Christmas decorating ideas that can be done in minutes.
I have been decorating my home for the holidays since 1983. I also have many years of decorating a retail store for Christmas under my belt. Before doing this, I watched my mom decorate the house every Christmas as I was growing up. I can honestly say that I have trimmed a forest of greens, strung miles of garland and hung countless wreaths. Through it all, I’ve tried and tested every Christmas decorating idea imaginable.
Today I am sharing a few Christmas decorating ideas that you can do to have your home merry in minutes so you can sit back and enjoy it and all the holiday season has to offer.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Poinsettia Hack
Liberate a poinsettia from its shiny foil-covered pot for a more contemporary display.
Simply snip off the flowers with a length of its branch and place in small vases or bottles. I even used a fancy pedestal salt shaker as a small vase.
Place the vases on a cake or tiered stand.
Shelf or Mantel Trim
Use paper doilies and gift wrap to edge your kitchen shelves or even along a fireplace mantel.
To cut gift wrap to fit doily: Find a dinner plate that has a close diameter to the center of the doily. Place plate upside down on gift wrap and trace around it. Cut out and use a glue stick or spray glue to attach to the center of a paper doily. Fold in half and line shelves.
I used the same size doily, but you can mix doily sizes to create your own unique look on your open shelves.
Use Food as Decor
Nuts, fruit, cookies and candies can become decor when you put them out on display.
Look in your china closet for bowls, trays and cake plates and tiered stands to use.
When using nuts, make sure to place a nutcracker nearby so everyone knows the nuts are for eating. :-)
Place candy in a glass vase or canister. I made the top for this thrift store glass jar using a tuna can. You can read how to do it in this post: Faux Zinc Candy Jar
Candles in the Snow
Buy fake snow flakes at the craft store and pour into vases and or…
…trays to create ornaments or candles in the snow. I took these photos when I was in a Pottery Barn store a few weeks ago.
When I got home, I created my own version using a white ceramic platter, fake snow, sugared cranberries and glittered pinecones.
Tree Branches
In the fall, I brought tree branches inside from my yard and placed them in a planter using foam to secure. For Christmas, I removed the fall flowers and replaced the urn with a wine cooler from Pottery Barn filled with Styrofoam blocks I saved from packaging. To hide the foam, I placed a few ornaments on top of it. I hung ornaments on the branches.
More Merry In Minutes Christmas Decorating Ideas
Hang an ornament from a chandelier or light fixture using thin wire or ribbon.
Place a few ornaments and sprigs of greenery from your yard in a few select areas around your house.
Double up. Hang two wreaths on a door for more impact. Use wide ribbon to hang the wreaths. For more info on the ideas in this photo, check out this post: How To Ideas for Christmas
Rosemary or boxwood from your garden looks great in a glass. Add a festive ribbon around the glass for more impact.
Add small ornaments to a garland tie. Tie around a glass candle holder.
Place a glass hurricane and candle in a snow-filled planter on your front steps or porch. Add springs of greenery from bushes in your yard all around the hurricane.
Use garland ties instead of massive amounts of big garland to decorate your staircase. Find out how: Christmas Staircase Decorating on a Dime.
Place a Santa Hat on a topiary ball in an urn. Festive, fun and easy to create.
In a Christmas Decorating Pinch?
- Rely on Red. It is vibrant and festive.
- Skip the tree garland which can sometimes be tricky to layer into the tree. Instead, make your tree shine, by making sure to add a few ornaments in an array of reflective finishes to bounce light around the room and give the tree a layered sparkly look.
- No tree skirt? – A simple alternative – a blanket, shawl, scarf, or fabric yardage.
- Have a real tree? This makes watering it easy!
- On a window – Hang ornaments along the top using lengths of ribbon. Use thumb tacks to attach ribbon to window molding.
- Wrap a vase that has straight sides with holiday gift wrap to transform it to a temporary holiday vase.
- Do you have outdoor planters or window boxes? Fill with pinecones and a ribbon bow so they don’t look barren.
What fast and easy Christmas decorating ideas do you use around your home?
Sharing this post over at French Country Cottage
Aquaguard Service Center says
Wow amazing. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post.
aquafreshro says
I love the way you have used items in a beautiful way and I just love the way you have used your garland ties on your stairway
liz says
love the colorful ornaments in the front hall!
Norma Rolader says
I love the way you have used items in a beautiful way and I just love the way you have used your garland ties on your stairway
a says
We are apparently cut from the same cloth ;-) I’ve done almost all of these easy decorating ideas too!
I’ve never done the ‘barren/dead’ Christmas tree look (like the one you have on your buffet with multi-colored balls) but when I was a kid, my mom spray painted a huge tumble weed silver and we decorated it for our Christmas tree. The funny thing was, she thought she would save money instead of buying a tree….but by the time she got it fully spray painted it cost just about the same as buying a tree! ;-)
My brother and sister in law have a small house and lots of company for the holidays so there’s really no room for a tree. But they find a beautifully shaped large twig from their tree belt, sticks it into an urn, and she decorates it lovely! It really is magical.
Great ideas Diane. Always love your posts. So truly easy to do and truly great ideas of the budget is small.
Diane Henkler says
Thanks Connie – Your family sounds very creative. The tumbleweed tree must have been one of a kind… very unique. :-)
MrsSW says
Hi Diane – great pictures. Please tell us about the “tree” in the picture with the double wreaths.
Thanks,
Sheila
Diane Henkler says
Hi Shelia –
I forgot to put the link to the post I wrote about the white tree with colorful ornaments. Here is the link to my post about it: https://inmyownstyle.com/2014/12/ideas-for-christmas-decorating.html
MrsSW says
Thank you. That’s the prettiest tree in that style I’ve seen.
Sheila
Joy says
Love these ideas. I went and got some garland ties. Love the idea of the garland tie and little ornaments around the candle holder.
Diane Henkler says
Hi Joy – When I came across garland ties, using them around the candle holder was one of the first ways I used them besides hanging garland. They have become an essential item in my Christmas decorating stash of supplies.
barbara t whitaker says
Lovely.. and great ideas. I’ve been married since age 17 and right after high school. I’m still married so now married for 45 years and decorated each Christmas. I’m 62 and lucky enough to retire and now finally have 3 grandchildren. I’m so excited again about Christmas decorating. Your style is great and thanks for being a practical blogger who understands the word BUDGET.
Diane Henkler says
Hi Barbara – Thanks. I enjoy finding affordable ways to decorate while using items I already own. Saves money and less need for an excess of storage bins. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family and grandchildren.
Jonita says
Thank you for sharing your stair rails decorating.it was so easy and I put red bulbs on my rails. The tray is it made with cake, pie and pizza pans? On candles stick?
Diane Henkler says
Hi Jonita –
The tiered tray was a gift from a friend. She bought it. I am not sure where, but you could make it with wood candle sticks and pie tins. Then spray paint white.