50 Christmas Decoration Ideas for a Most Festive Home

Give the elf-on-everybody’s-shelf a run for his money. Incorporate “gnome with a scone” throughout your home for a feel-good token of the holiday season. Use a rustic tray to keep the hospitable aesthetic, as well as scones freshly baked (or store-bought, Santa won’t judge)!

Style Donner and Blitzen in a tray with pinecones and silver candles. The aesthetic is so charming and calming, we can’t guarantee Santa won’t linger just a little while longer at your house!

A holiday party-ready bar cart serves up more than cider. Use a neutral design to show off boughs of fresh holly or evergreen garland: the bits of nature makes a Christmas home feel more welcoming – in an understated way.

Get your buffet in on the action, too! Use garland boughs to incorporate the winter wonderland outdoors in. (And if you happen to take a Christmas stroll one day, collect a handful of fallen pinecones to go with the garland!)

The white and gold color combination is one you don’t see too often in Christmastime decor, but it’s also one that feels fresh and festive. One way to do it is through white ceramic Christmas trees on gold side tables.

When the days get shorter, let your Christmas wreaths do the same. A half-finished wreath you made yourself invokes a rustic charm you can’t buy from stores. Pair with a warm wooden bed (which you can buy, here).

Just as the North Star is an integral part of the Christmas story, so should starry themes be integral to your Christmas home decorating. Spherical ornaments have their time and place, but nothing gets guests in that rosy, sparkling-apple-cider-chugging mood like those sparkling heavenly bodies.

You think there are only so many ways to decorate a wreath . . . until now. Hanging golden bells adds whimsy to greens. For maximum holiday cheer, place wreath outdoors to give crisp winds a melodious Christmas touch.

Bright red and green: the Christmas color combination of everyone’s childhood. Summon nostalgia with stockings, garland, wreaths, holly and stocking holders in this festive palette.

Lodges and hunting cabins evoke middle-of-winter mood, and buck or wildlife figurines evoke lodges and hunting cabins. They’re also neutral ways to bring the season indoors if Christmas-chic isn’t your thing.

Here’s an idea to make you glad you stumbled upon this list: hanging garland in place of a pendant. It’s uncommon, looks expensive and feels incredibly festive. It’s also easy to assemble and cheap, as all you’ll need is a large branch and two chains to secure it.

If Father Christmas from those vintage folklore classics – white furry suit, beard of heaping curls, sack of carpenter-made wooden toys and all – taught us anything, it’s that neutral colors make the best kind of decorative statement. (Okay, maybe the real takeaway was about the power of giving, but neutral aesthetics take a close second in our book.)

You can’t have holiday parties without silverware. You can’t have Santa’s sleigh without silver bells. You can’t have Christmas Eve without a silver-studded twinkling sky. And you can’t have Christmas decor without at least a hint of silver. This lamp base filled with silver-studded baubles feels right at home in a festively decorated space.

Hanging messages or words of seasonal greetings put voice to your Christmas decor. A Merry Christmas garland is simple, sweet and the perfect way to wrap up a guest room for the holidays.

An innocent family of deer will be sure to make even the scroogiest of personalities let out a sigh of “awwww!” this holiday season. This white bust feels winter-perfect and is also non-holiday specific so can be used even after the 25th.

A coffee table with open storage space underneath it turns into an outright festive display when you use it for Christmas decor. Wrapped presents, garland, a bowl of pears or poinsettias make for a spirited scheme.

Black and white Christmas decor is not only possible but, with the right figurines, chic. These stoic reindeer give Scandinavian holiday vibes.

Hide away scissors, paper, tape, glue, ribbons, twine and all the other supplies that go behind the scenes in making your home’s holiday spirit come to life. The best way to do that? Storage bins that fit the season’s color palette.

For the minimalist, bottle brush tree designs fit perfectly into every nook and cranny of a Christmas home. They’re also a less kitschy alternative to Santa (and other Christmas icons) figurines.

The great thing about this card organizer is that it can be used for any reason in any season. For school, use it for study notes; for all times, use it as a planner and scheduler; for the most wonderful time of the year, use it for cards!

For a ritzier take on Christmas, let gem-studded baubles add sparkle and shine to hallways, fireplace mantels, Christmas trees and side tables. Pair with brushed gold vases for glamorous color contrast.

Whether your guests are in the mood for a hot toddy or hot chocolate, give them a way to serve themselves in style. This bar cart mixes the glam with the merry: with splashes of bright red, gold, silver and candy cane stripe details, it’s got all the ingredients for a memorable Christmas cocktail.

Set a coffee table with mugs, coasters and candy canes so that it’s always ready for hot-cocoa-and-movie-time, all the time. Once guests are ready to settle down and watch a holiday flick, simply add the cocoa.

One of the merriest rituals about the days leading up to Christmas is the daily walks to a mailbox brimming with season’s greetings. To keep your letters from friends and family at the forefront of your home after the initial opening, line them with clothespins along a string – and don’t be afraid to crowd them in for a festive feel.

Summer, spring, fall and winter, coffee is always a good idea. Deck out a bar cart with a coffee maker, mugs and creamers. A figurine of a deer or two will add the seasonal layer and may or may not make your morning brew taste like a stroll through a woodsy wonderland.

What’s gold, silver and sparkly all over? Christmas, thanks to the holiday glamor that resonates from classic metallic ornaments.

Burlap is one of those materials that makes an instant connection to warm, rustic vibes. Pair it with a live green plant or tree, and your “home for the holidays” decor is all set.

Christmastime decor isn’t just the living room Christmas tree, rooftop string lights, stairwell garland and other “big stuff.” It also lives in the “small stuff,” things you wouldn’t normally notice at first glance but add an extra dimension of festive detail. Groups of mini faux trees of tinsel make a fine example.

A common wreath gets a Christmas makeover with lights. Even if you don’t have a string of lights, high-reflective ornaments can give the illusion of illumination just as well – and brighten up any hallway with holiday cheer in an instant.

Eggnog, spiced apple cider, hot cocoa and peppermint coffee exude seasonal spirit, but so does how they’re contained! If you’re using the same old drinkware you use for the other 11 months of the year, stop everything and opt for Christmasy mugs, pronto.

Rustic-inspired looks scream holidays more than any other styles. Under Christmas trees, neutral wrapping paper, bits of twine and leaves of evergreen branches tied to gold ribbons make for wintry yuletide ambiance.

How well a Christmas tree is decorated can make or break the home decor. To ensure your fresh-from-the-lot fir provides all the Christmastime feels, go all out with lighting and jolly-hued ornaments – as well as lots and lots of presents, real or fake, underneath.

Special events like dinner parties and Christmas Eve gatherings should be decorated to the nines for a set-apart, celebratory, not-part-of-your-daily-routine feel. Incorporate gold and silver wherever possible (including hanging from a ceiling wreath!) for a touch of luxury.

Wood-carved initials for each child’s stocking gives off a more personal touch. (It also has practical value: how else will Santa know which of his stocking stuffers goes where?)

Christmas may be notorious for commercialization, but the heart of it is sentimental; decor should be no different. Let your handmade creations (or the handmade creations of children) take the spotlight in your holiday aesthetic.

How your presents are wrapped is just as important as what they hold. The more thought and care you put into the gifting presentation, the more appreciated your recipient will feel – and the more aesthetic your Christmas home will be.

Pops of bright red make everything just a little happier. Like Rudolph’s nose and Santa’s suit, the bright hues of cranberries, mistletoe and holly, during the holidays, bring nothing but smiles and feelings of optimism.

Christmas is a season of lights, whether through candles, sconces, chandeliers or traditional Christmas lights. When part of golden decor, these lights get an extra dose of elevated holiday glamor.

You’re feasting on apple pie, Christmas turkey, cornbread or any other of the many comfort foods that come out to warm kitchens and hearts this time of year. Give yourself a table setting to match up to the gustatory anticipation.

It takes only a few seconds but the results are the stuff of sugarplum magic: with a little bit of hot glue and glitter, pinecones turn from dead pieces of wood to visions of elegance. Hang the final results from a glistening Christmas tree to match.

Reds and greens are often the focus of Christmas-vibes color palettes, but that doesn’t mean white should be overlooked. An agent of contrast, this color of snow, icicles and Santa’s beard brings a calming charm.

A bowl of pinecones takes almost no effort and costs next to nothing – nothing, if you already have the bowl! Sprinkle in some aromatic herbal blends of cinnamon cloves and dried oranges to incite the senses.

Fireplace mantels for Christmas can be anything you want it to be, including a canvas for molds and statues of the kinds of wildlife rarely seen – and when seen, usually seen from a vantage point high above the world as in, say, a magical sleigh. Busts of deer, foxes and other woodland creatures fit the winter vibes and make the perfect accent for above-stocking decor.

If ever there is a time to bring out your inner kid, it’s Christmas. Let your affinity for fun, squishable plushies fly: as an addition to festive bedding, these designs will also make guests sure to love staying over for the holidays.

A gnome home doesn’t take things too seriously. It basks in laughter, cuddles, sweets-indulging and cozy lounging. The best way to invoke the spirit of these creatures? Pillows in the shape of them, of course.

The holidays are also about travel: road trips in particular with the whole family enrichen the memories made. If wanderlust has you moving out and about every Christmas season, let your transportation passions show through with iconic vehicular patches and quiltwork.

The air bites this time of year; it nips at the cheeks, nose and ears – while simultaneously encouraging cuddles and bear hugs. Thank Frosty for the physical affectations and embraces he spurs on by including him indoors. (The snowman may not make it in the sun, but on pillow form thrives in a winter white bed ensemble.)

The iconic knitting technique known as Fair Isle ensures holiday patterns to go around. For the Scandi-inspired home, opt for reindeer-stitched shams and snowflake-trimmed sheets.

Such cute! Kawaii may not typically be associated with Christmas, but there’s no reason you can’t start the trend. Kids and adults will delight in squealing cartoon faces, vivid colors and baby animals on beds, sofas and accent chairs.

All the holiday icons in one bedding set makes for a bedroom where falling asleep and waiting for Santa involves the sweetest of candy-coated sleeps. Accent pillows, shams, coverlets, duvet covers, quilts, blankets – the only rule here is that if it can fit, it most definitely should be included.