One of the best parts of preparing for Christmas is thinking about how you will decorate the house. And while homemade accessories can be lots of fun, it’s the simple touches like string lights and door wreaths that set the mood for the celebration. When it’s time to deck the halls, add these holiday decorations to your shopping list to make your home merry and bright:
1. Hang personalized stockings with care
Even if you don’t have a fireplace or mantel, you can find dozens of places to hang personalized Christmas stockings. You can suspend them from a coat rack, let them dangle over a doorway, or attach them to a stair rail. Options include traditional red or green color schemes, argyle designs, or holiday motifs that you can decorate yourself or have customized by an online retailer. The costs range from $15 to $50, so depending on your budget, you can get one for everyone in the house.
2. Place a wreath upon your door
A door wreath makes your home feel festive and inviting. You can opt for fresh or faux options that you can decorate or select a style with lights, bows, pine cones, and other embellishments. Fresh-cut varieties only offer limited seasonal usage. However, you can use a faux wreath year-round as a centerpiece or wall decoration. Budget-friendly options start around $12 depending on the size, which can range from 18 to 48-inches.
3. Use outdoor Christmas lights
Create a picture-perfect wonderland with LED outdoor string lights. These twinkling beauties put on a show without running up the electricity bill. They emit a warm, festive glow and come in white or colorful options. You can wrap them around poles and handrails or outline the shape of the house. They also sit well in bushes and trees. Moreover, they are energy-efficient and last up to 10 times longer than traditional lights. Prices vary according to solar-powered, battery-operated, or standard plug-in styles.
4. Transform rooms into a magical space with artificial trees
The construction of artificial Christmas trees has improved so much over the last decade it is hard to decipher a real tree from a faux one. They can extend up to 12 feet high and come with either hinged branches or hooked branches that you place in individual slots. If you don’t have time to decorate, you can find one that has lights, ornaments, and other magical trimmings. Although they can be quite expensive, they are worth the splurge. An artificial tree may not require constant nurturing like a real one, but you still need to buy a metal stand to keep it from toppling over.
5. Set the theme with inflatable lawn ornaments
Available in a variety of sizes and shapes, inflatable lawn ornaments help put neighbors and passersby in the mood for holiday cheer. These larger-than-life decorations come pre-lit with LED bulbs so you can view them when the night falls, and include a built-in blower so you can inflate them quickly and easily. Some manufacturers also provide strings and stakes to tie them down to keep the wind from carrying them away. Santa, reindeer, elves, snowmen, and polar bears are among the choices you can find for about $80.
