Five Ideas to Decorate Your Home for the Holidays

I always find that decorating my home between Halloween and New Year’s is a challenge, don’t you? I mean, pumpkins are over, but it’s too early for presents.  Do I decorate for Thanksgiving and then take it all down before I decorate for Christmas a few weeks after? That seems like way too much time. How do I make it festive, yet welcoming and not get overwhelmed?

This year I decided to keep thing simple (a favorite motto of mine) and set the house up once and forget about it. Then I can enjoy all the highlights of the season and the real things that matter.

I came up with five ideas to decorate your home from now through New Year’s. They are simple ideas you can implement in any room and once you get it all done, you can relax and enjoy some cocoa!

Here’s five ideas to decorate your home for the holidays.

Decorate the Entry Way

A festive entryway sets the mood for all the experiences guests will have in your home. So make it special! Trees, presents and your favorite holiday decor will create the perfect atmosphere for a celebration.

This is our front foyer, which leads into the living room. Instead of one big tree, this year I decided to set up 3 little ones for a winter village scenes with my glitter houses from last year. Why not use multiple trees, who says you have to have just one?

For this space, my very favorite item are the trees. I’ve wanted a white tree for so long and these just glow with the lights on.

Use Metallics

Gold, silver, bronze and more metallic colors are perfect for decorating for the entire holiday season because they aren’t exactly Christmas or Thanksgiving specific. They give off a warm, seasonal vibe. Plus you don’t have to pick just one color. Feel free to blend gold and silver. Bronze is making a comeback this year and there are lots of shades in between like rose gold and champagne.

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Our fireplace got a black wall makeover and is one of my favorite places to decorate. Usually I use neutrals, but this year I brought out the red and love the festive accent.

The metallic candle holders on the mantel are to die for. To make a big impact I got four of them and will leave them out for a long while.

Create a Festive Spot for Yourself

I have never decorated our bedroom for the season until now and I don’t know why I waited so long! If you are thinking

Oh no, another place to decorate?

Then treat yourself and grab some faux fur blankets, holiday pillows and candles. Those three items will transform your everyday bedroom into a relaxing and warm restful space to sleep.

The fur throw! And the black pillows. This room was a bit monochromatic in color and the black provides nice contrast.

Items in this space from Big Lots include: Merry & Bright pillow, black medallion pillows, green snowflake jar candleholder, fur throw blanket.

Prepare for Entertaining

During holiday time people want to gather and eat, am I right? So you’re not running around your home looking for glasses, tablecloths and all those things, get your dining area ready for a quick dessert with friends or even a full meal.

This is when I get my dining room ready. First you can set out a pretty runner and full some vases with ornaments. For fun, set up a drink or cocoa station. All you need are holiday mugs, napkins, treats and cocoa of course!

Those red plaid tree mugs are so adorable, I decorated this entire cocoa station around them. And the sweater mugs are my second runner up!

Don’t Forget the Kids

Put a small tree in their rooms so they can enjoy the holiday spirit too. Plus these make a great nightlight for children that need one, or you can put the tree on a timer to signal bedtime.

Make sure all decorations and ornaments are unbreakable (as much as possible of course) and that cords are tied out of view.

We added this mini white tree to Cora’s nursery and she’s in love! Lights always capture her attention and now we can show her different ornaments and let her explore the presents beneath the tree on her own.

In just a short while you can create a warm and festive atmosphere that doesn’t scream Christmas, but let’s your family and guests enjoy the months ahead. Even my husband who is a stick no-decorating-before-Thanksgiving guy likes the look of our new and seasonal spaces. I hope you enjoyed these ideas for how to decorate your home for the holidays.

This post was compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser in November 2015. All opinions are mine alone.