging hummingbird baubles and arranging pineapples in favour of any type of gift-wrapping or cranberry sauce making.

You see, this room lends itself to a bit of flamboyance, it’s no shrinking interiors violet with its bold patterns and neon shades. If this room could talk it wouldn’t be asking for foraged twigs and delicate baubles, it wouldn’t be requesting subtle lighting, it would be saying “hit me up with a big fat slice of fun Christmas please Mrs Peach”.

So, I’ve sacrificed the making of the bin lid’s gingerbread house, I’ve come to terms with the fact that 89% of their presents will be purchased from Home Bargains on Christmas Eve and I’ve plunged head first into a tropical Christmas.

I didn’t have to look too far for inspiration here, the House of Hackney Palm wallpaper is begging to be partnered with something lush and bright and there are already enough animals in here to feel like you’re on safari so the decision was made. So, what did I need to do?

Pimp up the fireplace

There’s nothing that says Christmas more than some festive faffing of the mantle but you can forget your boughs of holly and berries, I wanted to bring on the pineapples and palm leaves. I enlisted the help of @emmatheflorist who did a cracking job of creating something pretty darn special with anthuriums, blue spruce, philodendron leaves, ornamental pineapples, rosehips, and gold glittered willow. These all sit beneath our resident giraffe (I know, I know, giraffes aren’t exactly tropical but give me a break).

Invite some more animals to the party

There are already toucans, giraffes, zebras and parrots residing here but the newest addition comes in the form of this insane hanging monkey lamp from Out There Interiors and I bloody love him! Here he is, just casually hanging out on the fireplace, warming his bum. So far I’ve resisted the pleas from the kids to add a Santa hat but the likelihood of me giving in is directly proportional to the amount of wine I consume. We can safely say they there’s a high chance that primate’s head will be adorned by Christmas Eve!

Hang out

Christmas just ain’t Christmas without a bit of dangle (a tropical Christmas even more so) and I’ve gone for quality over quantity here. Selection of tropical baubles? Who knew that would be easy to source. Check out these decadent beauties from Amara. The kids are under strict instructions to maintain a 2 metre radius from these fellas.

Change it up

To make space for the tree, we had a little change around. Of course Mr Peach was delighted that I asked him to move cabinets at 9pm, but I have to say it was totally worth the huff. The drinks trolley has a new home which means easier access #tick and the vintage TV cabinet is now in the right place to actually house the TV. Winner! Lastly, the zebra got candy-caned and the cacti got wrapped in lights. Just call me Buddy. This tropical Christmas is really coming together, don’t you think?

Get my twinkle on

If you’d stood still for long enough last night you would have got twinkled. Armed with metres of fairy lights there wasn’t a surface that escaped. Whilst Mr Peach worries about the electric metre ticking over furiously, I’m looking for more surfaces to cover and more cacti to wrap. At Christmas, there is no such thing as too many twinkly lights!

Bling up the bar cart

OK, not so tropical Christmas, but a necessity nonetheless. I’ve added glitter balls, more ornamental pineapples and more shiny gold stuff than is strictly necessary, but hey its Christmas right?

So there you go! Grab your shades, open yourselves a can of lilt and pull up a lounger, it’s all gone a bit tropical this Christmas in Yorkshire.

A big thank you to Out There Interiors and Amara Living for the kind Christmas gifts.