7 minute read • Prize Home Design
Christmas Decorations – What’s Your Style?
Fruit mince tarts have arrived in the supermarkets and that neighbour who goes in the lights comp each year has already got the ladder out. It can only mean one thing. Christmas is coming!
There’s presents to buy, food to plan, and cards to write (if anyone still does that?). We can’t all cover our house with Insta-worthy Christmas lights, but there’s something kind of magical about spreading some festive cheer around your home and bringing smiles to the faces of loved ones with a sparkly Christmas tree and beautiful Christmas table decorations.
You don’t have to go this far to add some Christmas sparkle to your place.
Getting Started
It’s actually never been easier to create a fabulous Yuletide home, thanks to on-trend retailers and the never-ending creativity of recycled and DIY Christmas decorations.
A great starting point is browsing the Christmas catalogues that arrive in your mailbox (or inbox). Even if you don’t end up buying from those particular stores, they are a great source of Christmas decoration ideas to buy or make yourself.
If you’re on a budget (or would just prefer to spend more of your hard-earned cash on Christmas cocktails!), Kmart is a treasure trove of Christmas goodies.
Their savvy buyers have swatted up on the best 2019 Christmas trends and have already launched this season’s range in October. We particularly love the $8 timber Christmas tree serving board, the $5 Santa and reindeer felt bunting and the $10 plywood light up woodland tree scene.
Myer stocks a glamourous range of Christmas decorations and, as we get closer to Christmas, you can combine your shopping with a visit to Santa and being inspired by their iconic Christmas windows.
If you’re feeling creative and like DIY Christmas decorations, Spotlight has an excellent range of Christmas craft basics such as plain wreaths to decorate and ceramic ornaments to paint.
Don’t overlook your local hardware store or nursery either. If you’re planning on enjoying your outdoor spaces over the festive season, now is a great time to spruce them up with new fairy lights and pot plants in Christmas colours.
Other outdoor Christmas decorations that are fun and weatherproof include timber pallet Christmas trees – make one yourself if you are good with a saw, or search Gumtree or Facebook to find someone local who sells them. Making a pallet Christmas tree is a creative (and cheap) way to decorate your yard.
Making a pallet Christmas tree is a creative ( and cheap ) way to decorate your yard.
Christmas Tree Decorations
In a way, Christmas trees represent our wider humanity don’t you think? They come in all shapes, sizes and colours, are often full of memories and each is beautiful in its own way. They are surprisingly individual, so it’s really just a case of following your heart and going with the style that suits your home.
Opulent Christmas tree: Pick four or five rich jewel colours for your decorations and make sure there’s lots of shimmer and sparkle. Coloured glass baubles look great too.
Eco Christmas tree: Most Christmas trees are made of plastic but you can now buy eco-friendly plywood Christmas trees. One Two Tree makes trees out of hoop pine (sourced from sustainable Queensland plantations) that can be decked out with wooden decorations. If you have left over timber lying around and are handy you might be inspired to even make your own version.
Easy Christmas tree: If you want fast Christmas tree decorations it’s worth getting a pre-lit Christmas tree with a decent amount of LED lights already built in. It’s practical and time-saving … and you miss the fun of untangling last year’s tree lights for an hour.
Country chic Christmas tree: Hessian baby, hessian. Use it to wrap the base of your Christmas tree and/or cut long strands to twist and wrap around the tree instead of tinsel (this is a surprisingly effective look). You’ll find plenty of timber Christmas ornaments in the shops, look for fabric angels at Christmas markets, and try making wooden peg reindeers.
The tree of family memories: This is the tree that gets fuller with each passing year as your offspring bring home their latest handmade Christmas decorations from school. The joy on their faces when they see their treasures placed on the Christmas tree is priceless.
Scandi Christmas tree: Take one lush green pine tree (real or artificial) and add white and pale timber ornaments. Include a few reindeer of course and remember that less is always more with Scandi décor. (Other lovely Nordic traditions you can adopt include hanging mistletoe above a doorway and giving children advent calendars to count down to Christmas.)
Vintage Christmas tree: It doesn’t even have to be an actual tree… Goggle “vintage ladder Christmas tree” for some inspiration!
Less is more for a Scandi Christmas
Aussie Christmas
Even before global warming there was no chance of December snow Down Under. So, if you like your Christmas decorations Australia style, beach and bush are the two obvious themes. For beach-themed Christmas décor, think sea and sky blues combined with crisp whites, and silver or gold metallics. Shells, coral and starfish are all key players in this look. Combine them with a few traditional silver Christmas ornaments in large glass bowls, or create hangings with twine or rope.
Crisp, cool colours help create a beachy vibe for your Christmas table
You can also head to your closest beach (Coolum looks nice!) and find a big piece of driftwood to be the centerpiece hero of your Christmas table decorations. Hang some classy blue and silver baubles off the edges, scatter some starfish across your white tablecloth and coastal Christmas here we come!
A bush Christmas that celebrates our flora and fauna can be equally charming. It doesn’t have to be all Dad and Dave … although Pinterest does have plenty of examples of sparkly decorated thongs (no, not those types, the other ones) that you can hang on your Christmas tree.
Use the brilliant red and green of fresh native flowers around your home and on your Christmas table, and invest in a can of silver spray paint to turn twigs, gumnuts and pinecones into décor accessories.
Twig stars are also easy to make and can be used as Christmas tree decorations or hung inside or outside your home. Just lay some straight sticks out in the shape of a star and tie the ends together with twine.
Fun DIY Christmas decorations can also be created with the fabulous nature-inspired Christmas fabrics by Australian designer Jocelyn Proust (stockists include Spotlight). Her bold patterns celebrate our wildlife and flowers and look amazing whatever you do with them. Buy two metres for an instant tablecloth, frame smaller pieces for your walls or make bunting with a triangle cut-and-sew print.
Get the kids making twig stars to hang inside or out.
Recycled Christmas
There’s no need to slacken off at Christmas time if you’ve pledged to reduce, re-use and recycle. There’s lots of easy Christmas decoration ideas that don’t involve going to the shops or using plastic:
- Make Christmas card bunting with the kids. Simply cut last year’s card covers into triangles, punch some holes in the top and thread some twine or red wool through.
- Save up your glass jars and get baking. Rum balls and fudge in recycled jars make yummy Christmas table decorations.
- Use knotted material scraps and rags to make a colourful fabric Christmas wreath.
- Put odd socks to good use and make reindeer puppets. Check out Pinterest for examples.
- Teach the kids how to make paper chains out of leftover Christmas paper.
A rag Christmas wreath is so simple to make but so effective
Christmas Decorations You Can Eat
This is what’s known as a win-win. You’re making food anyway so why not let it double as your Christmas table decorations. Try some of these quick and easy red and green treats:
- Watermelon Christmas trees are refreshing and look terrific. Cut them out with a knife or use a Christmas tree cookie cutter.
- Take your Christmas pav to the next level by making a Christmas wreath pavlova. Use a ring tin and top the pav with cream and lots of red berries and a sprig of holly (plastic will do if you don’t have the real deal).
- Jelly cups are a favourite with kids and look great with half-and-half red and green jelly.
- Fairy bread Christmas trees are also great for the littlies. Do a big platter of triangles layered into a Christmas tree with a star-shaped shortbread on top.
- Chocolate brownie Santa hats are the bomb. Cut circle shapes out of a tray of brownies and top each one with cream, an upside-down strawberry and another dob of cream on top. Yum!
Imagine turning up to the in-laws Christmas shin-dig with one of these babies
Don’t forget to see our Christmas Prize Home Lottery.
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