As magical as the holidays are, they sure can be stressful. Christmas home decor can transform your space, but that magic comes at a cost – a whole lot of pressure.
You want everything to look flawless, every detail attended to, everything on-theme… the perfect winter wonderland.
The truth is that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars and countless hours to make your home magical. The smallest changes can transform a space and set the mood perfectly.
Whether you think outside the box or want to go for traditional decor, these idea can help turn your home into the Christmas haven of your dreams.
Christmas Home Decor Ideas
It’s time to deck the halls! Decorating can be fun, easy, and (most importantly) inexpensive. Use these tips as inspiration for your own Christmas decor ideas. Then, once your decorating is done, take those gorgeous pics and tag us (@pennycallingpenny) on social media!
1. Create Christmas village stocking hangers
You’d never guess that these Christmas village stocking hangers are DIYed. And since you’re making this yourself, you can customize it to fit your family – large or small!
2. Use planters as stands
You might have some empty (but lovely) planters in your garage now that the summer is over. Try repurposing these for a unique tree stand! As an extra fun bonus, you can wrap them so your tree itself looks like a gift!
3. Channel your inner artist
Don’t be afraid to get creative with the art supplies you already have at home – like ribbons, paints, garlands, and greenery. One of the pillars of decorating is sticking to a color palette, so as long as all your colors match up, let your creativity run wild!
4. Don’t forget the wrapping paper
When it comes to Christmas decor ideas, wrapping paper might not be your first thought. But don’t sell this gem short!
You can match your wrapping paper to your decorations, tying everything in your space together. You can even use wrapping paper to create some fun tree ornaments or garlands to hang around your home!
5. DIY your Christmas stockings
Christmas stockings always add a special something to your decorations (and Christmas morning, of course!). Luckily, there are tons of ways to DIY them.
From hand-knitting or crochet to buying plain stockings from a dollar store and dressing them up, you can make stockings that fit with any kind of decor.
6. Cast a magical glow over your space
Who says lights are only for outside? Stuff see-through glass lanterns with fascinating LED twinkling lights. You can also put striking LEDs along your stairs, inside your fireplace, or in front of your door to light the entrance.
7. Decorate your dining space
Christmas decor ideas often leave out the dining table, but it’s another great place to add your own flair.
Once your guest list is wrapped up, create a monogram napkin ring that you can place at every seat. Or twist and style out a pipe cleaner to looks like your guests’ intial, and use it as a napkin ring. (This one is especially great if you have kids.)
8. Mix glitter and greens
Christmas decor ideas tend to lean more towards an all-natural green and brown color palette or a shiny silver and blue.
Why not try both? Warm up cool, glittery decorations with a touch of greenery and add some sparkle to more natural tones. The combo will make your decorations gorgeous and memorable!
9. Make an artistic Advent calendar
Advent calendars have a reputation for being tacky, but you can make them a classy part of your Christmas decor. Start with some of your favorite garland and find some ball ornaments – the kind that come apart in the middle.
Coat the inside of the ornaments with paint whatever color you choose and then fill them up with treats! Alternatively, you can use small drawstring bags, with tags indicating which day they should be opened.
10. String up some bells
For an airy, cheerful, light look, experiment with attaching white and red paper bells (or metal ones!) together with fishing line. Then, string them up anywhere you’d put a garland.
11. Round up vintage bulbs
Get a bundle of merry, lighthearted, festive-colored bulbs from the local flea market or your grandma’s attic! Glue them bulbs around in a circular form while dusting a few with glitter. You’ll end up with a totally unique wreath that stands above the crowd.
12. Welcome Santa with a Reindeer Sign
There are dozens of ways to incorporate all of Santa’s reindeer. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen (and of course Rudolph!) can show up in a variety of Christmas decor ideas.
You can paint some reindeer forms silver or white for an abstract look, find some friendly wooden reindeer faces at the dollar tree to decorate, or outline the whole gang onto some upcycled wood and add their names in pretty lettering – hand-drawn or traced.
13. Decorate with sweets
Add an homage to classic Christmas decorations by decorating with sweets like popcorn strings, candy canes, gumdrops, and more! Even if you make your sweet treats out of paper, they’ll make a lovely addition to your decor.
14. Put your mugs on display
Do you have dozens of holiday mugs? This is the perfect time to put them on display! Some floating shelves, festive hooks, or even repurposed stocking hangers are perfect ways to show off your mugs and add to the holiday look.
15. Add some festivity to your bar
Don’t forget to embellish your bar this holiday season. Apart from stocking it with all the must-have drink mixing ingredients, style it by adding a dash of greenery and a cheery candlestick holder.
Christmas home decor ideas for any budget
Christmas home decor ideas can span all kinds of budgets, styles, and sizes. When it comes to decorating your home for the holidays, the most important part is to have fun and create something beautiful. After all, your house doesn’t need to look like it belongs in a magazine – it just needs to make you feel at home.
Here at Penny Calling Penny, our holiday articles are only a part of our growing library. We’re dedicated to helping you learn to manage your money, no matter where you’re at on your financial journey. Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a Penny, and we’ll see you next time!
