With the global pandemic limiting our travels, socializing and “normal activities”, I suspect people will decorate more this holiday season and earlier. We all seem to crave the festive season to look forward to and I certainly understand the sentiment. All this in mind, we’re sharing a few tips for holiday décor that will take your home from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Holiday Snacks for Delivery Personnel at Pamela Hope Designs
Start with your front door and your home’s curb appeal. I love a big autumn wreath that takes our front doorstep from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Then, I simply replace that with my Christmas wreath and my decorations are off to a good start. If you’d like a more economical , DIY option, watch this FOX 26 segment on “Making holiday wreaths on a budget.”
Many homes can be seen from the street and there’s more to see than just a wreath. Think about what you want your home to look like to passersby. For Thanksgiving, accessorize your door front with Crotons plants, pumpkins and gourds. These can easily be exchanged for poinsettias or small Christmas trees made of rosemary that can be found at many local nurseries. Add wired bows that can be groomed and shaped and holiday lights. Since the front of your house is seen the most, it makes sense to spend some time boosting your curb appeal.
Don’t forget your back door, especially if that’s where your family typically enters the house most. The back door is often overlooked but is a great place to welcome even your own family. Add seasonal décor such as an autumn-themed door mat, another wreath and pumpkins. Keep in mind that back door areas tend to have less space, so you’ll want to minimize what you put here. Still, seeing these decorations will surely bring you joy as you exit and enter your home. After Thanksgiving, change out the autumn items for more traditional Christmas or Hanukah decorations.
Photo Courtesy of
Sarah Grace at Home
Since so many people are working and learning from home, we are also having more deliveries to the house. Share your gratitude in November with cards of thanks for postal workers, delivery service personnel and neighbors who may stop by. In December, spread holiday cheer with a personalized note to visitors. Above, we show how we decorated the bench outside the Pamela Hope Designs studio with a holiday sign and a wooden basket with holiday cards and a snack. (We imagined people making deliveries during the holidays could use a little refreshment!) It doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day.
Moving indoors, create small vignettes throughout your home that embrace the season. Surround a candle with greenery, and small pumpkins and gourds for Thanksgiving. You can also stick with more neutral tones by placing burlap as a table cloth or runner for a more natural feel. A few candles a top the burlap can be surrounded by pine cones, walnuts and pecans in the shells for a more subdued look. Here’s one example from Sarah Grace at Home of a classy vignette that’s perfect throughout November on a living room table or even in a kitchen. When it’s time to transition to December, easily remove the pumpkins and fall-themed pieces and replace them with traditional green and red accents for Christmas.
Photo Courtesy: Home with Holiday
Silver and gold accessories can also take your décor into Christmas and through New Year’s easily. Consider incorporating silver bells, candlesticks, silver and gold decorative ribbons and even tree ornaments that you’re not going to use on the tree. Your table can be decorated with something as simple as a pretty crystal bowl full of Christmas ball ornaments. Simple yet stylish!
This next image is another example that takes a decided twist away from traditional red, green and white Christmas colors. This tabletop display from Home with Holiday combines three glittery cones to mimic Christmas trees on a dining room buffet. You can find similar ones at many craft stores. Garland is then wrapped around the base to balance out the hard, artificial surfaces. Next, various metallic ornaments in different sizes were added to the arrangement. Finally, a few votive candles polish off the look.
The holidays are more than just the visuals of course. I’d love to reminisce about the holiday scents of my childhood like homemade treats baking in the oven. To recreate those holiday smells, add a few cinnamon sticks into a small pot of water along with a few, thin slices of orange. Boil until the mixture’s fragrance fills the air. This simple stovetop mix can be used for days. Just reheat to reinvigorate the scents.
We’ll continue to share more holiday décor ideas throughout the holiday season and we’d love for you to share yours too.
