Christmas decorations are worth going all out for, even if that means relying on your childhood memories. Why do we say that? Do you remember sitting in the backseat of your parent’s car as a child and driving down the street, when all of a sudden, a house filled with the brightest and most magnificent lights instantly grabbed your attention? That’s the power of Christmas, and how festive decorating can make your day and brighten your mood.
If you’ve only begun getting in the Christmas spirit and you’re looking for decoration ideas, the SweepSouth team has got you covered. We’re feeling jolly good about the festive season and wanted to share our decorating tips with you. From top to bottom, inside and out, keep reading to find out how you can use Christmas decorations to set the mood for a special day, and where you can get them.
Outdoor Christmas Decorations
From a stranger’s perspective, outdoor Christmas decorations are ultimately the main showstopper. If you want to wow the onlookers driving past, use the following décor ideas to brighten up your garden with a spectacular festive cheer:
- Doors: Wreaths are always suited perfectly to doors. A well centred and brightly-coloured wreath is the ideal decoration to welcome guests in with a warm Christmasy feeling.
- Stairs: Place one candle along each step on one side of the staircase. It’s an easy way to light up a walkway and give guests a festive welcome. If you don’t want to use real candles, opt for battery-operated fake ones instead, they’ll work just as well.
- Trees: Everyone knows that fairy lights and trees go together like salt and pepper. Whether you decide on one main colour, or you want to light up your garden with a multitude of colours, invest in some fairy lights and get hanging.
- Windows: Your windows might have frames, but they don’t have Christmas frames! A simple and quick way to transform your windows is with garland. Your house won’t look the same with the addition of gorgeous greenery.
- Balcony Railing: If you’ve got pot plants on your balcony, it’s time to spruce them up. Add some pinecones, spray-painted twigs, and little decorative pieces in and around them to get that Christmas feel you’re going for.
- Patio: You’re more than likely in an area where it doesn’t snow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have snowmen on your patio. You can either make one big snowman, a few smaller ones, or both if you’re up for the challenge. This is a homemade decorating idea that’s fairly simple to execute. Get 3 different-sized round polystyrene balls from your local hardware store. Attach them together with a pipe (for a large snowman), or skewer sticks (for a small snowman). Then you can get decorating with all of the bells and whistles needed to make the facial features. You’ll probably need buttons or black beads for the eyes, twigs for the arms, a carrot or spray-painted toothpick for the nose, and a scarf to finish it off.
- Lawn: Finish off your outdoor area with some inflatable Christmas toys/characters that you’ll be able to get from one of the Christmas shopping stores listed below.
Living Room Christmas Decor Ideas
Now that your garden and outdoor area are complete, it’s time to get going on your living room. This is one of the most important spots because your guests will most likely spend the majority of their time here. Here are some living room Christmas décor ideas to incorporate this year:
- Fireplace: If you’ve got a shelf above your fireplace, that’s the perfect place to hang some Christmas socks from it. Get one for each of your family members and add their names to it. Fill it up every day with one small gift a week or two before Christmas so that when the day arrives, the socks are full. Wrap some garland around your fireplace too, to give Santa a warm welcome when he arrives.
- Furniture: If you don’t have festive pillows and blankets to pull out during Christmas time, now might be a good time to get some. The great thing is they’ll probably last forever because you can have them out for a month or two during the festive season, then put them safely in storage until next year’s season.
- Walls: There’s plenty of space for decorating on your walls, so get creative! Add some framed festive paintings done by your children, family photos from Christmas celebrations gone by, or simply hang up some lovely wreaths. You could even hang the wreaths around the photos. The sky’s the limit, so get your festive thinking cap on!
- Floors: An easy way to fill the space up on your floors is with wrapped ‘presents’. Besides having the real presents under the Christmas tree, wrap some empty boxes and group them in different areas on your living room floor. The more (presents), the merrier.
- Tree: Last but most certainly not least is your Christmas tree. If you want to try something different this year, use these DIY Christmas tree decorations to make your tree stand out even more than usual. Your guests will love them!
Christmas Table Decorations
If you’ve got a large enough table to cater to the delicious food you’ll be eating on the day, and some fascinating decorations for guests to marvel at while eating, use the table décor ideas listed below:
- Mason Jars: This is a great way to add colour to your table without it taking up too much space. The jars can be filled with different decorations and fittings to portray your favourite themes.
- Garland: Run a piece of garland down the middle of your table for that perfect decorative symmetry. Once laid down, you can add small trimmings and decorative pieces on top of it for that extra layer of joy.
- Candles: Christmas lunches and dinners are a great excuse to pull out all of your favourite candles and use them for decorating.
- Mini Gift Boxes: What better way to thank your guests for attending your Christmas gathering than with small gifts they can use every day? Whether it’s lip balm, hand cream, or maybe a little box of chocolates, wrap your gifts up in mini cardboard boxes and add them to the place settings.
Christmas Decorations South Africa
With all these ideas in mind, you’ll need a place to go shopping for Christmas decorations. These are some of the best stores to go shopping at for your festive décor ideas:
Conclusion
You’re now ready to take on Christmas celebrations like a pro! Head out to the stores, get your shopping done, and turn your home into something out of a storybook. Before you do that, book a cleaning service with an expert SweepStar so that they can ensure the decorations are put up in a beautiful home with not a single speck of dust in it.