When it comes to decorating for the holidays, there are many different approaches you can take to transform your home or space into a winter wonderland. The first Christmas decorations that often come to mind are candles in windows, wrapped boxes as presents around the tree, and poinsettias at the entranceway. These are all beautiful decorations, but maybe with the extra time at home this year, you could turn to some DIY holiday decorations for your Christmas celebrations. Check out the five ideas below to gather some inspiration.
1. Ornament place settings
Make your gathering extra classy by planning out the seating arrangements beforehand in the form of ornament place settings. Do this by taking a small circular Christmas ornament with a flat base, which will be used to hold the name tag. Then, cut out small strips of white paper that are about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches tall, or buy some pre-cut labels for this part. Grab a red or green sharpie, and cleanly write out the guests’ names on the paper pieces. Stick the paper into the top of the ornament so it stays secure, and you have a crafty ornament place setting!
2. Holiday centerpieces
A DIY centerpiece is one of the easiest decorations that can instantly add some holiday cheer to a room. Grab a medium to large-sized glass bowl from HomeGoods, Target, or even the dollar store. It is best to choose one that almost looks like a fishbowl, as shown below. Then, decide what items to put inside the bowl, which could vary from ornaments to pine cones to garlands, or a combination of all the above. Fill the glass bowl with the chosen items, and place it on the center of a table. Add a ribbon around the outside for an added touch if interested. The centerpiece can be placed on the appetizer table, a countertop in the kitchen, a table in a common room, or on the dining table.
3. Garland mantle
Add some holiday spice to your mantle with the help of some decorated garland. The pieces you will need here are a strip of garland, a string of lights, pinecones, and small bulb ornaments. Start by putting the garland up on the mantle and wrapping the light string around it. If this is a decoration that you love, you could even keep the lights wrapped year after year in order to avoid this step in the future. Secure the garland on the mantle by bending and tucking it to fit within other items on the mantle or with tape or putty that can be hidden under the garland. Next, take the bulb ornaments and stick them into the garland, alternating the bulb colors to give a balanced look. The hooks on the ornaments make it easy to secure them within the garland. Once the ornaments are to your liking, place pine cones across the mantle within the garland for the final detail to create a beautiful display! Other touches can be added to the ends of the mantle, like holiday candles, as shown below.
4. Holiday wreaths
A DIY wreath is an easy way to spice up the front door or inside of your home in a few easy steps. And the good news is that wreaths are made through creativity, so there is no wrong way to make them! Create a wreath with any of the leftover pieces from the mantle if you’d like the same style of decor throughout your home, or start from scratch with new ideas, like this ice skate wreath. Maybe you have an unused pair of skates in your basement, or else they can be purchased online at a cheap price. Then, all you need is greenery to fill the skates and some holiday decor like bells, ribbons, or berries to add finishing details. This skate wreath would look great on a door, fence, or even a mailbox for all to see!
5. Wine bottle vases
Take a look at your recycling bin where your bottles of wine have piled up throughout quarantine in order to create this DIY holiday decor. Grab three bottles, white and red paint, a letter stencil and/or crafty stickers, and greenery or flowers. This DIY idea can be created however desired, but for this example, we will create the word “JOY” with the three wine bottles. First, paint the entire wine bottle white so that the original bottles are unrecognizable. Using the stencils and red paint, write out JOY in red letters, putting one letter on each bottle. This could also be done instead by using large letter stickers found at a local craft store. Once everything has dried, stick the greenery or flowers inside the wine bottles and you now have a cute “JOY” display! Try this idea on mason jars as well for a different look and feel free to choose your own color scheme!
Any creative decorating ideas you’ve come to embrace this holiday season? Let us know what you're doing to decorate your event venue in the comments below, or visit our Facebook and Twitter pages to share your stories.