Lillian Vernon Blog

A Treasury of Fine Gifts Since 1951

15 Christmas Home Decor Ideas

Everyone loves decorating for Christmas. Grab your garland and get ready for wreaths as we share some of our favorite new ideas for Christmas decorating. These decorating ideas for your mantel, front door, mailbox, Christmas tree, and more will surely fill you with Christmas cheer. We show you how to give a twist on tradition with handmade willow-branch wreaths that you can use inside or out. We show you how to welcome your guests in memorable style, how to go festive with place card holders as you welcome your guests to a beautiful holiday meal, and how to give your dining table a vivid focal point. However lavish or simple your Christmas decorating may be, these ideas will help you bring the beauty of the holiday to every corner of your home.

1. Set a Holiday Scene In Your Outdoor Room

Do not limit your decorations to the inside of your house or your front porch. Bring decorative Christmas cheer all the way out to your backyard. This warm and cozy backyard retreat is beautifully decorated for the Christmas season, and serves as a perfect place to cozy up with a blanket on a brisk winter night. A beautiful Christmas tree takes center stage, spun in classic red garland and gold lights. The mantle is adorned with fresh, aromatic greenery. A simple evergreen wreath above the fireplace completes the stunning scene. Stock your outdoor bar, and light a blazing fire for a cozy outdoor gathering.

2. Cheer Up Your Entry Way

Pressed for time but want a big show to greet guests and carolers on your holiday front porch? Fit a 7-gallon magnolia into a decorative planter, and fill in around the edges with spray-painted magnolia branches and sprigs of seeded eucalyptus – we chose red, but gold or silver stuns as well. After the holidays, plant the magnolia in the garden for a year-round token of holiday cheer. Designed to come together quickly and with limited hands-on prep, this Christmas look is easy to tailor for various preferences. Change the plants or colors to suit your taste – Poinsettias are always a good substitute.

3. Create a Warm Welcome

Our favorite way to light up any season is a brilliant array of paper luminaries. Line them up along your front walkway, along your driveway, or scatter them on your porch for a bright, twinkling Christmas display that’s so simple and affordable to pull off. You can buy premade luminaries in bulk online, or make your own using white paper bags, pebbles, and battery-powered LED candle lights. After gathering your supplies, place a handful of pebbles in the bottom of your paper bag so it is less likely to blow away or fall over. Using your fingers, clear a place for the LED light (turned on) to rest. Wait until its dark out, and you have a glowing luminary to light up your drive.

4. Greet with a Garden Theme

Convey a cozy, cottage welcome with a garden-inspired holiday decorating theme. This casual theme features rustic aluminum containers arranged across the front door, raised porch, and stairs; it is perfect for busy households that see plenty of activity and children during the holiday season. This decorating theme works for both the front and back porches. Make your garden-themed Christmas decoration serve a cheerful purpose by filling the containers with Holiday herbs. Some common Christmas herbs you can grow are myrtle, chervil, borage, lemon thyme, tarragon, bay leaves, spearmint, lavender, oregano, basil, sage, and thyme. Add bright color by planting red amaryllis blooms and berries.

5. Hang a Paper White Basket

Who says you have to wait until spring to decorate your porch with flowers? Spread Christmas cheer by greeting guests with a bright arrangement of seasonal paperwhites. Paperwhites belong to the daffodil family, and will flower indoors at any time of year. They are incredibly easy to grow and maintain, as they don’t even need soil to grow. Just place the paperwhite bulb in enough water to cover the lower portion of the bulb. While growing the paperwhites, keep the bulb in a warm indoor spot that sees lots of sun. If you water them regularly, they will flower in a month or so. After blooming, paperwhites last longer when placed in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Arrange the blooms along with heather, juniper, and moss in a planter and hang it directly on your front door.

6. Merry Mailbox Topper

This simple Christmas decoration is an easy way to spruce up your front yard for the holiday season, and comes together with only a few supplies that you may already have on hand. Top off a square brick mailbox with an abundance of bouquet winter plants. Fill a wide, shallow planter with an arrangements of bouquet winter plats like pansies, flowering cabbage, cedar, fir, lavender, and rosemary. We trimmed ours to resemble a Christmas tree. Tuck in spare ornaments in contrasting colors, like deep red and metallic gold. Add pinecones to fill gaps and add texture. Finish your mailbox with a satin bow.

7. Put Out Christmas Lanterns

In a pinch for a festive, company-worthy way to decorate your doorstep this holiday season? Greet guests in style by arranging a grouping of festive candleholders and lanterns at your entryway for quick and easy holiday style. We love this technique because it is very versatile. Choose lanterns and sconces that you already have lying around your house for a cozy, mismatched look. Or, purchase matching sets in elegant shades of gold and deep reds for a more upscale effect. Arrange large, sturdy candles for a warm glow, and strategically place wrapped gifts for Christmas spirit. Consider using flameless candles as a worry-free alternative to regular pillars.

8. Hang Vintage Ornaments

Sometimes, the best way to decorate a Christmas tree is with memories collected by your family. There is no need to reinvent and repurchase your Christmas tree decorations every year. Instead, stick with the familiar and beloved ornaments that your family has collected and made over the year. Decorating with a variety of themed ornaments will add a personalized touch that standard, matching ornaments cannot compete with; so we are declaring that it is perfectly okay to use the same ornaments every year. Each unique ornament will tell a story, and your Christmas tree will act as a great conversation piece during holiday gatherings.

9. String Lights and Greenery

When it comes to decorating the front of a house for the holidays, we absolutely love wrapping Christmas lights around all of the columns on a stately home’s front porch. However, the dark green wires often distract from the elegant twinkle that we desire. Disguise those unsightly wires from string lights by winding them around a column or post with Christmas greenery or garland. Personalize the garland by attaching spray-painted pinecones and metallic ornaments with fishing line. Finally, set out a pretty container of ornamental cabbage or kale at the base. To add an additional pop of color, a potted Poinsettia also looks great.

10. Decorate with Colors That Match Your Décor

Just because large department stores seem to explode in bright reds and greens during the Christmas season does not mean that you have to completely hide your house’s existing décor when decorating for the holidays. Instead, plan your Christmas decorations so that the décor works with, rather than hides, your existing décor. Even if it means using unexpected colors, like cream and beige, a room with well-incorporated decorations looks classy and expensive. Accents in shades of gold and silver blend seamlessly with this room’s soft white-and-ivory color scheme and play off the tones of other metallic accessories, like the coffee table.

11. A Little Goes a Long Way

When it comes to Christmas decor, the value of your holiday display is never measured by how many lights you can string or how many inflatable snowmen you can prop up in your front yard – as much as we love the movie, this is not National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Instead of blowing a fuse, opt for simple, classic, and rustic holiday décor. Beautiful evergreen wreaths secured using simple ribbons tied into bows lend an elegant and festive appearance to this white farmhouse. Achieve the same classic look at your own home by hanging simple matching evergreen wreaths on your doors and windows.

12. Make Your Own Stockings

This rustic Christmas mantel décor is an easy Pinterest craft that even your 3-year-old couldn’t mess up. For a cheap holiday stocking display, skip the extravagant stockings and instead, make your own. Use simple and inexpensive burlap fabric from the fabric store to fashion handmade Christmas stockings. Hand-stitch the edges of each stocking foot with light-colored twine – the messier, the better. With these stockings, a loopy, uneven stitch actually compliments the rustic burlap. Label each stocking with mismatched block letters, found at a flea market or on sale at a craft store, for a personal touch. Secure to your mantel using the same twine used to stitch the stocking.

13. Use a Consistent Color Scheme

As long as you keep your color scheme consistent, you don’t have to decorate in traditional reds, greens, and golds. This rule is especially true when using a flocked Christmas tree. The white tree branches mean that you get a blank canvas. Turn your house into a winter wonderland by choosing an icy, sparkly theme that is sure leave a lasting impression on guests. Keep the color scheme consistent by introducing only shades of three different colors. Above, we chose bright white, cool aqua, and turquoise. The bright, colorful beaded garland is a dramatic contrast against a Christmas tree’s stark white branches.

14. Give Goodie Bags

When hosting a holiday party, let your festive decorations double as fun goodie bags. Arrange them in your home’s main entry and exit so that upon their arrival, guests are greeted with merry goodies. Pictured above, the holiday hostess displays faux cardinal ornaments on top of a rustic holiday basket of treats. The baskets will then be given as parting gifts to departing guests. You can customize your own goodie bags with containers and treats that compliment your holiday décor. Try metallic boxes filled with chocolate truffles to match elegant decor, or cellophane bags with colorful candies for a children’s Christmas party.

15. Decorate with Family Heirlooms

The next time you are handed down a beautiful piece of family furniture from an elder, don’t forsake it because you don’t have the room. Save these heirlooms for seasonal occasions, and use them in your Christmas decorating. Showcase them during the most wonderful time of the year by putting them on display. This mahogany buffet may not be useful all year round, but during the holiday season, it is a perfect place to serve Christmas brunch. It fits perfectly into a niche built just for it. Update the pieces with modern accessories, such as a pair of mod white lamps, which help a traditional piece of furniture blend seamlessly with more modern tastes.

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