Five Simple Ways To Decorate Your Home For Christmas
Our stair railing this year
Raise your hand if you're opting to keep things simple on the decorating front this holiday season! If you are, I'm right there with you. Over the weekend, I started to decorate our row home for Christmas - just little touches here and there - and I found that I'm pretty content with not hauling up all of the ornaments and other decorations this year. I definitely want our home to feel festive (I do love this season for many reasons), but it's not going to be anything over the top this time around.
As I was decorating, I got to thinking: what kinds of creative, yet simple Christmas decor ideas are out there? Turns out, there are quite a few! After doing some Pinterest-hunting and browsing a few corners of the Internet, I came up with five simple ways to decorate for this holiday season, and I'm excited to share them with you today!
Let's get started, shall we?
1 | Plop a small Christmas tree in a basket and light it up
I love having a real Christmas tree in the house for the season, but the prospect of hauling it from a tree farm (or our local Whole Foods or hardware store - let's be real!), wrestling it into the house, decorating it, and dealing with the inevitable needle aftermath can feel overwhelming. Why not try a low-key version of that experience this year? I would argue that a small tree, decorated with a few strands of lights and plopped in a pretty basket, can be just as beautiful as a large one adorned with tons of ornaments - especially if you're into a minimalist Scandinavian feel. Just take one look at that image from The Merry Thought above if you need convincing (I'm also digging those little fairy lights* she used). If you're big on ornaments, or have kids that love to decorate the tree every year, this may not work for you, but otherwise, give it a try!
I even found a few affordable basket ideas for you if you need one for your tree:
- Simple seagrass basket (it may even be the same one pictured here!)
- Modern color-blocked belly basket
- Woven basket with silver threads (fun and festive!)
2 | Hang garland just about anywhere for big impact
Mix & Match Design Company
Adding greenery to your home in the form of a pine, cedar, or mixed garland is one of the most impactful ways to decorate for the holidays, and it's also one of the simplest and quickest! You can go real or artificial, and you can choose to decorate it or leave it all natural - there are lots of possibilities. Drape them across a mantle or over a doorway, or swag them down a stair railing.
Last year I hung a real cedar garland on our bannister, which looked lovely, but this year I opted to use the faux sage and pine garlands from the Magnolia Hearth & Home collection at Target. I'm super impressed by how real they look, and bonus - no dried out garland to clean up at the end! You can catch a glimpse of it on our railing here and in the first photo.
Side note: If you go faux with your garland, it's worth doing your research and investing in good ones that look as real as possible (hint: stock up when they go on sale after Christmas!).
3 | Hang a group of wreaths together
via One Kings Lane
Wreaths are one of those ubiquitous Christmas decorations that instantly makes your home feel holiday-ready. While hanging one on the front door is a great place to start, why not try something a little more creative by clustering several together in one spot? Above a fireplace mantle (like in the example here) is a prime area, or use a long stretch of wall. No open spots? Try taking down a piece of art or mirror and replacing it with wreaths for this season - it's an easy swap! For easy hanging, use 3M Command Hooks that won't damage your walls when the season is over and it's time to re-hang the original items.
4 | String up home made (or store bought!) holiday-themed buntings or garlands
via Bungalow 5
Ready to show off your crafty side? How about putting together some holiday-themed bead garlands or paper buntings? Just like with the wreath idea, if you hang multiples together, it will have a greater visual impact and feel extra festive. Make sure you change up the sizes and materials to give it that collected look like in the photo above. These are easy to make, but do take some time - grab some supplies, a glass of wine and some friends, and make it into a little party!
If you're not the crafty type, have no fear. There are a ton of ready-to-hang options out there. Here are a few of my picks:
- White and natural wood bead garland (perfectly neutral!)
- The most adorable multicolored tassel garland
- Green, red, and white ball garland
5 | Fill vases with pine branches
via House Number 15
Head to any place that's selling Christmas trees and I'll bet they have a pile of trimmed-off branches nearby. They're often headed to the trash or being recycled, so ask if you can take some home for free! Those cast-off branches become charming holiday touches when "planted" in a vase of water. They're a great addition to a console table, as a part of your dining room centerpiece, or on a bedroom dresser - really any spot that needs a little sprinkle of holiday cheer. You can even add a couple of lightweight ornaments!
All right, friends! That wraps up my list of five easy holiday decorating ideas! I'd love to hear yours too. Leave a comment or hop on over to Instagram to chime in!
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