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Christmas Decorating Ideas
"Sometimes the best ‘new’ Christmas decorating ideas
are the really old ones."
'Old' Christmas decorating ideas work beautifully in today's interiors - and they can actually look quite modern in contemporary surroundings.
So create a Holiday with a difference - with some homemade, elegant or quirky Christmas ideas that you won't find in the shops!
The following links will either skip you further down this page, or take you to a new one, with more Christmas ideas (... and some of those are thoroughly modern!)
1. Christmas Colors
In many countries, traditional Christmas decorating is a red and green affair - inspired by red winter berries and evergreen leaves.
If that color combination doesn't work for you, try one of the following 'Christmassy' color schemes:
- White & gold or silver;
- dark green or white & any other color;
- Gold or silver & any other color;
- white & silver or gold & any other color;
- dark green & silver or gold & any other color.
If you're using white accents (bows, candles, ornaments), make sure none of the white items have a bluish tint - they will look 'fake' in combination with natural hues. Consider replacing a crisp, 'snow' white by ivory or cream if that looks more harmonious in your interior decorating scheme.
If you want to experiment with non-traditional Christmas color schemes, try replacing dark green with dark blue. Midnight blue is very sophisticated (but then it doesn't say 'Christmas' as loudly as dark green does).
And if you want to go ever so slightly over the top ;-), use ...
... gold and silver. If you're going for this combination, make sure that one of the two dominates (either use a lot of gold with a few fine silver accents, or the other way round). This way, the two won’t compete.
If you're not sure about the mix, it's much safer to keep the look clean and classy by choosing either gold or silver.
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2. Decorating with Christmas Flavors
If you’re from the Southern part of the world, you’ll be used to Christmas in the height of summer, with long days and short sleeves. (I wonder what that’s like!) 
I grew up celebrating Christmas in Germany – short days and thick sweaters for us - and the odd cup of Gluehwein (mulled wine) to keep us warm. We also have lots of ...
... Sweet and spicy cookies.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, aniseed, cardamom, candied orange, nuts, almonds and chocolate: where I come from, these are typical Christmas cookie ingredients.
They can fill your house with heavenly scents.
Here’s a Christmas decorating idea with cookies: Cut little stars and hearts out of fragrant cookie dough, make holes in the tops, bake them, and hang the cookies on colored ribbons (red's the obvious choice) from the mantel / from the banister / in the Christmas tree / in the window / from a chandelier / from a cupboard key or knob / anywhere in the house.
Or, have you ever tried Lebkuchen? It’s a German version of gingerbread, except it doesn’t have any ginger in it. The witch’s house in Hansel and Gretel was made of Lebkuchen.
Now, while the wicked witch didn’t exactly use the sweet bread as an innovative Christmas decorating idea on the exterior of her house...
...she definitely relied on its attractive look, smell, and taste. And it did work - at first. So you could try the same. (Just don't act suspicious around the oven.)
Here's another Christmas decorating idea that doesn't just look nice, it also smells and tastes good (ah, the flavors of childhood Christmases ...)
 Orange pyramids.
Winter's the time when you can get really good oranges from the Mediterranean.
(When I was little, it was actually the only time you could get any oranges from anywhere.)
Whenever we peeled an orange, we would roll the peel up between our fingers and squeeze it close to a candle flame.
The aromatic oils from the peel would spray into the flame, make it splutter and spread the yummy fragrance around the room.
The ‘orange pyramid’ is an 18th-century Christmas decorating idea from England. Orange pyramids make very simple, elegant table centerpieces (include lots of leaves if you can get them!)
Alternatively, you could create smaller pyramids out of tangerines for the windowsills. (Keep replacing the fruit as you eat, and remember to squeeze some peel into a flame every now and then!)
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3. Words & Pictures
At Christmas time, messages of love and goodwill are sent around the planet by the millions. So how about using Christmas messages as a starting point for Christmas decorating ideas?
For example,click here for a list of Christmas quotes and ways to use them in your Christmas decorating.
And what about the Christmas cards you receive? Do you stand them on your mantel or windowsill? Here are some more Christmas decorating ideas for showing them off:
- Stretch pieces of string along a wall (or across the room, like a clothesline) and suspend the cards from them with little pegs.
- Instead of string, hang a length of very broad, luxurious ribbon down from the top of the door or wall (velvet works a treat) and clip the Christmas cards to it with pegs or paperclips.
- Or stick the backs of the cards between books on a bookshelf, the way I’ve done in the picture above (unless you’re planning to read all the books on that shelf over Christmas!)
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4. Christmas Crafts
In the next few weeks, I’ll be adding several pages with easy-to-make Christmas crafts to this site for more, new Christmas decorating ideas. There will be
So do keep checking in - you’ll find more and more Christmas decorating ideas as we’re nearing Christmas!
Christmas Quotes- Click here for a list of Christmas quotes, a list of where to find more of them, and a list of what you can use them for.
Try your hand at designing your own Personalized Christmas Card.
If you're looking for a Christmas craft project that also makes a great present, this Christmas Craft Gift Idea might be just right for you.
Take a few glasses and tea lights, ribbon and glitzy bits, and create nostalgic Christmas Lights and Decorations.
Make Christmas Window Decorations with your kids.
Read up on how you can use Christmas Candles (and aromatic scented candles) to best effect - whether in sleek urban interiors, or with French antiques, Fifties Formica or seriously rustic digs.
Try this idea for a Christmas Table decoration.
And check out some ideas for Christmas Tree Crafts - the ones on this page are really easy to do. If you want to go a bit more complicated, have a look at ...
... how to make a Christmas hanging ball ornament. It's slightly more involved, but those Christmas tree balls do look good!
And if you're curious about Christmas in Germany, click here for lots of pictures and the story of my childhood Christmases.
Or, return from Christmas Decorating Ideas to the Dream Home Decorating Homepage.
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