Decking the halls is a great mood enhancer, so try some of these on for size
Throw some shade
The creatives of the world will always seek to find new ways to represent the Christmas tree. This is a brilliant and easy take on it. Take five parasols and fix them in various states of openness. Secure one on top of the other and it’s job done.
Grand entrance
We may have moved on to putting wreaths up anywhere and everywhere but still the best place for one is the front door. This wreath ups the ante by adding a pair of ice skates, a big advance on the more traditional red berries (faux or otherwise), flowers, ribbons and pine cones. If you have a skater in the house, it’s a novel idea. Otherwise, go with what you’ve got.
So chair-ful
Pay attention to the smallest details – even the chairs around the table. Whip out to the garden and rustle up a fir or pine branch, or whatever greenery is close to hand. Tie a classic Christmas tree bauble or two to it and wrap it onto the back of a chair with a bright ribbon. It’s a favourite and will make everyone feel that little bit special.
Mantel as anything
The mantelpiece is, of course, an area that usually receives a great deal of festive decorative emphasis. Stockings, garlands and candles are the go-tos but how about an eclectic mix of whatever you can find? Ideally, you’ll be able to hunt out a large reindeer to oversee proceedings. Trailing some LED twinkle lights through your rambling arrangement and the odd bit of real flora and fauna is also recommended.
O Christmas tree
It’s still one of the most beloved festive decorations regardless of whether it’s real or faux. It can be ceiling-scrapingly tall or a petite version in the corner, but it is the centrepiece of Christmas activity from unwrapping presents to standing around it at night, marvelling at the sparkly lights. There must be 1001 ways to decorate it – it all comes down to individual preference. This tree though (right), is a lovely example of deliberate under-decorating to allow the glamorous gifts underneath to sparkle and shine.
Simple pleasures
One for the ‘less is more’ types. This pared-back pink garland on a wall could be overshadowed if you have a whole lot of things going on. But if you’re all about pulling back on the decorations, then a few of these scalloped on walls will have maximum impact. There’s also less tidying away come January.
Tangles of tinsel
Yes, it’s made of plastic so it’s not great for the environment, but if you have any stray tinsel falls left over from that age of innocence pre-Greta Thunberg, how about hanging it over a doorway and giving it a fringe trim?
Straight lines
Unfurling lengths of ribbons in different colours and affixing them to a wall behind a console is a fitting background for Christmas and non-Christmas ephemera. What you display is entirely over to you but it could have personal significance, such as a mask you picked up earlier in the year for a craft project or something simple, like a cork from a bottle of champagne you popped the week prior and a favourite paper decoration
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