Who doesn’t want to create Christmas décor that says “hello, December!”? After all. Christmas is associated with warmth, friendship, family and friends, and a celebratory environment is the perfect backdrop to exactly this.
Whatever style you choose – whether it is a winter wonderland, a nature display, a color-coded optical feast, or simple metallic minimalism, there are several ways to make your display exciting and welcoming – and it doesn’t even have to cost a lot.
Shop from your home first
The best way to save money is not to spend any, and you will be amazed at how much stuff you already own once you just start looking. TV ads and in-store marketing will lead you to believe that you need to buy new décor each year, but in reality, if you already own Christmas tree decorations that you like, and which are still in good working order, there is no reason to replace them.
If you feel like changing things up a bit, why not have a look around your house, and re-use or repurpose items you already own as Christmas decorations? A little bit of paint and glitter can go a long way!
Of course, if you don’t own any appropriate Christmas goodies yet, and would like to start by buying the basics from a store, start your collection by determining whether you want to go for matte finish ornaments, or shiny ones. Funky, colorful schemes often benefit from including shiny ornaments, while matte ones (depending on how they are used, of course!) can result in a more sophisticated finish.
Experiment with metalics
All that glitters isn’t gold – it could be silver, bronze or rose gold, but whichever metallic is your favorite, it is almost a given that your décor scheme will benefit from its addition! Silver and gold are historically the most popular options, but later and more modern inclusions in the form of rose gold, copper and bronze have arrived and provided even more options to choose from. A very basic colour scheme can be greatly elevated by the inclusion of some metalics – give it a try!
Twinkle twinkle
Any Christmas tree worth its salt should have a set Christmas lights, isn’t it? But before going out and buying all the best-looking lights, here’s what to look out for when you buy string lights.
The two main types of lights are LED and incandescent, and in recent years LED has really shone (excuse the pun!) as the top contender, largely thanks to its energy-saving abilities, long lifespan, bright light yield and low power consumption.
What does this mean? The lower the demand you place on your power supply, the more you can add to your lights, or expand them, without overloading your outlet.
In practice, this means that you will be able to add far more LED lights to a display than incandescent. As an approximate, you can safely calculate on being able to run about ten times the amount of LED lights than would have been able to, in the case of incandescent.
What is the end goal?
What overall look are you going for? Not just on your tree, but for the entire decorative look as it spans your house and garden. While in the decorating process, you might find that you get stuck on sorting out a minor aspect which ends up becoming an obsession. Take a breath, step back, and keep going. This is the best advice for someone who might experience difficulty seeing the big picture. Get your décor down, commit to your areas and zones that you would like to highlight, and take care of the tweaking and fine tuning only once you’re done.
Stay away from pursuing perfection. Variations on a cookie-cutter experience create visual interest, charm, and texture. Your Christmas decorations should have a soul, so rather go for a personal touch, in favor of so-called perfection.
The finishing touches
The lights are almost the end of your decorating process, and the small touches will likely the last component you will have to consider. Hang some garlands, add some greenery – heck, move some furniture if it is going to give you an effect you would like to achieve! Finally, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, admire your handiwork, and enjoy your festive season.
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