Cottages & Bungalows 2021 Christmas Tree Contest

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos for the Cottages & Bungalows 2021 Christmas Tree Contest. We received so many beautiful depictions of the magic of Christmas! From dreamy and romantic, to rustic and rural, from colorful, whimsical, traditional, kitschy and everything in between. You amazed us with your talent and creativity!

We chose our favorites to include in the community vote, and now we need your help selecting a winner!

Please vote for your favorite photo below, and encourage your friends and family to vote, too. Voting ends on Friday, December 31st at midnight PST and the winner will be notified on January 5th, 2022.

The winner will be featured in our 2022 holiday issue of Cottages & Bungalows and receive a complimentary subscription, too.

What an amazing opportunity this would be! Our first year in our 1912 farmhouse.
Candy Cane Christmas. This year's tree is decorated with red and white ornaments and ribbon with a simple white star on top. My goal was to design a tree that is cozy, bright, cheerful, and festive- just like this season.
Welcome to our home for Christmas! Decorating Christmas Trees has always been one of my favorite things to do. This year I kept our tree neutral as a way to inspire others that this tree would work in any home and with any style. I used a lot of white, gray, gold, and a few woodsy elements in this tree. This cozy view is in our formal living space that also has a fireplace which makes this the perfect spot to curl up and enjoy the holiday!
Our Christmas tree theme this year was natural, the trimmings on the tree reflect that theme with dried florals, handmade ornaments using natural materials, pinecones, and trimmings using colors found in nature. We also love vintage so we added some patina with a vintage quilt as the tree skirt and an antique sled.
What a fun contest! My tree is decked with touches of chocolate brown matte and sparkling ornaments, gold bells, glistening champagne colored berries, wood beads and dried eucalyptus.
Dining room christmas tree covered in vintage ornaments and tinsel!
I love vintage ornaments and have been collecting these cuties for many years! It's so much fun to pull them out each holiday season and fill the branches of my tree with my collected treasures!
Nothing warms my heart more than a cozy, welcoming home filled with the magic of Christmas. The joyful spirit of the season can be felt in the festive glow of twinkling lights, the mantel garland adorned with bows, the neutral-toned trees surrounding the fireplace, and the gleaming Christmas tree. Instead of using the traditional holiday color palette of red and green, I combined the warmth and radiance of winter white and shimmery metallic tones. Touches of lace with pretty layered ribbons and velvet poinsettias complete the scene, which invites me to curl up with my favorite blanket, sip hot cocoa, and enjoy making holiday memories with my family.
Romantic, natural, and maximalist describe my tree this year. I pulled inspiration from floral curtains and my grandmother's beautiful portrait that is hanging behind the tree. She would have LOVED this tree! Leafy stems and flowers were easily arranged in a garland-like fashion spiraling up the tree with twinkly fairy lights on copper wiring. I turned faux pomegranates and potpourri into ornaments with velvet ribbon hangers and added a few moss balls to complete the look. Matching potpourri gift tags on botanical wrapping paper are a fresh take on traditional holiday wrapping and the scent is heavenly.
We always have a 10 foot Christmas tree filled with vintage & antique ornaments. We love bright colors especially all shades of pink. More is more for us when it comes to our tree decorating. Go big or go home in our house for our Christmas tree!
This season, celebrate the holidays with a California Christmas tree full of vintage pieces such as ornaments ranging from soft shades of pink to white and silver decorations.
I mix large colored bulbs with my small white white lights for a nostalgic feel, and use mostly colorful vintage ornaments mixers with handmade. I love to put the tree in this basket and drape a blanket over it for more color and texture and to hide the base.
My Christmas tree represents my love for vintage and Christmas past. I've decorated it with DIY ornaments, using strips of drop cloth material to dried orange slices. I finished it off with a garland of lace. Simplicity can be so beautiful.
Our Christmas tree this year is elegant and chic, blush and bashful, and everything I had imagined. I decorated our flocked tree in tones of champagne, peach, gold, and white. I like to add lots of ornaments to the tree. Some of my ornaments are over a decade old and hold a special place in my heart. I also added some handmade jingle bell wreath ornaments to the tree. I finished the look with stacks of white and gold gift boxes tied with coordinating ribbon. Our tree looks absolutely stunning when lit, as it spreads a warm sparkling glow all around.
Bright Red at Christmas always brings joy to me durning the holidays. This years tree I want the elegance of the red bulbs to come through strong. So I went simple with varsity of bulbs sizes and added a frosted berry sprig to bring in softness! Love the beauty of a classic red & white Christmas tree.
Sweet, little Catherine, our youngest of four, helping to decorate the Christmas tree.
My vision for the tree was to resemble a village on a snowy mountain. I had a collection of village houses but, not enough to fill a tree. I was lucky to find some woodcraft homes, which I painted white and sprinkled with glitter. I wrapped those homes around the base of the tree. I used the smaller homes throughout the tree. The ornaments are a mix of rose gold, copper, olive, and white. The ribbons are a variety of styles. I paired the white velvet and glittered champagne ribbon to look similar to winding streets. I did incorporate mittens, ice skates and other items used in snowy weather. I hope you like the tree as much as I enjoy decorating. Thank you!
“Seas and Greetings”! Decorating is something I have always loved to do, but decorating for Christmas is the very best! Cranking up the Christmas music and getting out all of the decor brings nostalgic feelings of past Christmases, as we dream of the new memories we’ll create each year. While I love a modern traditional vintage look, I also love incorporating a coastal feel into my home. It's just has such a peaceful, relaxed feel, which is what this buy mother needs! I love to carry that coastal feel into my Christmas decorations. It's a non-traditional look that I just love. Most of the ornaments on the tree are handmade. They are quick and easy to make, along with creating a unique Christmas tree. For example the life preservers are made from a small round picture frame, red electrical tape and rope. The tree has wide burlap ribbon woven throughout the tree and a buoy garland. The buoy garland was made with styrofoam balls, paint, electrical tape and rope. While there are a few traditional ornaments on the tree, most of the tree is filled with starfish, seashells and sailboats. And even the star topper is made from driftwood. This non-tradtional look of my Coastal Christmas tree just puts a smile on my face. It truly represents me.
Hi! I'm submitting my two trees that I decorated this year! The main living tree is much fuller and decorated in blues, greens, and neautrals! It has a whimsical feel but still looks beautiful and compliments my French cottage style! The other tree is much more airy and elegant. It's decorated in glass ornaments, silver ball garland, and ribbons in gold and sage. I wanted it to be elegant and romantic!
Submission for Cottages & Bungalows Christmas Tree of the Year
During the pandemic, we gathered vintage windows we found on marketplace to build the greenhouse of my dreams. This Christmas, I wanted to create a beautiful & whimsical floral-themed tree inside my favorite space. I went with a white floral combo, with the magnolias taking center stage. Besides, what's more southern than magnolias? It's now the most cozy space... perfect for sipping some hot cocoa!
I wanted my tree to feel very "old world" and a bit "Marie Antoinette". I trimmed my tree with beads, satin ribbons, pink /green baubles and pastel macaron ornaments. My favorite ornaments on my tree are vintage prints in elaborate gold frames for a Marie Antoinette vibe!
Christmas time is truly the most wonderful time of the year. My parents had five daughters. Growing up we didn't have a lot, but my mom and dad always made sure we experienced the magic of looking out the window for Santa on Christmas Eve, running off to bed in hopes of a few presents under the tree in the morning. Sure enough we were always blessed, but it wasn't about the gifts. I remember every tiny detail of what my family had on Christmas morning. We were loved!! May our hearts be merry and His joy of love be shared by everyone.
My love for elegant Christmas trees started when I was a little girl and frequently visited Macy’s department store on 33rd street in Manhattan, NYC. I remember being in awe of all the large shining Christmas ornaments, lights, and stunning ribbon. The department store felt like apalace. Drawing upon those memories, I used silver, gold, and navy to bring my regal Christmas tree to life!