Take our suggestionsfrom a DIY Advent calendar to a holiday candy centerpieceand make them your own.
Read on for decorating tricks and styling tips for your most beautiful holiday home ever.
Keep ornaments minimal, so you don’t overwhelm the branches.
Photo:Johnny Miller
Your room instantly looks warmer.
Wow-Worthy Mantel Decor
For an unexpected and sophisticatedmantel display, keep your pairings minimal.
And when an impromptu visitor comes to your door, you’re ready to entertain.
Nicole Franzen
Lit Birch Logs
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but your fireplace lookssodelightful.
Set a cozy scene by wrapping twin birch logs in twinkling holiday lights.
Position mercury-glass candlesticks and votives alongside for an extra boost of shine.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Add colorful glass ornaments for a pop of color and cheer.
Special Delivery Advent Calendar
Transform a large bulletin board into anAdvent calendarwith lined envelopes and stick-on numbers.
Paper medallions in silver, gold, and bronze look right at home atop the mantel.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Add a warm finishing touch by draping sprigs of evergreen garland embellished with berries and ornaments.
A Sweet Scene
Greet holiday guests with a sweet indoor winter wonderland entry display.
Decorate foam cones from the craft store with rock candy to create your own sparkly scene.
Johnny Miller
Window Snowflakes
Dreaming of a white Christmas?
Center of Attention
‘Tis the season for glitz and glamour on the holiday table.
For this show-stopping statement, nestle sparkly, color-dipped vintage bulbs in a decorative glass bowl.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Double-Duty Decorating
Pretty wrapped presents can work overtime as last-minute decorations.
Cohesive Candles
Group pillar candles for ambiance and extra light.
Wrap festive ribbon around a few to compliment your decor and add texture.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Fireside Forest
Layer an assortment of tree-shaped objects in varying heights and textures atop the mantel.
Below, hang a metallic, leafy garland to reflect the firelight from below.
Fill in with smaller fruitkumquats, clementines, and limesand finish with a thick velvet ribbon.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Celestial Doorway
Trick out a dooror window frame with an asymmetrical assortment of stars.
Use adhesive strips to hang a strand of cascading star lights accentuated with ornaments and various-sized lanterns.
In January, replace the stockings with throw blankets.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Start with a delicately embroidered ivory runner for a hint of warmth and texture.
For dazzle, fill silver mint-julep cups with beautifully frosted pinecones.
Accentuate its pure richness with ornaments in clear glass, shimmery silvers, and brilliant white.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
TurnFriday’s game nightstaple into an innovative holiday prop.
Enlist the kids to collect pinecones, and then secure them to the garland to serve as rustic toppers.
We filled trifle bowls with walnuts and the colors of Christmasred apples and green baby artichokes.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
And think outside the table: Display clear containers of monochromatic ornaments in any room.
DIY Outdoor Decor
You don’t have to leave your outdoor planters stark until planting time.
For easy removal in January (and damage-free paint and wallpaper), hang using Command strips.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Holiday Cut-Out Message
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Stencil letters to express your holiday joy loud and clear.
Starlight Balls
Wind a strand of battery-powered fairy lights around a medium-sized Styrofoam ball.
For an even brighter arrangement, group three or four balls of varying sizes.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Stack the fruit, holding the pieces together with toothpicks until the frosting sets.
Add cloves for eyes, peppermint sticks for arms and a nose, and licorice for a scarf.
The hat is a vanilla wafer and peppermints sandwiched with frosting.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
For Thanksgiving, tuck wheat around the candles’ bases and add walnuts.
Later, replace with greenery.
Wrapped Up Art
Blank canvases in assorted shapes make an artful (ha!)
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mantelpiece display when wrapped with cheerful ribbons.
Band Together
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Make “ornaments” by wrapping multicolored rubber bands to form balls.
Cookie-Cutter Approach
These unique window decorations take just minutes to create.
Steve Giralt; Styling: Elizabeth MacLennan
Recruit the kids for this afternoon project.
Monochromatic Color Palette
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Spare can be beautiful.
Front Door Flair
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Let visitors jingle all the way into your home.
Nicole Franzen
Tie big silver bells to the front doorknob with festive ribbon.
Seasonal Finds
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Opportunities abound for sweeping displays of lavish greenery along the mantel.
This warming seasonal vignette calls for apothecary jars filled with cranberries, accented by sparkling fruit and pinecones.
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Turn the inner ring 180 degrees and wood-glue it to the outer ring at the top.
Use clear fishing line and thumbtacks to hang various-sized spheres at different lengths.
Delicate chartreuse, lavender, and pink balls scattered amid the branches make an attention-worthy display.
Nicole Franzen
Instead of garland for texture, feathers provide an unexpected twist.
Display them in chronological order and, if you’re particularly detail-oriented, date the pins.
Lush and Natural Greenery
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A staircase looks festive with a garland of greenery.
Nicole Franzen
This is an easy way to add the holiday spirit in your home.
Christmas Mantel
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Decorate your mantel for the Christmas season by adding garland with bells and snowflakes.
Match the stockings to the mantel colors for cohesive decor.
Nicole Franzen
For an added touch, light candlesticks that match the mirror and mantel to tie in the design.
Sparkly Ornament Display
Nest vintage ornaments with leaves on a cake stand for a stunningly simple centerpiece.
The dangling ornament adds just the right pop to this decorative piece.
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Cookie Forest
Decorate a buffet table with a trio of snowy cookie trees.
Start with a base frosting by beating 6 egg whites with 334 cups powdered sugar.
For a snowy effect, use a small sieve to dust each finished tree with powdered sugar.
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We filled our no-fuss arrangement with red-and-white peppermint balls and fluffy marshmallows.
Call on ribbon candy, multicolored chocolates, and candy canes as the perfect sides.
Subtle Arrangements
Pull off a show-stopping arrangement that speaks to your style by keeping decorative elements simple.
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Fill a glass hurricane with an assortment of holiday ornaments, and then surround it with lush greenery.
Wintery Mix
Don’t overlook a simple window ledge as a decorating opportunity.
Overhead Opulence
Don’t restrict magnificent baubles and sparkly snowflakes to the Christmas tree.
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Accentuate overhead lighting with shimmery decorations in a fresh winter palette like pale blue and silver.
Finish with an elegant satin ribbon gently dangling from the chandelier.
Indoor Topiaries
Light up a room with twinkling topiaries, which look especially magical flanking a fireplace.
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Flanked Entryway
Nothing like a pair of inexpensive plastic urns to instantlydress up a front entryway.
Place a tall foam cone in each urn and anchor it with sand.
Then use florist sticks and wire to attach greenery and Christmas balls.
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Pick one up and loop small ornaments onto the branches for a festive touch.
Bonus: This is an excellent alternative to a full-sized Christmas tree for anyoneliving in tight quarters.
String a few lights and hook some ornaments for a dazzling 2-D Christmas tree.
William Meppem
Keep them colors in neutral or soft shades for a tasteful arrangement.
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