Christmas Decorating Ideas for a Festive Season

Whether you're gearing up for a festive party, relishing quality moments with family, or simply indulging in your favorite holiday traditions, there are countless ways to elevate your decor for the Christmas season. This time of year brims with possibilities—all you need is a touch of creativity, some out-of-the-box thinking, and the right inspiration.

It's considered the most wonderful time of the year for a reason, and you can make it even more delightful. In this post, we've compiled a list of inspiring ideas to spark your imagination, ensuring that your decor remains stylish and in sync with the theme of this holiday season.

Christmas tree - a holiday staple

The Christmas tree is a holiday staple, so why not maximize its potential to create a festive atmosphere that embodies the holiday season? Christmas trees come in various sizes and colors—there are even rainbow trees—making it easy to find one that matches your interior decor and personality.

While a colorful or white tree might seem chic and contemporary, the classic green tree holds its timeless allure. Opting for a real tree adds a natural touch to your home, though expect some cleanup as certain tree species are prone to shedding needles—keep a brush handy! Choosing a real tree can be a great conversation starter and a natural decor feature that adds a delightful scent to your home.

For a unique tree setup, you can forgo the conventional tree stand or skirt in favor of inventive methods like using an actual planter filled with soil and water to hold the tree upright—a quirky yet intriguing approach that's gaining attention.

If you don't want to deal with cleanup during the festive season or if a real tree doesn't align with your style or budget, there's an array of artificial tree options available. Ranging from budget-friendly to more luxurious, these faux trees work just as effectively in bringing Christmas cheer and enlivening your decor.

If the Christmas tree is not your vibe, you can choose a more creative option. Over the years, people have crafted innovative alternatives to the traditional tree. From stacking books and shaping clothes hangers into simple triangle-shaped cutouts or even a tree shaped like a dinosaur, there are many out-of-the-box ideas to explore.

Pick a colour scheme

While the Christmas season is one of extravagance and is often associated with an array of colors. You can select a color scheme and run it throughout the house during the holidays. You can choose many great winter color schemes for your holiday theme.

Christmas is often associated with reds and greens, but you can always go a different route. An entire color spectrum is available to you, but it's important that you use it correctly. Although your existing decor plays a huge factor, there are many ways to incorporate it into your festive color scheme. The sky is your limit if you have a white or neutral-themed interior. However, this may not be the case for everyone.

Let's take darker interiors, for example. Although red and green work well here, why not try something different? With a black interior, gold or silver looks amazingly chic and, in a way, still gives warm Christmas vibes in a less traditional sense. Gold baubles look fabulous on a tree with white lights - you could even add red as a pop of color and make the gold stand out.

If you are a fan of ribbons, lining your fireplace or curtain poles with silver ribbons creates eye-catching features that can elevate your current decor. Opt for more non-traditional Christmas colors if you're not into traditional gold, silver, red, or green. You can easily find holiday decor in any color these days, or you can create your own.

If you're into the winter wonderland, choose crisp whites and icy blues in your decor, including baubles, blankets, ribbons, fake snow, lights, and icicles. Dripping blue icicle lights look incredible if you hang them outside to mimic natural ice. Throw in a stuffed polar bear ornament, maybe an elf or two, and you're definitely on the right track with your wonderland.

Don't forget about the Advent calendar

Advent calendars are a popular tradition that began in Germany during the 19th Century. They can be as incredible or as dull as you want. These days, you can find these calendars in stores during the holidays. They come with chocolates in squares that correspond to every day leading up to Christmas. However, there are ways you can take this idea and elevate it to enhance not only your decor but also the fun.

There are many tutorials about making Advent calendars out there. If you're into some DIY craft projects for the holidays or want to create unique gifts, this might be the perfect project for you.

You can use any storage items, like little ring boxes or paper bag pouches, to create storage for chocolates or other sweet treats. You can suspend or organize them on a tray but remember to include the day numbers that count to the big day.

If you have some old cardboard boxes or toilet rolls, you can create fun and inventive calendars with your kids. Make each compartment as big or small as you wish (depending on what will go inside) and glue it together. Decorate your DIY Advent calendar with cute accessories like dried twigs, nuts and ribbons.

Another option is if you have some old jars or little pots! Paint them whatever color you like, write a number on top for the corresponding days and fill them with candy. These can be hung from anywhere or placed anywhere for you to access them every day.

What to put in them? That's entirely down to you. You can fill your calendars with flavored teas, chocolate and candy or go for a more adult theme with small gin or wine bottles. The ideas are limitless, so it's all down to what you want for your little treat per day on the run-up to the big day.

Enhance your existing features

Another way to enhance your decor and play up the festive holiday season is to enhance what already exists within your home. We're not just talking about older, stately homes, but apartments too, as interesting architectural features can be found anywhere.

Let's start with Christmas garlands. If you have a beautiful fireplace you love to show off, elevate it by hanging a garland over the hearth and adding some stockings for bonus Christmas vibes. The same idea applies to staircase railings. You may have a home with an original staircase, and wrapping garlands around the railings can instantly transform your decor into a holiday one. You don't need antique railings; this idea works with all staircases.

Garlands are a versatile Christmas essential for inside and outside your home. They can be used not only on fireplaces and railings but also on doorways, windows, curtain poles and outside. It's not all about garlands, though. Traditional Christmas decorations such as wreaths can be bought or handmade and pretty much placed anywhere at home, but there is something about a beautiful Christmas wreath on a beautiful door that just screams "Welcome to the Christmas season."

Other architectural features you can take advantage of include high ceilings. You can hang lights or decorations from the or use arched doorways for the mistletoe. A touch of spray-on snow on the windows can also add some holiday cheer. The ideas are available, so start thinking and get creative. You can transform your home stylishly and uniquely for Christmas this year.

Spruce up your dining area

Dinner parties, festive dinners, and entertaining are the staples of the Christmas season. Although it is essential to partake in everything responsibly, Christmas is usually a time we overindulge, so why not make the most of it and spruce up the areas where you're most likely to overeat?

If you're talking dinner parties and dining, you will want your room to look the part. Now, colors come into play here about as much as any other time of the year, but Christmas is when you can go the extra mile. Let's start with a tablecloth for your dining table. While any tablecloth will do, 'tis the season, so try to embrace the color scheme you have chosen for the rest of your home.

Reds work well here - for psychological reasons, but also greens, golds, whites, and even those icy blue colors. You can get tablecloths in various colors and prints so you can embrace Christmas colors and trends. If all else fails, you'll be sure to find some with reindeer or Santa prints that will be an easy alternative. The same principle applies to table runners. These are a great alternative if you don't want to cover the whole table but still want a little festive cheer.

Once you have your basics covered, you can move on to other decorative details, such as candles and centerpieces. Candles are an easy way to change the ambiance and are a great addition to any dinner party. They come in a variety of colors to fit your color scheme. Be sure to opt for scent-free ones, though, as you don't want anything to disrupt the smell of delicious food.

As for centerpieces, these are a very traditional focal point of dining and can realistically be whatever you please. Some people go for flowers, which would be an excellent choice given the time of year. However, feel free to choose seasonal fruits, berries, a themed statue, or even just a massive candle in the middle surrounded by little bits of everything. If it catches the eye, it's done its purpose.

Next is dinnerware, and while families tend to have fancy plates for this time of year, you are free to go in whatever direction you choose. Some people like to use disposable plates to save on washing up, which is fine if you go for a less formal dinner party. Use compostable ones to reduce trash and keep things sustainable.

Like most things this time of year, you can even get creative with the plates. Instead of boring white plates, why not choose a different color, shape or size? If you have a gold tablecloth, black plates make a fantastic contrast. You can also select fancy glassware or add extra oomph with decorated chinaware. After all, small things like this usually leave the biggest impression.

Speaking of little things that make a big impact, individual placeholders are a great way to add a personal touch. Since it is Christmas, these could be written on little tree-shaped paper or miniature scrolls in fancy calligraphy. Another nice little gesture is adding decorations to your chairs. These can be as simple or as extravagant as you want. Are there any unused garlands or ribbons? Wrap them around the chairs like gifts. It all depends on how much effort you want to put in, but it usually translates into a huge payoff.

Bonus tips

• Candles are great decor any time of the year and can elevate the ambiance of a room. Whether you add these to your living room, bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen, they just exude coziness and add necessary lighting. This makes them a perfect choice for the darker winter months and over the Christmas period.
• When wrapping presents, store-bought wrapping paper is always great. You can even recycle old newspapers for an eco-friendly touch. However, if you like to go over the top in your gift-giving consider custom wrapping paper. This cna include unique wrapping paper, from glitter print to hologram, to custom-desinged paper with the recipient's face on it. Consider wrapping a gift in a printed blanket and then wrapped in a bow, which is like a two-for-one gift this time of year.

• Candy canes have become as big and as famous as Christmas trees so why not use them to their full potential. Yes, hang them on your tree, but they also look amazing hanging anywhere else. From garlands, ribbons, along the top of a window or even in a basket to hand to your guests on the way in or out of your home - which is another nice little touch.
• String lights are your friend! Not only just for the tree or outside of your home, but they can also be used anywhere around your interior to bring a little bit of extra Christmas cheer. By draping them around chairs, over garlands, from the ceiling, or across plants and trees, you'll be able to make anything feel festive.

Conclusion

Whether you are a big traditionalist or an adventurist, Christmas is a time to relax, enjoy and have fun. What better way to relax and enjoy than having a home that allows you to do just this? Either by adding subtle spruces to the wrapping paper, or considerable decor overhauls there are millions of ways you can elevate your interior for the season.

While this list in no way provides every idea possible to spruce up your decor for this holiday season, we hope it will inspire you and help you get creative to enhance your home over Christmas!

Planner 5D has an extensive catalog of Christmas decor items so you can plan you holiday decor in advance. Try it today and be ready to dazzle your guests when they arrive.