Can you hear it?
Jingle bells and a slight whisper of panic as the run up to Christmas begins.
Now, I’m not a fan of the cold — and certainly not of short dark days — but I LOVE this time of year.
A shiny, sparkly beacon amidst the grey, rain-sodden skies, Christmas is — without question — one of my annual highlights.
I think I may actually like the preparation and the anticipation even better than the day itself, if I’m totally honest. I love the planning and excitement (getting the tree is unquestionably one of my favourite things EVER) and decorating the house — whilst carols and festive songs play in the background — makes me feel ridiculously happy.
I think it’s safe to say that I’m a fan.
We’ve had various Christmas decorating ‘themes’ over the years. Everything from one colour (silver one year — gold the next) to rustic and handmade — it’s very difficult not to have your head turned by all the glitter and sparkle on offer, at this time of year. The high street is a fantastic source of inspiration, for a magpie like me.
Jam-packed with baubles and trinkets to suit every taste and every pocket, you can deck your halls with colour and sparkle or go for a more understated, pared down, look.
Here are my favourite Christmas decorating styles for this year.
Scandi — think uncomplicated designs with a Nordic flavour.
Scandi-chic is an enviously ‘together’ look; I always think it looks so effortless but it’s definitely harder to achieve than it appears. I can certainly never seem to manage it as beautifully as in the hero pic above.
If in doubt, go for grey and red with lashings and lashings of white, for good measure.
Luxe — the perfect Christmas decorating scheme for minimalists and those with no children (little Bobby’s homemade bauble has no place in this glamorous theme)!
Opulent metallics in silver, copper and gold, tempered with white give this cool Christmas style a luxurious finish. I love the addition of fresh green in the main shot — I guess you could use any accent colour you wanted — just remember the age old mantra ‘less is more’.
Homespun — a little bit of everything.
Popcorn garlands, paper-chains and all manner of rustic looking trinkets make this a lovely eclectic look.
Team handmade paper decorations with wooden objects and throw in a few felted wool pom-poms to really bring it all to life. I think of log cabins and snow-drifts when I see images like this and I absolutely love the use of the galvanised metal buckets, in place of stockings, in the shot above.
So what’s your Christmas decorating style?
Mine has changed so much over time. We buy a couple of new decorations, every year without fail, and my favourite kind of style, these days, is a mish-mash of everything.
I definitely don’t subscribe to the ‘less is more’ approach when decorating my home for Christmas; ‘the more the merrier’ is probably a more fitting phrase!
Ho ho how many wreaths?
This post was written in collaboration with HomeSense but all thoughts and words, as ever, are my own.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I’m starting from scratch this year after giving away our dusty little collection during the year when we shifted house at the same time as I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up! I haven’t given much thought yet to how I’d like the decorating to come together, so this has given me somewhere to start. Happy decorating!
Aah that’s so exciting Robyn! Lovely to think that you’ll be having lots of shiny new things to decorate your home with! Our decorations stem from every year we’ve been together — and some are my granny’s! I look forward to hearing what style you go for in the end! :) xx
My Christmas decorating style – well actually it isn’t fair to call it style – hotchpotch maybe! Bit of everything and lots of it!
HA! That’s my style too lovely!! And personally lots of everything at Christmas is just how it should be!! ;) xx
Oh I just love Christmas and I can’t wait to get my tree. I think my style is a little crazy, no colour theme just a mix of everything! Some may say tacky, but I love it and I think I get away with it as I can just blame my girls! I’m with you, the more the merrier! X
Ah me TOO! I think I’d LOVE your decorating style Natalie! I absolutely LOVE getting our tree — and get really excited when I open the boxes of all the decorations!! YAY! Bring it on!!! :) xx
Our decorating style is quite a hodge podge. But I love it! I tried to stick to a colour theme but Mr H wanted more colours. So we have a bit of everything. I do adore the Scandi Chic. I would love to have a house filled with those Christmas decorations. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
Hodge-podge is the best style, I think! One of the best compliments I ever received was from someone who said our home was ‘eclectic’. I was pretty please with that! :) xx
Ha ha I am so with you on the more the merrier, I love decorating our home for Christmas it just feels so festive once the decorations are up. I love all of the styles Caro but think I would mix them up a little as my taste changes every year x
Aww me too!! I get so excited seeing the decorations come down from the attic!! I like the fact that we don’t have a particular ‘theme’ — or actually — I guess our theme is ‘COLOUR’ as we always have a LOT of that on our tree!
I think I’m maybe hotchpotch style too!! I think this year I am going luxe as I’ve bought some gorgeous new baubles which are silver, rose gold, pale pink and blue. Not really me at all but giving it a go! Xx
I’m DEFINITELY a bit of everything!!! I blooming LOVE Christmas!! So nice to have the house full of sparkles and glitter! :) x
I am SO excited for Christmas this year! My first as a single mummy with my girls! Everyone is coming to mine for lunch and I can’ wait to start decorating the house and tree! I love these ideas, great inspiration! I am a scandi fan! We have gorgeous stockings from NOTHS and have been perusing the garden centers! I would love to make or buy a wreath! I just always worry it’ll get half inched! Xx
Aaah surely no-one would steal a wreath would they?! Although, someone nicked our granite pots from either side of the front door a few weeks ago so I’ve sort of lost my faith in human nature slightly!! Sounds like you’re going to have an amazing Christmas with your family!! Exciting times :)