Decorating Hints for Christmas

With so many decorative choices at Christmas, a strategy is needed to ensure that whatever is done looks organized, well-arranged, and beautiful, rather than haphazard and disorganized. By doing some basic or traditional decoration, along with trying creative and different ideas, a beautiful and pleasing decorative environment can be created in every home.

Traditional decorating ideas include using wreaths for doors or entranceways and on walls with unobstructed views. Garlands can be placed along surfaces where they can be hung vertically or horizontally. Christmas lights can be used by themselves or with garlands, in shrubs and, of course, on Christmas Trees.

Using Christmas lights outdoors has become very popular. Icicle lights are just as easy as regular lights to put in place and they create a very pleasing display for the holiday season. Adding color to these outdoor light displays can also make houses and lighting displays look more spectacular.

For indoor lighting, candles have become an attractive Christmas decorative item as they can light up the night in a subdued, but beautiful, manner. Candles create a pleasing look when displayed at windows if there are at least two sets of two or three windows directly above each other, in a vertical pattern. New technologies with candles have also made them safer to use. There are electrical candles, but there are also battery-operated types that can be used safely instead of the electrical ones, or in places where there aren't any electrical outlets.

There are creative ways to use and incorporate various items around the home to make Christmas decorations. Christmas or holiday ribbons can be used to make bows that are pinned onto curtains to provide a festive look. Like curtains, houseplants can also be dressed up for the holidays. Small Christmas ornaments can be gently placed on houseplants to give porches, patios, and front lawns a wonderful Christmas look.

Although many people don't use Christmas stockings anymore for Christmas gifts, they can still be used to create perfect Christmas decorations. A collection of Christmas stockings can be hung on the mantle, shelf, or on walls, with or without anything inside them. They will look just as beautiful as those that are often seen in stores.

Christmas lights can also be wrapped along with garlands on a banister or stair railing to add a twinkling Christmas look. Mistletoe can be hung just about anywhere, with or without Christmas lights. If the tale about mistletoe is believed, however, then it should be hung somewhere with room underneath for two people to have a friendly holiday kiss or even a hug. Fake snow can be sprinkled on garlands, mistletoess and wreaths to further enhance their appearance with something from the Christmas season.

Borrowing a decoration often seen in department stores, several boxes of various sizes can be wrapped, piled in a haphazard manner, and placed in a corner from floor to ceiling to make a gift pillar decoration. Old Christmas cards can be used for decorations by cutting pictures from them to make a collage. The pictures are glued onto a poster board that can be hung on a wall. Even Christmas cookie cutters can be put to an easy and creative use by stringing two or three of them together with Christmas ribbon.

With all of these wonderful ideas, any home can be festively decorated for Christmas and the holidays.