10 Little Christmas Decorating Touches That Make a HUGE Difference!

So what if this year, instead of feeling like you have to decorate your entire house for Christmas in one Saturday, you could create a beautifully festive home, one little manageable project at a time. Today, I'm going to share 10 of my very favorite, easy and unexpected ways to bring that magical Christmas feeling into your home. And I've got something extra fun planned for us this year. I've created a free seven day Christmas decorating challenge where I'm going to send decorating prompt every day for seven days along with some inspiration and designer tips to help you decorate your home beautifully this Christmas season. Now I'm going to tell you more about this later in the video but if you want to you could go ahead and get signed up through the link in the description because the Christmas decorating challenge starts tomorrow. My first tip for the day and this is something that I don't see very many people do and it's so easy and it's so So beautiful. And that is to ask. add some type of little Christmas detail to your lighting. Now hear me out when I tell you about this. So this could mean that you add holiday greenery or bells onto a lamp base, that you maybe add a little wreath on a lamp, or you could add bows to a wall sconce, even adorn a chandelier or a pendant with greenery or bows or bells or honestly all of the above. I think it's really It's really fun and it feels unexpected to add a little bit of Christmas flair. to the lighting pieces in your home and it's something that I like to do in my home and every time that I have visitors over or I show you guys on the YouTube channel how my lamps are decorated for the Christmas season, I always get comments on the idea. So this season I'm going to challenge you to take a little sprig of greenery or a velvet bow or even a small wreath and add it to a lamp base in your home. Just see how it feels. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised at how it It adds just a little Christmas charm. Okay, next up on my list, and I love this one too, and that is to give your everyday artwork and mirrors a little Christmas makeover. So, I like to add garland or swags, bows, wreaths, sprigs of greenery, all of the above to the artwork in my house. You could do that on a piece of artwork that's hanging on a wall. You could put a really pretty swag of greenery on top of it. And I also, one of my very favorite things to do is to add a full. Full size wreath, so like a 30 inch wreath that you would normally put on your front door onto a large scale mirror in my house. I think it just adds, once again, a little bit of unexpected detail. It's a great way to decorate pieces that you already have, and it's super creative and a really fun way to add a little Christmas magic to your rooms. on my ideas for you is to dress up your furniture. I love to add small wreaths and ribbons to the back of dining chairs or to decorate the handles of a cabinet with a little sleigh bell or small wreath and I love to add small greenery to the back of a bench. These subtle touches help Christmas feel integrated into your room and into your home decor rather than simply like Like add it on top. Now next up, and this one is a classic. But that is to just give your Christmas tree a designer touch. And I'm going to give you some of my very favorite pro tips for doing that. I have a couple of trees in my house and I always love it. most when my trees feel full and textural and they've got some dimension. So pro tips for creating a tree that has dimension and interest. First and foremost, I love to add additional lights onto my trees. I love the little fairy lights on the copper wire and I'll link some below in the description for you. You can get them off of Amazon. I've got a pretty big tree behind me and I think that one has like a 500 foot spool. I know that sounds crazy, But you get to weave them in and out and it just creates a really Really beautiful, lit. Christmas tree that feels magical in my opinion. Next up, I love to layer in garlands to my Christmas tree. And I'm not talking about greenery garlands. I'm talking about berry garlands or jingle garlands or beaded garlands. Anything to add some different texture and color to your tree is going to create dimension and give you a really layered, lush, textural look. So that's a pro tip. I also love to add ribbon to my trees. This year I've got some bows. Sometimes I do I do floppy bows. Other times I do a little bit more classic streamlined bow, but adding ribbon to your tree gives you a really great punch of color and texture. And it's super easy. And it just feels a little bit laid back, which I love. Now, when it comes to ornaments, especially on larger trees, but really any size tree, my pro tip is to layer the size of ornaments that you're putting on and go with some classic Christmas ball ornaments, and then some really unique shapes and materials. So this year I've got every. Everything from larger mercury glass balls, I've got large velvet balls, and then I've got some really unique ornaments on my Christmas tree this year. Everything from mercury glass pears and brass flowers to beautiful mercury glass bells, finials, pine cones, you name it, I've layered it onto the tree. It gives That decorator look that I think a lot of us love, especially on a Christmas tree that's in our more formal spaces. And then if you have the opportunity to add another Christmas tree to your home, like I do, I have one in our family room and that is the tree that I put all of my family ornaments on. So we can have that nostalgic Christmas tree as well. Okay. Next up on the list. And this is something that I feel like a lot of times we don't think about as much. And that is to bring Christmas into our kitchens. We are going to spend so much time in our kitchens Over the holiday season, of course, that's where we're going to entertain. It's where we're going to spend time with our family. And I think it's a really important room to decorate. And sometimes it is an afterthought. So I like to decorate my kitchen to make it feel just as festive as the rest of the rooms in my house. So a couple of things that I did in my kitchen, I added in garland over my windows. I have got some really beautiful Christmas greenery on my Pendants over my island, like we talked about earlier, adding some type of a festive Christmas element to your lighting. And I've decorated all the shelves on my hutch with garlands and some really pretty little Christmas arrangements. You don't have to go over the top, just a couple of little details in your kitchen to make it feel festive and welcoming and warm during the holiday season goes a long way. So my challenge to you is to add some Christmas cheer to your kitchen. Now up the all important holiday snack station. So one of my very favorite things to do in the kitchen or in the family room during the Christmas season is to set up a festive beverage and snack station with pretty cups and napkins and drinks and snacks and a few decorative touches. And I also love having something healthy on hand for my guests as well. That is why I'm so excited to have David sponsoring today's video. Now I've been reaching for my David protein bars when I need I need something quick and convenient. Especially on those days when I'm running from one thing to the next. Each one of their gold bars has 28 grams of protein, just 150 calories and zero grams of sugar. That is an industry leading 75% of calories coming from protein. Plus they have this delicious doughy texture with little crunchy bits that honestly make them feel like a little bit of a holiday treat, but a healthy one. I love having something easy and healthy for myself and my guests to grab, during this busy holiday season ahead. Now, David has a special offer. for you. Buy four cartons and get the fifth one free when you shop through my link in the description or you scan the QR code on your screen. And of course, you can always shop David at your local Target, Walmart, or Kroger. I love for my friends and family to feel taken care of and delighted when they come to my home. And having a dedicated snack station has been a huge hit in my house. So try one out this season. I promise you it will be your family's favorite Christmas edition. Now these are These are the kinds of creative designer ideas that I have put into the free seven day Christmas decorating challenge. So here's how it works. Every day for seven days, you'll get a little email from me with a fun decorating prompt. Some beautiful inspiration pictures and a few of my very favorite designer tips to help you create a home that feels extra special for the holidays. And don't worry, these are not gonna be big, overwhelming projects. We're talking about simple, creative little things that you can do around your home to add that cozy, collected Christmas magic. Now, some days we might style a beautiful holiday vignette, find an unexpected spot to decorate or give something that we already own a festive little makeover. And the very best part is that you can use This is all about getting creative, having fun, and making your home feel extra special this Christmas season. And by the end of the seven days, you'll have added seven thoughtful little touches to your home and hopefully discovered some new decorating ideas along the way. So if you want to join me, just click the link in the description below, sign up for the free challenge, and I will send you your first. Decorating prompt straight to your inbox tomorrow. I cannot wait to see what you create with me. Okay. Next up, I want to think outside of the box and I want to challenge you to create an unexpected Christmas moment in your home this year. Now hear me out about this. I want you to think where could you add a little bit of festive detail that you wouldn't normally think about decorating. So this could be inside of like a glass front armoire or cabinet, or it could be bookshelf or maybe a hutch in your kitchen like I have decorated. Another idea could be inside a little niche or even on a coat rack or hooks like I have in my mudroom. A tiny tree, a collection of ornaments, or a small wreath in an unexpected place can create a wonderful surprise and add a ton of Christmas charm to your home. Now, not every Christmas decoration needs to be a grand statement. Sometimes the very smallest discoveries are actually the most memorable ones. Next up on is a layered and gracious mantle. I feel like the mantle and a Christmas tree are really the heart of a Christmas home. And just like with a Christmas tree, I've got some designer pro tips for you to help you create a really layered and gracious look. So first and foremost, I always double up my garland and I like to decorate really early. So I use faux garland. If you like to decorate Closer to Christmas, you could use real garlands. You could even create your own if you've got access to some cedar and pine trees. But I like to decorate early, as you can see. So I layer my garlands and I use different types. So this year on my mantle, I have a willow pine garland that's in our Christmas collection, but I think they're sold out. And I've got cedar garlands. And then within those garlands, I've mixed in berry sprays and magnolia sprays. I've got some really beautiful frosted pine cone garlands mixed in there. Beaded garlands. It's honestly a very layered and lush look, which is what I was going for this year. I was inspired by old world European Christmas and I wanted it to feel very gracious. So I went big. This year with my Christmas garland, and that's one thing that I would recommend, especially if you're wanting that layered textural designer look. Sometimes you really just need an abundant amount of greenery to do that. And if you use my tips of layering in some different elements with different textures and colors, you're going to create a really beautiful classic look. Now let's talk about Creating our Christmas entry. I feel like an entryway is important room in the home all year round because it really does set the tone for the rest of your home, but it's especially important during the holiday season because most often than not, it is where you're going to welcome friends and family into your home. And it's kind of how you set the tone for the rest of your Christmas decor. I like to think through the elements that I'm going to be using in my home for Christmas decor, the garlands and the sprays and the ribbons and the ornaments, and I like to have some aspects of those show up in my entryway, inside my home, and then also on my covered porch. Last week's video, I showed you how I decorated my front porch for Christmas, and then two weeks ago, I showed you how I decorated my entire home, and I spent quite a bit of time on the entry. So in my entry, I've got a center table. Got a really beautiful chest that's decorated. I've got a mirror that I added a wreath to, like we talked about earlier. And then of course, my staircase Christmas banister, which I used garlands on. And all of the elements that you see behind me, that you see show up in the rest of my home, also show up in the Christmas entry because I want to make sure that everything feels... like a cohesive Christmas statement inside of my home. So my challenge to you is to think about your Christmas entry. Doesn't have to be a full foyer. It could be a hallway, whatever you have at your home or your apartment. Just think through how you want people to feel when they come into your home, how you want to feel through the Christmas season as you enter your home at the end of the day. Just add a couple of little Christmas touches to make sure that you bring some festive cheer into your entry. Okay, so next up is one of my very favorites, and that is to some type of Christmas cheer to your windows and your doors. And I'm not just talking about like a wreath on your front door. So one of my very favorite things to do, especially in my kitchen, like I mentioned earlier, is to add garlands over my windows. I love suspending maybe a small little grouping of ornaments or brass bells or velvet ribbons, or even to hang a Christmas wreath inside of window casings. And then when it comes to interior doors, I love to also hang wreaths on I think it's so fun to put a wreath on the door going into your kid's bedroom. Or my very favorite is to add sleigh bells to doorknobs in the inside of your house. I just think it makes such a really beautiful and somewhat unexpected Christmas statement. When we add some Christmas details to a place that might... Otherwise Be Forgotten. And decorating vertically like this adds some movement and dimension and a little bit of whimsy to our homes during the Christmas season. Now, I really hope that today's video got you feeling inspired to decorate for Christmas in maybe some unexpected ways that you've never done before. Get creative and have fun with it. And don't forget that I would love for you to join me inside of my free seven-day Christmas decorating challenge. You can sign up at a link in the description below. Now, if you're really... getting into the Christmas spirit and you want some more Christmas designer decorating tips right now, I want you to meet me in this next video. I'll see you there.