Holiday Decorating Tips & Tricks
Do you find yourself wanting to make your home look absolutely spectacular during the holidays, but you’re not sure what exactly looks “off” that’s stopping your decor from looking the best it possibly can? In today’s blog, I’m going to share with all of you my little tips & tricks I’ve learned & picked up over the years of obsessively decorating for Christmas. No, I’m not an interior decorator, I’m just someone who really loves Christmas decor, and always wants my space to look like it could be straight out of a home decor magazine.
I’m going to break it down into four sections: General Tips & Tricks, Decorating The Tree, Garland & Wreaths and Outdoor Decorating, since I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve for each of these areas. Of course, this is just my personal way of decorating, and you may have another way that you work & love, so do whatever works best for you! Let’s start off with some overall tips.
General Tips & Tricks
Pick a theme and/or colour scheme and do your best to stick to it. I strongly advise against trying to mix colour palettes (ex.: a traditional Christmas colour palette on your tree with a silver & icy blue wreath) as it will make it look completely mismatched & unintentional. I know it can be hard to stick to one look, because I do appreciate all types of Christmas decor, but I promise the overall look of your space will look best with one theme.
If you find yourself changing your mind a lot about what look you want for your Christmas decor (ex: one year you love a boho Christmas look, and the next you want something more woodsy), invest in neutral, clean base items that are the most expensive: the tree, garlands, wreaths without any additional items like pinecones, flocking or lights strung through; and instead add your colour or theme in cheaper items like your ornaments, bows, blankets or pillows.
When purchasing lights, decide if you want a warm feeling (AKA, warm white: gives a feel similar to candles) or cool feeling (AKA cool white: most likely what you think of when you hear LED lights). Warm white lights are better if you want to make your space cozy and use mostly warm colours (red, orange, yellow + gold) throughout your decor. Cool white lights are better if you want to replicate a snowy, wintery feeling and your decor uses mostly cool colours (green, blue, purple + silver).
Decorating Your Tree
Don’t hang ornaments lower than the bottom of the tree. Not only are they more likely to get knocked off, but it doesn’t look as clean and put together if the ornaments are showing under the last branches of the tree. If you look at any professionally styled tree, nothing hangs below the bottom!
The more ornaments the better! If you think about any holiday ads you see, the trees are always packed with tons of ornaments, so don’t hold back. And believe me, you’ll know if you don’t have enough, because you’ll find your tree looks bare.
If you have a faux tree, before you even consider starting to add ornaments, take some time to spread the branches out; it will make your tree appear fuller & more realistic.
If you’re short on ornaments & your tree is placed in a corner, or area where most people won’t really see the back of the tree, fill the most visible areas with ornaments first.
Don’t just add ornaments — strings of beads, ribbon & garland go a long way too. I personally choose to put my garland on last (carefully, not to knock off any ornaments) and then adjust which ornaments I want in front of the garland.
Garland & Wreaths
Ornaments don’t just belong on the tree! If you want, feel free to add some ornaments to your garland as well. It will tie in with your tree, giving it an overall more cohesive look throughout your space.
If you like to wrap your garland up the railing of the stairs, try tying it up every foot or so using Christmas ribbon instead of wrapping it around the banister. This not only leaves the railing free to hold, but I’ve found it creates less mess, saves time & saves energy.
If you don’t have a fireplace to hang your stockings over, hang your stockings from your garland that runs up the stairs. Or, if you don’t have stairs, place a strip of garland across a surface like a tv stand & use stocking hangers.
Wreaths aren’t just for your front door! Get some smaller wreaths and hang them on inside doors (ex. Your bedroom, etc.), or even on your backdoor. They also aren’t just limited to doors - hang them in windows as well! This will look especially cozy & cute if they’re lit up on a snowy winter night.
Outdoor Decorating
If you want to add some lights to your outdoor area, but don’t want to constantly run out to plug & unplug them, invest in either a timer or a wireless remote light switch so you can easily control when you want the lights on or off from the comfort of indoors.
If you have any of your own tips & tricks for getting your house fantastic for the holidays, please drop them in the comments below. I’m always looking for more efficient ways of decorating & storing my decor, so if there’s something that you think would help me, and everyone else out, please let me know. Thanks for reading and see you again next week!
