Ideas for Christmas Decorating

by Tonya Hillukka

sxc.hu/norriuke

The holidays are fast approaching. Are you ready for Christmas? Often, the first step to get into the holiday spirit is to decorate the home with festive decor. 

When preparing for the holiday season, you can use a number of Christmas decorating ideas to lend a festive touch to each room in your home. Available in many forms, from table-toppers to outdoor wreaths, decorations serve as cheerful accents to Christmas trees, and are an important part of many families' holiday traditions. 

Living Room Decorations

Decorate the main "gathering place" of your home for Christmas to welcome holiday guests.

• Drape real, or pine-scented artificial, garland woven with small lights on a fireplace mantel, a stairwell or a long windowsill.

• Hang handmade Christmas ornaments on your tree and place handmade crafts on end tables or on mantels. Children will love having their designs on display for guests and family.

• In a free corner of the room, set up a Nativity scene, Christmas caroler display or Santa and reindeer display using figurines made of a child-friendly material. Add cotton to represent snow and include small house or train figurines if desired.

• Set out Christmas-oriented items such as books, CDs, DVDs and magazines for guest and family entertain themselves.

Tables and Furniture

Table surfaces, chairs and benches look wonderful when decorated with Christmas-themed items.

• Throw pillows in various patterns, shapes, and sizes. Place a few festive pillows on couches, chairs, wooden benches and beds.

• Miniature artificial Christmas trees. Decorate your dining table, coffee table, or desktop with a small tree covered in bows, tinsel and ornaments.

• Candles in a variety of holiday scents. Yankee Candles offers fragrant jar candles in scents such as Christmas Eve, Peppermint Swirls and Holiday Garland.

• Patterned fleece blankets and guest towels. Hang towels with a Christmas design on bathroom and kitchen racks, and cover beds and sitting areas with Christmas blankets.

Outdoor Ideas

Share your love for the holidays with your neighborhood--decorate your front porch with various items.

• Real or artificial wreaths for windows, front doors and porch railings. Christmas wreaths are available in many styles and colors.

• A basket of scented pine cones placed on your porch for guests to enjoy as they arrive at your home.

• Single strands of lights, either white or colored, carefully affixed to window or porch trim.

• A painted wooden "Welcome" plaque with a Christmas theme (personalized with your family name if desired).

Unique Touches

Add some Christmas fun to game rooms, kids' rooms and kitchens with cute, unexpected decorations.

• Stand-alone Advent calendars, which give children the opportunity to "count down' to Christmas Eve and enjoy a piece of candy each day. These calendars are available in shapes such as Christmas trees.

• Musical Christmas clocks and telephones that play your favorite carols when activated.

• Snow globes, such as the one pictured at right. Be sure to keep these decorative items out of a young child's reach.

• Musical plush toys in designs such as reindeer, Santa and Mrs. Claus, snowmen or elves.

These Christmas decorating ideas can be tailored to fit your budget, as many department stores and retail shops offer affordable items for the home. Homemade decorations also add a cost-effective yet unique touch to your home's Christmas theme.

References

http://www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com/category/christmas-decorating/

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/christmas/indoor-decorating/

**Note: This article was previously published and removed from BrightHub.com.  The publishing rights were passed back to Tonya upon deletion from the site 11/04/11.