Some years I go all out for Christmas and others I stick with simple Christmas decoration ideas. Decorating for the holidays should be joyful, not stressful so how much Christmas decorating I do depends on how much happens to be going on in my life that year. Today I’m sharing ten simple Christmas decoration ideas to give you a little decorating inspiration for keeping things simple this year! (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})
1. Light it Up
I love using lots of lights on our front porch during the holiday season. Some favorites include {this Moravian star} hung from the ceiling of our porch and {these twinkling LED trees} on each side:
And if you’re looking for simple Christmas decor for your front door, last year I used {this French blue wire-edged blue ribbon} in the 2 ½″ size to tie two of {this trio of bells} (Set of 3 10″,8″,6″H, Bronze) onto a faux wreath:
My wreaths are no longer available but {this wreath} is very similar.
Indoors, twinkle lights and candles will make any room feel magical once the sun goes down. I have and love {these remote controlled flameless candles} that can be put on a timer or turned on and off with the click of a button:
And {these battery operated twinkle lights} (I like the warm white color) are great too! I used both of them to add sparkle and light to the greenery swag on our fireplace last year:
Other Sources: Pine cone garland (I added some faux eucalyptus and berry sprigs to it) | Gold jingle bells | Stockings are no longer available
Strands of the battery operated twinkle lights can also be added to wreaths or tabletop trees, placed around accessories on a shelf, or draped over your headboard for just a few of many ideas!
2. Tie Some Christmas Cheer Onto Your Chair Backs
Whether it’s our kitchen counter stools or the chairs around our dining table, I love adding simple Christmas decorations to our chair backs. You can use just about anything but as one example, you can bundle a few sprigs of faux eucalyptus with some gold berries tied with a bow to the chair backs with a sheer white wired ribbon:
Other Christmas decoration ideas for chair backs include tying on a bundle of mistletoe (I love the look of {this faux mistletoe}), a few small ornaments, or some bells such as {these}).
3. Swap Out a Plant For a Frosted Tabletop Tree
There are SO many darling tabletop trees out there and they’re the perfect simple Christmas decor to add to a room. I used to have a faux orange tree on the floating wood shelves in our bathroom but swapping it for a flocked tabletop tree was the perfect little touch of Christmas for this space:
Bathroom Sources – Shower: Pump bottles (16 oz white/gold) | Stool | Shelves: Floating shelves | White woven basket (medium) | Tabletop tree (similar) | Gray & white striped planter (holding poinsettia) | Christmas tree art print | Glass canister (1 gallon size) | Bath bombs | Belly basket with tassel | Favorite bath towels | Large lidded hamper | Woven pendant over tub
I think tabletop trees are pretty enough to leave as-is but you can decorate them with ribbon and mini ornaments too. {This potted faux spruce tree} is a great option that is available in four different sizes. I also love the darling basket that {this tabletop tree} comes in.
4. Put Your Holiday Cards on Display
My favorite holiday “decorations” are the photo Christmas cards that I receive every year from family and friends. Instead of filing them away in a drawer, display them! One of the simplest ways to display them is to punch a hole in the corner of each card and place them on a metal ring with a bow and a tag of the year. You can place them on your coffee table or just about anywhere.
The past few years I’ve kept mine in our kitchen along with a planter filled with few faux magnolia branches, frosted pinecones, and faux white peonies:
I’ve also wrapped garlands and string lights around a decorative ladder and displayed some Christmas cards by clipping them onto it:
5. Use an Outdoor Wreath Indoors
If you have an extra outdoor wreath, think about using it indoors this year! Some of the indoor spots I’ve used wreaths include draped over tall cabinet doors, on the inside of windows (my exact magnolia wreath is no longer available but {this wreath} is very similar),
layered on a mirror,
Sources: Gray vanity (similar) | Brass and pearl vanity knobs | Faucet + Cross handles | Chrome towel ring | Chrome towel bar | Chrome toilet paper holder
hung over a bed,
Guest Room Sources: Upholstered Wingback Bed (fabric is Zuma White) | Quilt (similar) | Pillows & duvet cover – no longer available | White Bedside Lamps (similar) | Round Wood Beaded Tray | Folding camp stools
or placed on the inside of a door with a wreath hanger:
Sources: Wreath no longer available | Metal bells door hanger
6. Sprinkle Ornaments Throughout the House
Christmas ornaments can be used in places other than just on your tree! They make beautiful simple Christmas decorations displayed in a pretty bowl (I threw in a few jingle bells too!):
or just strategically sprinkled around your house in a pair or trio:
Last year I added ornaments to {this large decorative shell} on our entryway table and loved the look:
7. Tie a Bow on It
I absolutely love pretty Christmas ribbon and think that anything and everything is fair game for getting a bow slapped on it. One simple Christmas decor idea is to tie a bow around a plain pillow to turn it into a Christmas pillow:
Another place I often use ribbon during the holidays is on pendant lighting or dining room chandeliers. For example, I wove thin green velvet ribbon around {this large pendant} in the bathroom of our previous home:
and tied a plaid ribbon at the top of {these gold pendants} above our kitchen island (just be sure your ribbon can’t touch your lightbulbs!):
8. Add Sweet Treats to Apothecary Jars
Decorating with apothecary jars is perfect for displaying seasonal items or more practical ones like bath salts near a tub. During the holidays, it’s fun to fill them with favorite treats such as marshmallows, peppermints, and gingerbread man cookies:
or whatever other treats are your holiday favorites (they look gorgeous filled with ribbon candy!). See my post about decorating with apothecary jars for more ideas on how to use them and where to buy them.
9. Fill Your Lanterns Full of Sparkle
Those of you who are long-time followers have definitely seen this simple Christmas decoration idea a time or two before because I do it every Christmas – fill {these outdoor lanterns} with inexpensive sparkly ball ornaments. I love the look!
You could do the same thing with indoor lanterns, placing them next to your fireplace or staircase.
10. Add Color with Cranberries
When you’re entertaining over the holidays, a simple decorating idea to make everything more festive is to add color with cranberries! Cranberries added to a platter added color and holiday cheer to this Christmas party buffet:
And I’ve always thought of how pretty they’d be added to a vase in the same way that I added lemon slides to {these favorite hurricane vases}. I simply put a smaller cylinder vase inside of my large hurricane vase, added lemon slices in the space between the two vases,
and filled them with flowers:
Using cranberries instead of lemons and holiday greenery and berry branches inside of the vase would be gorgeous! Get more tablescape ideas in my post on decorating a table top.
To wrap things up, I wanted to share some of my favorite Christmas decorations I’ve found so far this year! It’s crazy how early we are in the season yet how fast I’ve seen so many things already sell out:
Sources: Realistic faux pine wreath | Ceramic bell garland | Jacquard waves ribbon | Mini wood Christmas trees | Felt mistletoe | Trio of rope hung bells (bronze option) | Blue velvet trees | Natural wood nutcracker | Faux Christmas tree with microdot LET lights | Capiz tree topper | Woven tree collar
I hope you all enjoyed today’s post – if you’re new here, you can sign up to get notified of any new posts {here} so you don’t miss a thing! And if you’d like more Christmas decoration ideas, these are posts I think you’d enjoy!
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree Step by Step
Our Christmas Swag: A Step by Step How-To
How to Wrap Christmas Presents
Thanks as always for stopping by,
