9 Fun + Easy Ideas to Level Up Your Christmas Decor

Hello December! We are officially in the holiday season and now that the Sacred Heart Home Tour is over, I wanted to share a few fun and easy Christmas decor ideas to level up your holiday game, especially if you’ll be entertaining! I did all of these in the house and love how they turned out!

1. WHAT THE FLOCK?! Yup, you read that right! You can flock your own Christmas tree and I even did a full post to show you how! (and all the creatives said amen! and everyone else groaned 😂) Sometimes you have an idea and it doesn’t seem to exist, so you figure it out yourself. I wanted a red Christmas tree for the Home Tour and ended up flocking it myself! It was fun, really simple and not nearly as messy as you’re imagining. I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out! Once it was dry, we added cranberry branches, velvet poinsettias, shiny/matte/glitter red ornaments and ribbon for the red Christmas tree of my dreams! Time involved: 30 minutes to flock once the tree is in the stand. 24 hours to dry.
2. WRAPPED ARTWORK: Possibly the easiest one on the list! When you have a theme that you’re going for, but have artwork that doesn’t go with it, just pick your favorite wrapping paper and cover it! Add some ribbon, a bow, cute name tags or sayings, a sprig of greenery and you’re good to go! If you’ve got a gallery wall, use three or four coordinating wrapping papers that go with your theme. For instance, you might have black, white, and buffalo check mixed together. Or maybe gold, white and gold stripe, and white with gold ribbon. Or maybe the kids wanted a Grinch theme and you have bright green, dark green and glitter red. For the Tour, I went with gold on this one and no one would ever know it’s actually a bright, multi-color piece of art! Ha! Time involved: 10-60 minutes depending on how many pieces you do.
3. BOXES OF FRESH WYOMING AIR: If you don’t recognize that Wedding Crashers reference, I’m not sure we could be friends 😂 Every time I wrap presents for the Home Tour, it’s the only scene that goes through my mind! All of these beautifully wrapped presents are empty boxes– just like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson brought to every wedding they crashed. I collected boxes for a couple months before the Tour and it’s a solid mix of Amazon, work deliveries and diaper boxes! It may seem pointless to some of you, but a few of these babies can really change the feel of a space. If you’re up for it, go all in and surround the tree like we did and then layer on your own presents in front of them. When you’re done opening gifts on Christmas morning, you’ll still have a gorgeous tree to look at that won’t be empty underneath! But I get if that’s a bit overboard, so opt to wrap a few and style them on your entry table or buffet for extra oomph. Time involved: 1-4 hours, but do yourself a favor and spread it out over a couple of days if you’re going all in. Grab your paper, ribbon, scissors, tape and put on your fave Christmas movies and make it a day! Or night! We wrapped and bowed over 75 presents for the Tour and think it took about 6 hours total with two of us doing it together.
4. NAPKIN ART: Ok, I lied. THIS one is the easiest and it’s completely free! I did a Roaring 20s theme and folded the napkins on the dining place settings like tuxedos– so cute and totally different! Add a black bow tie for a name tag and you’re set! We opted for a melted wax stamp to hold on a bit of pine next to the name. And don’t think you have to come up with some origami napkin idea all by yourself– head over to Pinterest and get your fill! Time involved: well, if you get lost down the Pinterest rabbit hole, there’s no telling how long it’ll take! But once you have your idea, it’s lickity-split!
5. BALLOON GARLAND: I did this for my son’s first birthday party and loved it so much I had to do it again! It’s super simple and the only downside is tasting a bunch of balloons, so do yourself a favor and get a balloon pump! I didn’t use helium because I didn’t need to– I was able to arrange and shape them on the wall with tape or thumbtacks. Buy this garland tape, pick out your balloons and get to it! Use a variety of balloon sizes and alternate colors as you go. If you have any gaps, use small balloons to fill it, but tie them onto a longer string around the tape where you want it. There’s even sticky dots to help them stay in place! Time involved: 45-60 minutes: blowing up balloons, putting into balloon tape and arranging on wall or table.
6. FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS: I made the floral arrangements for the Tour, but that’s not what this is about. To save time, get your favorite bouquet from Costco or Trader Joe’s, pick your vase and cut the stems where you want them– then take them back out of the vase. Because, THIS is the finishing touch that takes it up a notch– take large leaves (like aspidistra or long, flat green leaves, but in this case, I used cedar) and wrap them around the inside of the vase to hide the stems. Some will be in water and some won’t. It works best on short and medium height vases and looks legit. And greenery in general throughout the house always make it feel like the holidays have arrived– normally I can’t get enough! Time involved: 5-10 mins
7. REPETITION: Ahhh, one of my favorite things! There’s just something about seeing a whole bunch of the same thing all grouped together that makes my heart smile. And if you’re having a party, what better way to incorporate this than in your drink display?! I love the way these turned out and they make such a statement. Pre-mix your signature drink, pour them in your glasses and garnish with fruit or even greenery for rows on rows of repetition! You can do this with candles on your mantel or dining table, ornaments in hurricanes, dessert displays or wreaths on a wall of windows. It’s simple and classic and just looks good. Time involved: 30-60 mins
8. ADD COLOR + COZY: Whatever your theme is, swapping out those everyday pillows for a little more festive ones will instantly put your home in the holiday spirit. And if you can mix cozy into too, that’s even better! We used a gorgeous deep red cut velvet fabric to make the pillows and added white furry ones along with a few fur blankets to amp up the cozy factor while bringing in color to compliment the theme. You don’t always need new pillows either– just pillow covers that you can easily store with your Christmas decor. Time involved: if you’re making your own pillow covers, it’ll take a few hours to get the fabric, thread, zippers and sew them.
9. AMP UP YOUR STOCKINGS: Sometimes your stockings need something new besides their name or initials monogrammed on them! I bought these beautiful dark green velvet stockings and added the ribbon and feathers to completely customize them, but in a non-permanent way! The gold around the top cuff is tacked on and the ribbons and feathers were all created and put together like a corsage that can easily be removed with a safety pin if you ever wanted to change them! We used a mix of ribbons– a green velvet, wide gold sheer, and shiny gold– and tied what I call a top-knot bow and layered in a couple feathers for a gorgeous upgrade to the plain stockings they used to be! Time involved: once you have the stockings and other items you want, 30-60 mins I know it’s always a bit hectic during the holidays, but hopefully this helps save you time and gives you some fun ideas for your own entertaining this season! Have fun with it and let me know if you try any! You can see the whole Home Tour portfolio here too! Happy decorating!