Five Ways to Enhance the Christmas Decorating of Your Home

I have been decorating my home at Christmastime for more years than I wish to remember.  Through those many years I have learned a few things along the way that have enhanced my decorating experience and probably made my decorating product better than it would have been otherwise.  Hopefully, this has enhanced the viewing experience of those who visit my home and maybe even some of you who have come to visit me here at my blog and have seen my decorating style.

   #1 GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO DECORATE THE WAY YOU WANT

I mention giving yourself time to decorate first because it is the most comprehensive way in which to enhance your Christmas decorating experience.  If you do not allow the time you need, you will become discouraged and stressed about getting it done and the whole season will begin on a bad note.  Believe me.  I have gone down that path before and time is the best solution for that problem,

For the last five to ten years, I have tried to get my Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving.  Sometimes I have been successful and sometimes I have not, this year being one of those unsuccessful years.  The decorating was not done until well into December and I did feel stressed. I must admit. The delay made it so I ended up being behind on the other Christmas tasks that needed to get done, as well.  In short, for me it is better to be finished with decorating by early December to really enjoy the season.

Of course, this is all individual and depends on how much actual decorating you normally do and how much you enjoy doing it :).  If setting up lights in the windows and decorating your Christmas tree is the extent of the decorating you like to do (Wonderful!), then doing it anytime you choose is the way to go.  No fuss, no muss!

I feel I must mention one more thing in all of this.  Give yourself grace.  You do not have to do it all, even if those around you are.  The holidays are meant to be delighted in, not to be stressed over.  Do only what make sense for you.  Everything does not have to be perfect.  Decorate up to the point you are happy with the result and move on :).

#2 LET THERE BE LIGHT

This suggestion seems to be a no-brainer to me, but I felt it was worth mentioning for emphasis anyway.  Christmas, among other things, is the season of light.  It is the time when God brings His light to the world through the birth of his infant Savior son, Jesus.  I feel we are to share in this light literally and figuratively at Christmastime. So, for me the more lights, electric or battery, more the merrier.  In my home there are lights in the windows, lights on the bushes, lights on the mantles, lights on the stairway, lights in the Christmas vignettes…lights everywhere!  It feels magical when my husband and get them all turned on each evening.  We thoroughly enjoy the ambiance the many lights bring to our home.  My advice is to add as many lights in as many areas around the house as you can afford and also will enjoy.  You may not like as many as I do.  Haha!

  Of course, if you have a toddler or animals who might get hurt by the cords and batteries involved, please use caution and keep these items out of their reach.

#3 BRING ON THE COLOR

For most of the year I am normally a neutral-color home decorator. However, at Christmastime I always love bringing in the colors of the season.  Again, this is all personal preference but when else is having sparkles and red and green ribbons all over your house appropriate?  Why not enjoy the ride and go for it?  I happen to decorate several rooms in my house so I can mix it up with reds and greens and silver and golds, depending on the room and my mood.  I choose to have fun with it and use the many, many treasured decorations I have collected over the years wherever I can.

#4 CONSIDER CHILDREN WHEN DOING YOUR DECORATING

I have already addressed the safety concerns of decorating with children in the "lights" portion of this post.  What I am talking about here is to consider children as you decorate for the holidays. Bring out your inner child.  For some of us this is harder than for others. Try not to make your holiday decorations so elegant that you forget to make them fun for the children in your life.  Remember that they just might be the most enthusiastic viewers of your decorations that you have all season long!  Add a few snowmen or Santas or candy canes to the landscape of your designs.  The kids (and you) will love it!

#5 REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Finally, if you are a believer in Jesus, keeping Him center in your celebration of Christmas can sometimes be hard in this fast-paced life. To this end my husband and I start playing Christmas songs in early November.  We usually start with what I would call more contemporary Christian songs usually written in the last 20-30 years. The songs set the mood for the holidays to come for us.  We have our favorites. Some of them may not be known to many of you but, they have become part of our holiday season traditions. After Thanksgiving we move onto the more traditional Christmas songs like ones from Dean Martin (my favorite), Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole to set the mood for a fun and joyous season.  

The Nativity scene is always located in a prominent place here, as well.  Sometimes I have more than one Nativity set around the house.  I also display this print of the Nativity that my daughter made for me years ago while in college.  I am thrilled to own it.  All are memories and reminders of what Christmas is all about to our family.

Well, there you have it, five ways to enhance your own decorating experience. I hope they have been of some help to you.  As is usually the case, I am very late in sharing this info with you.  One of my New Year's resolutions should be to get timelier with my blog posts and their themes.  I will do my best but until then, I truly hope you are enjoying all the great experiences of the season!

SHARING HERE:

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather

TFT