Deck the Halls

A Crafty Christmas

While you could purchase items like this from your local arts and crafts store, you can also buy the materials and spend an evening on a family holiday décor project. Make the tree specific to your family by giving everyone their own wooden piece to decorate. Your tree could be stacked four high or seven, depending on size of your family. Paint with vibrant greens and reds, adding silver swirls and accent pieces, or choose shades of blue for Hanukkah celebrations. Making your own decorations ensures your design will be unlike any other home in the neighborhood.

Mix and Match

For door hangings, use artificial or natural greenery and add a touch of holiday flare by including decorations used throughout the rest of your home. Ornaments from your Christmas tree and fake snow that could also line the windows can result in a festive piece for your front door. This makes for another great family project. Make each one look exactly the same or have everyone make their own unique piece that best expresses them.

Wrap it Up

Wrapping paper isn’t just for gifts any more. If you’re looking for a backdrop on a budget, make your holiday gift wrap purchase and use the leftovers like the family in this home. Line the front door with the paper and hang Santa, elves, reindeer or angels; the sky is the limit. To tie the entire space into the design, use the same paper to wrap paintings and other wall hangings just like the gifts sitting underneath the tree.

Organic Ornaments

When it comes to outdoor decorations, choose items based on the region where you live. Florida families won’t experience snow, so instead of hanging snowflakes outside, take a walk and find natural elements that are native to Florida. Here, pine cones found in the neighborhood were collected and painted with pearl essence for a dewy look. Above the door frame, burlap is wrapped around the greenery and used instead of paper to make a ribbon. Using organic items found in nature is a great way to stay green for the holidays.

Sparkle and Shine

Entryways can be lined with store-bought greenery that is pre-wrapped in lights, or you can consider using all-natural greenery and adding a string of white lights on your own. Using LED lights for this step makes your holiday décor energy efficient and allows for a longer life of the lights. Add a touch of sparkle to the decorations and watch the light dance through it after the sun sets. For your holiday party, line the front steps with candles to add another element of natural glow. These candles are LED so you can set and forget posing no danger to small animals or children.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Repurposing items already found in your home is an inexpensive and more interesting way to create a beautiful holiday look. Your wine decanter may be stored on a wine rack or near your bar area for easy use during yearly dinner parties so make sure to incorporate it into your table setting for the holidays. You probably have vases stored for fresh flowers you have received as gifts; these make the perfect vessel to display ornaments that didn’t fit on the tree. Take a look around your home and see if you can work any odds and ends that you have on display year-round into a different look for the holidays.

Perfect Place Settings

Invite guests to the table with creative place cards. Make each one unique by doubling up on the name cards and giving season’s greetings along with their name. Here, there are ornaments in the middle of the table where you can connect each guest’s name and greeting to an ornament to tie the place card into the theme of your table setting.