Top 5 Tips For Fabulous Festive Décor.

Ho Ho Ho! Does that sound festive enough?

I have to admit, I’m usually one of the first people to get into the Christmas spirit, waiting eagerly all year to play Mariah Carey. This year, not so much. It may be because I have a massive list of things to do, one of which is to plumb a toilet. However, sometimes we just have to pull ourselves together and think about what’s important; Shiny things and twinkly lights. If you’re struggling to get into that Christmas spirit, or your festive décor just isn’t giving you the ‘Fah-La-La’s’, here are my top 5 tips to get your bells jinglin’.

Top 5 Tips For Fabulous Festive Décor

1. Twinkly Lights

One of my festive décor favourites has to be a string of warm-white fairy lights. Wound around a Christmas tree, branches, banisters, placed in vases, bowls, or even just strewn over a surface. It has to be warm white, mind. Tiny spots of light are reminiscent of flickering candles… without the hassle of lighting hundreds of candles. Or burning the house down.

In recent years, advances in LED technology has meant that we no longer have to deal with metres of distracting chunky cable, instead, sleek single wires carry ‘droplets’ of light. These can be wound tightly round branches to accentuate form or popped discretely in vases.

2. Pimp-up Your Foliage

Whether you’re a fan of faux or prefer the real thing, winter foliage is one of the best ways to bring a bit of festive cheer to your home. Besides the Christmas tree, I fill vases with freshly cut branches, intermixed with faux winter foliage, adding in sprays of berries and decorative Christmas ‘sprigs’ to existing displays.

Remember my faux eucalyptus coffee table display?

Here it is dressed for Christmas. These berries and festive sprigs were bought from a nearby pound shop. A bargain way to add interest.

I even add faux foliage into my Christmas tree, to fill out the sparse areas.  My tree is pre-lit (luxury? or lazy?) so I wind on a garland of berries/beads first, then tuck in branches of foliage… in this case eucalyptus, before I add the baubles. I start with plain ‘filler’ baubles or the baubles that I have a greater number of, then add the more decorative ones and individual ‘special’ ones.

Top Tip; If you have a faux tree, invest in a few branches of fresh ‘Christmas tree’ to put in a vase. That way you can enjoy the gorgeous smell of a real Christmas tree, without the fear of mass needle drop!

3. Decorative Storage Disguise

If, like me, you love the decorating part but hate having to haul empty boxes in and out of the attic, try this sneaky tip. Instead of keeping your festive décor in old mismatched boxes, invest in some solid cardboard gift boxes and decorate to match your tree. These can be kept underneath the tree all through Christmas, then simply packed up and stored for the rest of the year. In my case, they also act as a handy disguise for electrical sockets. Again, bargain stores and supermarkets are good sources for these boxes.

4. Buy Vintage

If you’re not lucky enough to own heirloom festive décor, then fake up some history. I believe that there is nothing more festive than vintage Christmas ornaments. Even if it’s not your family history, the idea that an ornament has seen many Christmases, just makes me feel warm. Charity stores are a great source for vintage pieces. I purchased these gorgeous Reindeer over a decade ago, and they still make me smile every year. Buying vintage décor from charity stores not only gives it a new life, but also puts money towards a great cause and helping others… isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

5. Christmas Craft

The thing I miss most about being a child at Christmas (because we all wish we were all kids at Christmas, right?) is the Christmas craft. If you grew up watching Blue Peter, then you’ll know what I mean! So, even if you are all thumbs when it comes to DIY, I have a great wee make for you…

Turn ordinary charity store glasses…

Into stylish Mercury Glass style tea light holders

These gorgeous tea light holders take minutes to make and cost only a few pounds, using spray paint, water, and some charity store glassware.

What You Need To Do;

Firstly, make sure that your glasses are clean and free from grease or dust, to allow the paint to adhere. You can get a similar effect with chrome spray paint, but I’ve used this amazing product… Rust-oleum Mirror Effect Spray Paint. I’ve seen similar used on American blogs for years, but it’s been unavailable in the UK, until now.

This is the first time that I can honestly advise watching paint dry. It’s fascinating. Sprayed on the reverse side of clear glass, the spray goes on matte silver and dries to a shiny, almost mirror-like finish. Flip it over, and you have an actual mirror! I mean a proper true reflection. It’s witchcraft I tell you!

(I might add, that I am in no way affiliated with Rust-oleum. All bought and paid for… I just bloomin love it!)

Once you’ve ensured your glasses are fust-free, mask off the top edge, then give them a light spray with water, on the inside. You want only a few small beads on the surface. A few runs are okay. You may have to practice this a few times. The water is what will disrupt the surface of the spray paint to give the pitted, aged effect.

Following this, give a coat of spray paint and allow to dry. Depending on the desired effect, you may want to give a second coat. Remember, you may lose some of the fake ageing that you’ve just created. Allow to dry.

Groups of these, using a mix of patterns, look amazing.

Remember this beauty from my ‘DIY Vase Makeover; Mid-Century Style Glaze’ post?

Why not use the same techniques in your festive décor colours? Maybe even upcycle some old baubles? That would look great!

There you have it. A relatively cheap way to get a stylish, affordable and fabulously festive Christmas underway.

Malcolm xx