Christmas is almost upon us, so now’s the time to think about the best ways to bring cheer in to your house this holiday season. The ultimate aim when styling your home for Christmas is for it to feel cozy and inviting and really get you in the spirit. But with so much choice in the shops it can be difficult to decide how you want it to look. Decorating your home for Christmas should be fun and stress-free though so here’s a few tips to get you started.
Photo credit: Kirsty Andrews via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Choose a Theme
Before you start buying your Christmas decorations and fairy lights it’s important to decide on a color scheme. A cohesive theme will bring the whole look together and create impact. The classic Christmas colors are green and red or red and white so these are best if you want to go down the more traditional route. Traditional doesn’t mean boring though; it’s easy to make this scheme unique by adding foliage and natural elements like wood and pine cones.
If you fancy something a little more contemporary why not swap the white for grey and channel a Scandinavian vibe by combining it with red. This is an incredibly popular theme at the moment, and you can buy lots of accessories that will help you truly turn your home into a Scandinavian haven. If you want to go it alone, though, including lots of textures and patterns will give this theme a unique Nordic style.
If you’re feeling brave and want something really unique why not opt for a black and gold color scheme. Black might sound like a sharp contrast to the idea of Christmas joy but the addition of gold gives it a fabulous opulent feel and who doesn’t love a bit of sparkle at this time of year.
Dine in Style
There’s no denying that food plays a very important role at Christmas and the star of the show is usually a feast for all on Christmas Day, so it goes without saying that the dining table needs to look the part. Most of the attention should be focused on a magnificent centerpiece; whether it’s handmade, edible or simply beautiful, as long as it captures everyone’s attention then it’s doing its job well. Splash out on some new crockery – there’s plenty of options in the shops to suit your chosen theme from white with a simple pattern to gorgeous gold plated pieces. Finish the look off with some key pieces such as a table runner, napkins and crackers. For that little extra pizzazz why not create name holders to match the centerpiece and avoid the arguments over who sits next to whom.
Create Display Features
Christmas is the perfect time to harness your creative side and let your imagination run wild. So you’ve got the tree up, the table’s set and there’s mistletoe hanging everywhere but it still feels like there’s something missing. Why not make good use of the sideboards and side tables that haven’t got a functional use and set up a few unique Christmas displays?
Glass bowls are perfect for holding things like fruit and nuts, but you could also turn them into a feature and fill them with pretty baubles, pine cones or fake snowballs. A beautiful vase spilling with poinsettias or a jug filled with jewel colored beads will add plenty of color to a table display. There’s lots of inspiration online for different ways to create a fantastic display and online stores like Weston Table provide the perfect table accessories to achieve it. A feature display can be created in other key locations too – you could set up a traditional nativity scene on the fireplace or have Santa and his reindeer bounding up the staircase.
Photo credit: ConanTheLibrarian via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Bring the Outside in
We all dream of a white Christmas to make it truly magical so why not make it happen but indoors instead! Use whatever foliage you can get your hands on; pine tree branches, holly, ivy and mistletoe to create the classic fairytale Christmas atmosphere.  Add a little fake snow, some winter figurines and a reindeer or two to add to the Christmas magic. If you’re feeling really creative, why not make an ice skating scene using a large mirror or a miniature Santa’s grotto?
It’s really easy to create a lovely festive feel in your home, all it takes is some good organization skills and bags of imagination and you’ll have yourself a winter wonderland that will delight young and old alike.
