Everyone's style is different when it comes to home decor and Christmas decorations. Some folks like blue flashing lights on their porches - others only want white ice-sicle lights. Some enjoy the big inflatable snowmen or Santas, while others opt for more traditional Nativities and live greens.
We like to decorate each room a little differently, with color coordinated Victorian style ornaments in the living room, heirloom and antique ornaments in the parlor, and homemade ornaments in the kitchen. But regardless of decorating style, these tips for retro Christmas decorations can be helpful to incorporate.
Tip #1
Use what you have before you buy what you have not. The candelabra shown here and in the photo above is a good example. While usually year-round it is just a wrought-iron candelabra with a potted plant in the basket in the center, during the holidays we really jazz it up with vintage ornaments and crocheted snowflakes and poinsettia swags to transform it into a holiday centerpiece that is easily the focal point of the dining room.
If you already have pictures on the wall, stick a few stems of Christmas tree clippings behind them. Do you already have white curtains or gold candlesticks or green potted plants? Just add a little red, a few ornaments, or a holiday wreath. Instantly that brings the Christmas look to something that may have looked cottage chic before that.
Or in this case, a hutch already red becomes a Christmas hutch instead of just a red hutch when we stick some evergreens on top and loop some wooden beads - the work of a minute.
Tip #2
Homemade doesn't have to mean kitschy. While salt dough ornaments or zany fat felt appliqued figurines may be what you think of when someone says "homemade", it really is easy to find or make decorations that fit your style without sacrificing quality.
Here's a fun homemade ornament you can make, that takes hardly any time or talent, and can be used for many different styles from Rustic to Victorian - vintage sheet music paper ornaments.
Just take some vintage sheet music (usually cheap at antique stores) and trace around a cookie cutter lightly with a pencil. Cut it out and pierce it with an ornament hanger. They are so lightweight they can hang even on the most delicate surfaces. Also adorable to glue on a Christmas card!
Tip #3
Use live greens - at least a little bit! Besides a few fake wreaths and the poinsettia swags, we use only live greens. It's some work, but it really takes your holiday decorating a step up! But it doesn't have to be a lot of work. It can be as simple as cutting two short branches, twisting a twist-tie around the center stems, twisting on a bow, and using a thumbtack to secure it above a door. A swag in 1 minute!
Tip #4
Use any display cases you already have for holiday display. A china closet now helps decorate a room, thanks to laying a few stems of holly around or among the china, which is of course already decorative. You can do the same with curio cases or glass-front bookshelves.
But of course the main thing to remember when decorating is that it should be fun - not stressful or too much hard work. "Decking the halls" for the festivities with a light heart and smiles, more than the most elaborate trees or fancy bows, will "prepare Him room".
Hopefully you enjoyed that little tour through our retro-Victorian house this year!
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