With a few simple materials or inexpensive store-bought decorations, you can create elegant christmas decorations for your home.
Creating elegant Christmas decor for your home can be daunting. I want my home to look unique and not like I bought the latest trendy items and plopped them on every surface in my house. You can achieve a look that is both elegant and uniquely yours by combining pieces or doing a bit of upcycling to make store-bought decor fit your style.
I like an English cottage aesthetic, but these basic ideas can be changed to fit your decor style.
I like using painted acorns because they have a natural feel with a little bit of glitz. Acorns can be gathered in your yard if you have a mature oak tree. If not, maybe an oak-tree-owning neighbor wouldn’t mind if you offered to do little yard clean-up and remove those pesky acorns! If you can’t find an acorn-producing tree, you can buy acorns online. Etsy sites have real acorns. You can also buy artificial ones and paint them, but I like the unique shapes of real acorns.
Now that you have your glitzy acorns, you can use them in a variety of ways. Mine are displayed in a glass hurricane vase and displayed on top of my antique side board. This would also make a great addition to a coffee table or as part of a dining table centerpiece. I’ve rounded up some hurricane glass vessels, below. Click on the description to the right for the link.
1-The seeded glass in these would offer a pretty reflection from the silver and gold.
2-This one would be beautiful if you have a more modern aesthetic.
3-This is most like mine. I love the fluted top.
I’ve included this link to an Etsy site that sells acorns in case your foraging efforts fail!
2—Corral vintage ornaments in a vintage glass dish
Vintage ornaments can be found in thrift stores and flea markets. If you’re not into the hunt, I’ve rounded up some vintage look-alikes that you can buy online. I have a combination of vintage and reproduction in my display.
We inherited this pretty compote from my mother-in-law. She had loved it but never used it. It doesn’t fit into my decor on a regular basis, but it has a a shiny quality that makes it perfect for Christmas. I simply add the ornaments to the compote and display with a swag of greenery around the bottom.
Maybe you have a pretty cut glass bowl or compote that is never brought out of the cupboard, because it’s too fancy. Bring it out for Christmas! If you don’t have one, you can find so many options in thrift stores. It doesn’t have to be a compote like mine. A candy dish would be beautiful filled with vintage ornaments.
3—Upcycle store-bought mini trees
I love trees, and Christmas is the perfect time to use them to decorate your house. There are so many mini trees out there–you know, the kind that are wrapped in burlap at the base. Mine are from Hobby Lobby. I liked the blue spruce and frosted cedar color of the trees I found there. Target also has some nice ones if you wanted a truer green color.
I had two French-style mini urns that I wanted to use. If you like this style, I linked a couple of pretty urns, below.
Once you have your trees, it’s easy to remove the burlap wrapping. I placed them in the pots and covered the opening with moss. I like them paired in a vignette. They would also look great on a coffee table.
4—Pair a floral garland with a greens garland to dress up a cased opening
There are beautiful garlands out there, but you can really elevate their appearance by pairing them to create a fuller look. My look includes a garland of magnolia flowers with a greens garland of faux cedar boughs. My magnolia garland is no longer available, but this one is similar.
To hang a garland over an opening, screw a small screw into the top board of your casing. If your garland has a thin “branch” running through the center, you can wrap the garland directly over the screw. If not, wrap wire around the garland and use the wire to attach the garland to the screw. You will never see the screw hole when you remove the screw after Christmas!
5—Surround lanterns with wreaths to add holiday charm to your stairs
I had these lanterns from my daughter’s wedding. They were not being used, and I thought they looked festive. To dress them up for Christmas, I found three matching wreaths and cut an opening in one side of each to allow them to be wrapped around the lanterns. This is such an easy way to add charm to your stairs. If you stairway is visible from your entryway or foyer, it presents a warm welcome!
My wreaths are frosted cedar and no longer available. I found these that would give a similar look.
I’ve seen the lanterns like mine in Michaels stores, but they are no longer available online. A round or hexagonal lantern works best if you plan to surround it with a wreath. I’ve rounded up a couple that would work.
6—Attach three mini wreaths for quick and easy wall decor
A long narrow wall can present a challenge for wall decor. This wall looked bare to me. I happened to have three matching wreaths. One would have been too small, so I just wrapped ribbon through the wreaths and hot glued it together on the back to create this look. I think it would be really pretty with a velvet ribbon, too. This wreath is similar to mine.
7—Hang a simple pine bough from the top of your chandelier
Chandeliers look beautiful adorned with greens and garlands. It can be tricky to get it just right. A pine garland with multiple boughs is a quick and easy way to dress up your chandelier for Christmas. It looks elegant in its simplicity! I just attach the garland to the loop at the top of the chain with a wire and spread the boughs around the chandelier. A pretty ribbon at the top hides the wire.
The garland I used for this has one loop and multiple strands of different lengths. I found it in a shop and could not find a link to one like it. I did find this single garland, which looks similar to mine. You could create the same look by attaching several of these and cutting them to differnt lengths.
Be creative and use what you have
All of these ideas used some things that I had around the house. You can make use of existing wreaths, ribbon, lanterns, flower pots, craft supplies and any thing you can think of to create an elegant Christmas look. I hope these ideas will spark some creative ideas of your own!
