Making the house Christmassy without a tree

[losenotloose]

Any ideas? I'm not a big fan of having a Christmas tree but do want to make the house feel festive.

Thanks

Fairy lights draped around the place , a vase with holly in it , or if you have somewhere who does Christmas trees near you could you get some branch off cuts ( they do sometimes trim them ) and put them in a vase which might smell Christmassy , Christmas smelling candle , some decorations over door knobs or over pictures etc and what ever cards you have out on shelves etc.

I realise these are not the most brilliant ideas 😊

Tinsel and the ceiling hanging decorations everyone used to have. I love those and have them every year - proper Xmas with the ceiling decorations

I don't always put a tree up - some years I've just not felt like it or there's not really been the room or the festive season coincided with us having a very young puppy or kitten around the house which would have been a real pain and potential hazard. I did say to DP the other day I'm not sure I want one this year.

I'm a bit of a minimalist at home so I think that's what often puts me off xmas decs. This year I'm just doing a couple of brass star garlands on the fireplace and will dig out a few of the glass hurricane candles for the table and coffee table, dig out some of the heavy throws and drape them about the place to give a cosy feel and do a few fresh sprigs/foliage about the place in vases, the fireplace nearer the day because I enjoy the smell, but that's about it. On the day itself and the days afterwards I do dress the table with foliage, berries, various candles and always really enjoy eating at that but having the living room a little more clutter free is something I find relaxing.

I know that isn't to a lot of peoples taste but I find it feels quite festive really once the candles are twinkling away and you're under a blanket with the christmas music going and festive drink in hand.

Lots of lights and candles.

Definitely some real greenery in vases. Holly, ivy, misteltoe, berries, spruce tree offcuts.

My nativity. I clear a space, put a nice doily down or something. My doilies all come from my grandmothers glory box so going 100 years old.

And then I get my mothers nativity out with the cardboard stable my father made more than 50 years ago. It still has the hay from our next door neighbour, also more than 50 years ago.

And then I put out our family nativity similar to this https://www.yonderstar.com/nativity-scenes/nativity-scenes-peru/retablo-nativity/ but brighter in colour.

only when i have the grandchildren come for christmas do i put up a tree. otherwise i do up the mantle with a long and lush green garland, from which i hang ornaments.
then a nice festive centerpiece on the coffee table and christmas table linen.

You can get a 'hang flat on the wall' tree made of fairy lights which can look stunning.

A nice wreath hung on a chimney breast?

Garlands?

Bake some gingerbread?

A table centerpiece composed of sprigs of evergreens?

Amaryllis blooming in December?

I have a small crock pot that I put a cinnamon stick, cut up lemon, half an orange, sprig of rosemary, knob of ginger, and some whole cloves into along with water, heat it up on high and then leave it with the lid off, bubbling away on low. It smells great.

@TheSandgroper
Your Nativity scene sounds wonderful.

I don't have space for a tree and also have a cat. Last year, I used masking tape to fashion fairy lignts into a tree shape on the wall. It looked really nice when lit up. (Pic is not of mine but gives the idea) Generally, I just do the mantlepiece, candles, a few ornaments and that's it. Adding lights to anything makes it feel festive.

How pretty @Sylver75! Love that.

Lovely ideas, thank you!

I know it's not very classy, but we love paper chains!

I saw ikea advertising this the other day

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/vinterfint-wall-decoration-bamboo-black-70553262/

I agree with a wall mounted flat tree effect idea. Think Homebase have quite a few so you can get an idea of what they look like etc. Also am sure there will be lots of diy ones online. Also lots of greenery; I tuck it behind picture frames and hang small baubles from it

Lots of good ideas here. I love decorating the house at Christmas. My very artistic neighbour puts alternate lengths of red ribbon with a small decoration at the bottom on the inside of her window. It's really effective but I can't copy it as that would look a bit obvious.

Lots of lights tastefully placed never fails in my view.

Homebase had these, similar to the IKEA one but with the decorations and lights already done

@Sylver75 I love the wall tree light idea! Brilliant!

OP- is there are reason you don't like a tree? Pets, children, space, time to put it up etc etc?
When I lived in a flat, I used to put tinsel around the indoor plants. I also had very long twigs bought from a florist. They were just decorative sticks about 1m long, but painted and covered in glitter. I used this as a 'tree' for many years in my 20's by putting baubles and tinsel on them and sitting in a large vase on a side table.

I like those candle arches on the windows, which makes it feel festive for me. (battery operated though, not real candles!) Like this Battery Operated Christmas Candle Bridge | Christow (christowhome.co.uk)
Fairy lights in a large vase with a few baubles and/or tinsel is festive too.

I'd buy a tiny tree. I saw some the other day in M&S, about 15-20cm and put micro lights on it and put on a table or shelf.