Decorating For Christmas: Where To Start, What To Do
You can create a beautiful Christmas home. Here are my favorite designer Christmas decorating ideas that will help you know where to start decorating and what to do.
Transform your home into a Christmas wonderland with with help from this ultimate guide on how to decorate for Christmas! Discover creative ideas and expert designer tips to deck the halls with the finery of the Holiday season. From charming arrangements to a sparkling tree, make this holiday season merry and bright with these inspiring Christmas decor tips.
My Christmas Decorating Story
I’ve been blogging for over 14 years now and have learned a lot about decorating a home for Christmas! Today I’m sharing the best tips that I have learned by studying how interior designers decorate their homes.
I’ve ferreted out the easiest and best ways to decorate a home, my home, and your home, for Christmas!
I must be honest; decorating Christmas used to be a gargantuan task! Bringing up all those huge bins of Christmas greenery and Christmas wreaths and Christmas ornaments and all kinds of other holiday decorations stuff was exhausting.
Then I had to figure out what to do with all my Christmas “stuff” once I lugged it up from the basement!
Honestly, it took some of the Ho-Ho-Ho out of Christmas!
But now (don’t you love the words “but now”), Christmas decorating is so much easier! It’s still a lot of work but much more fun and joyful!
Over the years, not only have I collected some lovely Christmas decor I have also edited tons of other Christmas stuff that was tired, broken, or old. So what I’m left with is the best of the best Christmas decorations!
Even though you might love your Christmas decor, most of us want easy ways to decorate with all the things we have. And that’s where I can help!
Let’s decorate our homes for Christmas the easy way!
Where To Start Christmas Decorating
Before we get into all the easy Christmas decorating ideas, let’s first chat just a little about the best way to start decorating.
Easy Christmas decorating begins with making a plan!
Think through and plan your Christmas decor out even before you put one snowflake on your Christmas tree or one wreath on a front door wreath!
Here are my must-do planning ideas…
- Create a color palette for your Christmas home- see How To Create A Christmas Color Palette.
- Choose a theme for your decorations.
- Go through your Christmas collections and choose only the best to display- You might like to read Decorating With Christmas Collections.
- Purchase or collect wrapping paper and ribbon to work with your Christmas house palette.
Choosing A Christmas Color Palette And Theme
Please take the time to create a Christmas color palette and a Christmas decor theme. This will help you immensely as you plan and execute your decorating plan!
Here is my Christmas color scheme for this year…
Not your typical Christmas color palette. I chose this color palette because I found a gorgeous copper ribbon and thought I could create beautiful natural Christmas decor around it.
The theme this year is Woodland Walk. I’ll be using lots of natural but faux greens and other things like pinecones and acorns.
I made a centerpiece with a natural look that gives you a little peek at how I’ll be decorating our home this Christmas.
And here is last year’s color palette…
Last year’s Christmas color palette came from the colors I used to decorate our master bedroom the year before. I loved them so much that I decided to decorate our whole home with them. And the theme was Burnished. I used lots of burnished and rich metallics with snowy faux greens.
Choosing a color palette and a theme for Christmas makes decorating for the season so much easier. All of the decor I use will be filtered through my Christmas color palette and the theme.
Knowing the color palette and the theme also makes it easy to see if there is anything I need to decorate our home. Things like wrapping paper, ribbons, ornaments, and more!
Create Christmas Decorating Recipes
Just like we need recipes when we cook or bake recipes are also very helpful when we decorate!
Here’s what I mean about a Christmas decorating recipe…
Instead of having to think of new ideas and ways to decorate year after year, we can create a blueprint or recipe for each area of our home.
This will make Christmas decorating so easy!
Here’s how it works…
Let’s say you want to decorate your dining room table. Make a recipe for decorating it:
- One large arrangement in the middle
- Candlesticks on either side
- Small Christmas decor scattered here and there
Now, every year I have a recipe to help me know what to put on my Christmas dining table.
One large arrangement could mean a bowl of ornaments or fruit and evergreens. Or it could mean greens in a bowl with a candle like the image above.
Some years it can also mean a vase of flowers in the center of our table or a lush live wreath laid on the table with a big candle in the middle of it.
Some years I use tall candlesticks like I used this year and some years I use votives. And some years, like this year I used tall candlesticks and a Christmas tree candle.
Once you have a decorating recipe the options are almost limitless. And styling your table becomes much easier! Think about making a decorating recipe for the flat surfaces and the mantel in your home! And make them simple and easy!
Using Christmas Organics, Real And Faux
Christmas greenery is simple and beautiful Christmas decor!
The best, and also easiest, Christmas decorating tip I can give you is to use lots and lots of beautiful evergreens and flowers and pinecones and berries and other organics like pomegranates and oranges to decorate your Christmas home!
They make a home look spectacularly festive because these things are quintessentially Christmas!
Christmas greens are a decorating must! I mostly use real-looking faux greens. I buy the best I can afford on sale and have been collecting them little by little for decades. I let go of any greens that begin to look frazzled and only keep the best.
One great thing about using faux greens is that they last all holiday season and look fabulous!
A big designer is to mix real greens and flowers or other naturals with faux Christmas greens and adding faux flowers look beautiful!
The faux hydrangeas and frosted Christmas evergreens in the image above sit beside a smaller arrangement of real green hydrangeas and seeded eucalyptus on my kitchen island. Combining real and faux fools the eye into thinking everything is real and fresh!
This year I mixed real paperwhite with a little faux Christmas tree that sits on my bed in a tray.
They look so pretty together!
And to give my paperwhites a more designer look I put them in a little pot and covered the soil with sphagnum moss.
Here are some ways to use Christmas greenery and other natural in your home this Christmas…
- drape a mantel with a pretty real or faux garland
- add a few sprigs of real seeded eucalyptus to a pretty small vase
- put a family Christmas picture in a pretty frame and sit it on a few greens
- add a bowl of artichokes or pomegranates with some greenery to the center of your dining room table
- make a small wreath out of a few pieces of Frasier fur
- add a white orchid in a little pot and a small candle next to it with greens scattered around them
You might like to read How To Decorate With Faux Greens At Christmas.
And How To Keep Live Greens Looking Fresh Longer.
Make Your Christmas Tree The Star
Another designer tip for easy Christmas decorating is to make your tree the star!
This is where to spend your energy, time and creativity! A beautifully decorated tree supported by gifts wrapped and decorated with coordinating wrapping paper and ribbon will make the whole room look Christmassy and cohesive.
I know decorating a tree is not always easy but it adds more Christmas magic than any other decoration!
Even a tabletop tree can be the star of a room! So think about adding more than one tree to your Christmas home!
You might like to know more about tabletop trees. Here are two informative posts…
The Ultimate Guide To Tabletop Trees
How To Decorate A Tabletop Tree
The Backbone Of Christmas Decor
If we really think about it, most Christmas decor is made up of those 2 main kinds of decor. The first is a Christmas tree, the second is arrangements. Think of a Christmas tree as the focal point and arrangements as mini-focal points and accents.
For the sake of today’s post, let’s use the words arrangements and centerpieces interchangeably. They basically are the same thing.
When I think of centerpieces and arrangements I think of something corralled in a bowl or basket or tray. Many times Christmas arrangements are made up of natural elements like evergreens or flowers and leafy stems or berries!
A vignette is made up of several items that tell a story. They are usually gathered together in a tray or sit on a table.
Much of our Christmas decor is really different arrangements or vignettes! I hope you are having a lightbulb moment like I did! So learning how to put together easy and pretty arrangements and how to style lovely vignettes will make it easy to decorate your Christmas home!
The image above is an easy Christmas arrangement I put together in under 10 minutes! I used things I had on hand to make the arrangement below.
Arrangements and centerpieces add festive decor to almost any flat surface in you home.
The vignette with the bells on the buffet took minutes! Not all vignettes need to use a tray.
It is so easy to learn how to create pretty and easy arrangements!
Here are a few must-read posts that will help you learn how to make arrangements and centerpieces for Christmas and everyday decorating as well…
The Easiest Christmas Arrangement
Use What You Have Christmas Arrangement
Christmas Dough Bowl Arrangement: A Twist On An Advent Wreath
Using Christmas Collections
Another easy and simple Christmas decorating idea is to use those pretty Christmas things you collect. But, only use your best collectibles and use them with an edited hand.
What do you collect? Can you not resist a Santa or a snowman? Do ornaments make you weak in the knees?
I collect little trees. I have tons of them. Some Christmases I use my tree collection but other Christmases I don’t use them at all. Last year I chose my best white and light-colored trees and displayed several of them grouped together here and there in our home.
I found these darling little white trees that light up in a local shop and bought a bunch of them. I knew they would look so pretty lit up with the rest of the trees in my collection!
You might like to read Decorating With Your Christmas Collections.
Make your collections part of your Christmas decor. Choose a few of your best and use them.
Christmas Ornaments
Using Christmas ornaments can be one of the easiest ways to decorate for Christmas! Add your favorite ornaments to a pretty footed bowl with a few sprigs of greens or other leafy stems and you have pretty Christmas decor!
I look for large ornaments for my collection too. These big ornaments can stand alone with some greens around them too. I think that is such a pretty look.
The ornament next to the bowl of my favorite mercury glass ornaments is really a candle but doesn’t it carry the ornament theme well?
Candles Create Magical Ambiance
Candles are an important part of Christmas decorating. No matter the size or shape, candles add a glow to Christmas decor that makes it look extra beautiful!
Choose candle holders wisely! Think about their size and material when adding them to a room you are decorating for Christmas! Use them liberally! They are probably the easiest way to decorate for Christmas!
Pay Attention To The Details
Christmas decorating is really all about the details.
Adding candles across a mantel. Hanging a Christmas wreath on a front door or mirror. Or creating a spectacular centerpiece filled with greenery on a dining room table! These are all tried and true ways to decorate for Christmas!
No matter what you do to decorate your home for Christmas pay attention to those details that make your Christmas decor look finished, well thought out, and beautiful.
When you use those candles across your mantel make sure to vary their heights. And when you hang a wreath on your front door or mirror make sure every single green on the wreath is straightened out perfectly. And when you create that spectacular centerpiece of greenery in your dining room make sure it is in the right container!
Easy Christmas decorating means paying attention to the details too!
I hope I’ve given you lots of easy Christmas decorating ideas and tips! And I hope you will use some of them to decorate your beautiful home for Christmas!
Click To See More Christmas Inspiration
Love your design sense; can you tell me where you found that white container/vase with the hydrangeas in it please?
Hi Heather, I found this vase locally years ago.
Great ideas.Always start with a plan and keep it simple..Love your neutral color pallet with the pop of green.
Yvonne, may I ask where byou got your cow bells?
Here you go June:https://amzn.to/3oXcWcB
Such great and simply beautiful Ideas. Thank You for all the inspiration. I am on the look out for some brass candlesticks, where did you find yours?
Hi Debbi, I found the ones on our dining room table at West Elm but I don’t see them anymore. Look at Wayfair. Hope this is helpful.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve visited blogs. You’re home is as beautiful as ever. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you are visiting Deborah! Merry Christmas!
I love your posts; I get so many great ideas from them. I would love a post on how to hang garland on a mantle. I never know how to hang it and end of just laying on top of the mantle. It just doesn’t look right! How do you know what length of garland you need and how to swag it?
Thank you so much for all your inspiration,
I’m just working on my mantel for this Christmas and will show you my secrets for putting garland on a mantel!
Yvonne has a great post on hanging the greenery with command strips and also on hanging stockings and ornaments on a mantle using a beautiful curtain rod. Can you post those links again Yvonne?
I think my favorite part of seasonal decorating is the planning. Now that Nov starts tommorow it is time to decide on my theme and colors for Christmas. I keep a little notebook on my coffee table so I can jot down ideas for vignettes, mantle and tree decorating.I ordered a new tabletop tree and good faux greens for the mantle and seasonal arrangements but haven’t even opened the boxes yet. Not till Thanksgiving is celebrated. Time flies by,quickly enough with out rushing the seasons. I know as a blogger you have to be giving us ideas much earlier and I certainly appreciate your ideas. It is such fun to take the ones that work in your house and adapting some of them into
our home. I always give you credit when the compliments come from friends and family.
Enjoy the month of Nov and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family.
All your decor sound so pretty, my friend! LOVE a tabletop tree!
Hi Yvonne,
As usual, you have shared so many elegant decorating ideas for Christmas. I am always inspired to go out on my own and try some of these suggestions. I had a question though. In your description of choosing a color palette, I see you list a bit of “burnished” red. Where does this show up in your decor? I love the elegance, simplicity, and peacefulness of your muted whites and beiges, but I do love a splash of color, too!
This year I am dipping my toe in red. Just red berries in the tree and on the mantel. I also got a gorgeous set of red velvet pillows to use on the sofa. Not a lot of red, just a little tiny bit.
I no longer put up a tree. I downsized and there just doesn’t seem to be a spot for one. The grandkids are now grown and live across country so no requirement. I use greens on my mantel and that gives me all the feelings. Up until last year, I used live branches. Loved the smell but with the falling needles I decided to buy a good faux. I’ll probably wait until mid November to decorate. I have a selection of little trees and deer so will make a woodland theme this year. I try to change it up every year.
Joanna, your Christmas home sounds beautiful! Have you ever considered a small tabletop tree? We have a very small sunroom and our little tree is perfect in there. And so so easy to set up!
As usual, your tips are practical, helpful and oh so wonderfully explained. Thank you sooo much and never stop using that glorious teaching gift God gave you!
Deb, how kind! I’m thrilled to help.
PS: For Debbi D. regarding brass candlesticks. Almost EVERY good estate sale will have brass candlesticks and usually MANY of them! 😉
Such a good tip, Deb! Thank you.
Helpful ideas for when we become overwhelmed. I take pictures of Christmas decor, then decide which areas need an upgrade, and which still work. The recipe or template remains the same, just refreshed with better quality greens, or more natural faux items. Love your organics mixed with mercury glass.
Good for you Jane! You sound like a designer.
Love everything you’ve created here. Thankful for the inspiration
Hi Evelyn, aren’t you so nice! I hope this inspires you.
Your home ALWAYS looks beautiful at Christmas! Can’t wait to see this years . Would love to get together soon???? Please!!!
Of course! I’d love that too! Give me a call.
Your guides are always the best! So helpful and useful! Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks for easy Christmas decorating! I excited to be able to feature you at Tuesday Turn About today! Pinned!
Thanks, Julie!
When I signed up on your blog I got transferred to something called converkit?? Is this part of your blog? I filled in my info on this page….scary thought if it doesn’t belong to your blog.
Hi Karen, ConvertKit is the way I send out my emails. It’s safe! So don’t worry. You did the right thing.
As always there are so many fabulous ideas that I will be using, but not sure which ones I will be using. Thanks for the beautiful ideas
I love your ideas! My problem is loving new and updated, but having many sentimental items that are difficult to let go and not have in my decorating each year.
Why not add a bit of both! Rotate your sentimental items on an on and off basis?
I have a question. Where did you purchase the small white wool sheep wearing the crown?
It’s adorable. You probably have had it for years.
Fran
Hi Fran, I had the little sheep for about 10 years. Sorry I don’t have a source.
Hi Fran, I had the little sheep for about 10 years. Sorry, I don’t have a source.
A-maz-ing! As always I love your home. All your Christmas decorations this year is just as gorgeous as Christmas past
Hi Yvonne, I’m a bit late to the party, but enjoyed this post so much. I will be saving some of these ideas for next year. I had to check back in. It’s been awhile… I remember you used to tell us about your tiny lights you used to use that had remote controls on them. Our little tree just lost it’s lights and I want to buy another string. We keep that little beauty lit up all year with different decorations on it to keep it seasonal. Can you steer me to a good place to send for some new lights? I only need a string about 8 or 10 feet long. Thank you if you can help, and Happy New year blessings. Adele in Florence, OR
Sorry, Adele! It’s horrible when the tree lights don’t work! I think you are wanting fairy lights? Try these:https://amzn.to/3jxK0rk
Thanks for all the decor ideas, recipes, and the devotions you share! May you and your love ones have a wonderful holiday season with Thanksgiving and Christmas ahead. May God bless!
Yvonne, what a beautiful post, as always. I love your dining room table candlesticks. Do you happen to know of a dupe for these? I would love to do a similar design, as I am a down sizer and have a table similar in size to yours! Thank you!
Every fall, I start out thinking I’m not going to “fuss” over xmas decor. Ha ha!!!!!!! Ha ha because I LOVE IT! For me, it starts with pinning stuff I like, then thinking how to tweak what I already have for the year & what I might need to pick up. I look over my stuff before Thanksgiving, so I have a pretty good idea of where I’m going with it. Then, once family has cleared out after Thanksgiving, let the games begin! It changes year to year. New house, started with garlands the first year here. But the cat liked them too much so they turned into wreaths for last year! This year, i don’t want the wreaths blocking my window views so I will do something different with them again. I enjoy the creativity of it all. Years ago, in a different house, I loved red red red. Then did NONE in this house, now this year, I am going to reintroduce some red. Interesting that you are too! Fun, isn’t it?
You should have written this post! All sounds so wonderful. Congrats on your new home. May you be blessed in it.
Yvonne
Everything looks so beautiful. You do such a great job decorating. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.