Christmas Decorating 101

Ok so seriously if there was a school that offered Christmas Decorating 101, I would be the first in line to teach it! I absolutely LOVE Christmas time...and even that is probably an understatement. I look forward to this season all year long. A few years ago I was even hired as a Seasonal Stylist for all Macy's locations in the Dallas Metroplex. I worked for over 12 stores and got to decorate 15 trees per store! Talk about a Christmas dream!

My tradition is to decorate the house the day after Thanksgiving. So over the weekend I worked on decorating for Christmas and in the process I thought I should blog about the steps I take to make it all come together beautifully!

I begin by shopping around for inspiration. There is a beautiful store here in Dallas called the Decorators Warehouse. It is filled with the most beautifully decorated trees in all styles and colors. I have about 10 Christmas bins stored away, each with a different color. Things I have collected over the past 5 years. This year, I knew I had to stick to the colors I already had being that we are a one income family now. With that said, I was inspired by a tree that was done in Green, Brown, and White. I also already had these colors stored away!
I spent the entire day Friday working on decorating the living room and it looks so warm and cozy. I love the way it turned out.

Here are some of my tips on how to decorate your home for the Holidays!

1. Choose a color combination. Try to stick to 2-3 colors.

2. Decorate your tree with the lights turned on. This way the lights become a part of the decor.

3. Put the ribbon on first! And it doesn't have to be your typical ribbon. It can be twigs (like I used this year), beads, tulle, burlap, etc. You can cheat too...if your tree is pushed up against a wall or corner, don't worry about decorating the backside. Keep it all in the front. This will save you tons of time and money!

4. Christmas Pics. No I'm not talking about photos. Pics are decorating items found at all craft stores that are normally on a stick. Feathers, beads, glittered twigs, flowers, etc. These look wonderful on the tree. They help to fill space and they give the tree an organic shape. And normally cost under a dollar!

5. Ornaments. These can be anything from balls to snowflakes to icicles to pine cones, etc. I do these last to not only fill the remaining open spaces, but also to help spread the colors around the tree. This way your eye is drawn up and down the tree.

6. Tree skirt. Don't worry about buying an expensive pre-made tree skirt. Just go to your local craft store and purchase a yard of fabric. Use this to drape around the base of your tree as the skirt. I used a yard of burlap to go with my theme this year.

6 steps doesn't seem too bad, does it?! My main advice is to plan it ahead of time. Choose your colors and theme and then shop for ribbon, pics, ornaments, and fabric. Lay it all out so you can see it all while decorating. But, most of all HAVE FUN doing it! Include your family, turn on some Christmas music, and take your time!

I also continue my theme onto my fireplace mantle. This year I went to the dollar store and bought 5 frames, spray painted them, and wrote the words in glitter paint, 'baby its cold outside'. Then I just leaned them up against the mantle. I also bought wooden letters, spray painted them and hung them with rope with each stocking to personalize them! Just another fun, inexpensive way to add a personal touch!

I hope these tips help you this season with your Holiday decorating and remember if you're in the Dallas area to call Style With Wisdom for all your Holiday decorating needs! jennifer@stylewithwisdom.net