Get Creative With Holiday Decor + Giveaway *Sponsored*

UPDATE: Congrats to kolpin, who won the holiday decor package from Sam's Club! Please email me at losangelesstory@gmail.com with your name and address. Also, I apologize for the delay -- yesterday's news left me too stunned to write. Thank you to everyone who participated (and to Random.org for helping me choose).

I love Christmas. It's such an amazingly special time of year, when everyone seems eager and happy and excited about something completely unexpected. Maybe it's the presents ... or maybe it's anticipating the surprise on your husband or child's face when they unwrap the gifts you've been dying to give them.

It's also the time of year when our homes take on a completely different look for just a few weeks. Whether it's a huge Christmas tree or a home all decked out in ceramic villages and tons of garland, decorations really seem to take center stage. (See below for a holiday decor giveaway!)

This year, I wanted to add some creative Christmas-y touches around our apartment, and I got a little inspiration from lifestyle expert Brooke Peterson's blog, as well as a lot of help and supplies from Sam's Club.

First of all, I love lights -- and I love pairing them with ornaments. So I thought it would be fun, after taking a look at this post from Brooke, to add colorful ornaments and lights to glass vases. So I picked up a couple packages of 25 ornaments (each for less than $15 at Sam's), as well as a roll of warm-white LED lights (less than $20).

As you can see from the top pic, the effect is gorgeous. Warm, colorful, unexpected and -- most of all -- easy!

CC even got in on the act, too.

I loved that the project was so child-friendly -- and something you couldn't really mess up. And you could decorate the vases with an assortment of colors, any way you liked.

It just goes to show that Christmas decorating doesn't have to be a terrifying chore. In fact, it was such a cheerful family project.

And that's what cheer is ... spending time with family and getting creative with our home. Everyone is involved and, best of all, together.

*** GIVEAWAY ***

I'm giving away a holiday decorating gift basket, worth more than $50 and courtesy of Sam's Club, that includes decorative mesh ribbon, holiday ribbon, shatterproof ornaments and a Starbucks gift set.

To enter, just leave a comment telling me favorite ways you like to decorate your home.

For more chances to win, follow me on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. I'm at @la_story. Or you can "Like" the L.A. Story Facebook page and share the giveaway.

Just be sure to leave extra comments telling me you did so.

Good luck, and I will announce the winner on Friday, December 14!

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, for which I have been compensated. However, all opinions expressed here are my own.)