How do you decorate your house fro christmas?

[RememberToPlaywiththeKids]

Not counting the christmas tree. I'd like to decorate the house this year and i haven't done it before and mum & dad didn't really do it so I'm not sure how to make it all look christmassy!

All ideas gratefully received!!!!!

my living room and kitchen get decorated in pink, black and silver as they are pink rooms. my hallway is a mis-match of different coloured decs (hallway is cream so no clash)and they kids bedrooms get done in whatever is left over that they want up, and anything that they make themselves.

But cherry - pink, black and silver what exactly?? I have no idea!

Starlight - it's a 1/4 away and yes I agree but I got caught up reading a traditions thread and got swept away with the excitement of it all!

Starlight, you are on the Christmas topic. Specially put here so as not to annoy people with early postings by those of us who do care early.

Is it just me or are we getting one of these posts per thread now, is there some kind of rota system?

I have pegs and ribbon for cards and hang them on the wall. DD makes the usual lovely doily snowflakes etc. We usually make saltdough decs fresh as my house can be damp and they don't store
Last year I went to Asda for Christmas bargains and came back with three big bags of various citrus fruit reduced to 20p for the lot. So I dried these (pink grapefruit, blood orange, lime etc), studded with cloves and alternated threading onto a wire with cinnamon and pine cones. The house smelt divine . I tied the ends with raffia and have it hanging up somewhere warm and it still smells nice now.
I make an indoor and an outdoor wreath (ring is 99p from florist and greenery is free)
Other than that I only do greenery: holly and evergreen branches draped on anything that doesn't fight back. I also have a couple of poinsettias and tie ribbon on the greenery and their pots. I love ribbon
Not a big fan of the foil decorations tbh.

I like to browse the home styling magazines, they have gorgeous pictures of equally gorgeous homes decorated for Christmas, and tell you where to buy the items from. Also look around garden centres for inspiration from their ranges.

I usually do our tree in red and gold, a mixture of old and new, expensive and cheaper baubles and things with clear non-flashing lights. As our lounge/diner is an L shape, we can't see the tree whilst at the table, so I have a small 'half tree' with gold baubles and clear lights. There is a gold leaves and beads garland hangs just above the patio window, from which I suspend tiny twiggy stars on fine gold ribbon. The hall gets a garland around the mirror, and a wire pomander with xmas pot pourri. the kitchen is at the front, so I hang a giant lit snowflake there, and outside hang a wreath or something else suitably Christmassy.

Colour schemes are entirely up to you, but if you go for one colour, choose a variety of shapes and texures and also shades of that colour to stop it looking a bit flat.

I love christmas/seasonal traditions! DH always gets two trees...one for the lounge and one for the kitchen diner - he always gets really nice dark green trees.

One is decorated simply and traditionally with red and green bauables and bows.

The other is decorated with black feather boas and millions of crystal drops/clear glass balls etc. so the lights shine through and cast spectrums on the walls.

Last year we got loads of pure white baubles etc.

We usually have a wreath on the door, but I don't really like christmas cards, so they tend to get crammed in one spot. I start maing mulled wine in about November because I love the smell.

chocho, I hide naff cards in a dark corner . Any cutesy sparkle bears or dirty santa cartoons get put right at the back.

Tippychoock - pomanders! Ace! THAT'S what I can do in November when I'm waiting for DC1 to arrive and am too big and uncomfortable to move off the sofa. Thanks for the reminder, I sometimes make them at Christmas but usually too busy.

I like to make lebkuchen (ginger spiced biscuits) to hang on the tree, and to go pick ivy to hang around the house, over picture frames etc. I also make a wreath for the door from wild holly. Best made wearing sturdy gloves and with wire to keep it all in place, then add red ribbons to it.

A good way of hanging cards is to pin a length of string or thread across a wall, and hang all cards on that. Saves cluttering up surfaces.

As this is our first Christmas in our first house with our first baby (so excited!) we'll finally be getting a nativity scene - no space in previous flats!

It's a nice job comtessa, so festive-smelling
I have special tiny pegs for pegging the cards on my ribbon. I think I need help.....

PS We don't do a colour scheme for the tree, DH is American and the tradition there/his family tradition (not sure which!) is to have personalised decorations, so we've got lots from when he was little with family photos on, and one with our wedding photo on from 2008, etc. I really like this tradition as it means that you're thinking about family and past years when you're dressing the tree.

Tippychook, I would like to have special tiny pegs

pound shop comtessa

I have also bought dolly pegs and am considering painting them in a festive way with DD for bigger cards and displaying her Christmas artwork.

In my defence, she loves doing crafty things so I am not as mental as that sounds.

Love pound shop. Will be heading there at the weekend (trying to get all Christmas shopping done before November in case little one arrives early).

We always have a theme. We have an ideas box in the hall from January and ask anyone who visits to pop an idea in there (we have little slips of paper and some of those small ikea pencils by the side), then, around now, we open up the box and sift through the ideas until we come up with a theme that excites us.

This weekend is the box-opening one - we're really looking forward to it!!

We use gold, silver and bronze as our colours of choice and because our rooms are neutral we've added chocolate which looks chic. We string beads over picture frames and have bought some little contemprarty trees and a garladn with baubles to go over the mantlepiece.

The excpetions are the tree and the hall dresser. We've been together for 24 t=yrs and have collected decorations teh whole time, so the tree is full of memeoroes and we also add the dc's handmade ones from when they were toddlers to now (they are 8, 6 and 4).

The hall dresser has an angels theme and we also have a wooden stable which waits empty apart from the animals until Christmas Even when Mary and Jospeh arrive. Then on Chritmas morning the dc add baby Jesus and the shepherds.

I also do a bit of pagan stuff on teh side and for this year I'm going to look at ways of including Yule traditions.

Hully, really? Wow. What sort of themes?

All kinds of themes!! Some of our guests don't take it seriously and write silly things like "beer," but we have had some lovely ideas over the years. last year we did "peace on earth," and had lots of fake snow and angels with little papier mache lions and lambs made by the children at each place setting. We sing matching carols too!!

Oh Hully, I know I haven't been to your house since January (or indeed ever) or had a chance to write a suggestion with one of those little Ikea pencils, but I'd be thrilled if you'd allow me to make a suggestion for your family Christmas theme this year!

May I?

Hully, I have to confess I thought maybe you were taking the piss. But that is lovely, such a good idea.

Next time I am in Ikea I will steal you some pencils to help out

Namey, I don't think you are really being seious, are you??!! But all suggestions are always welcome, inspiration can come from the unlikeliest places!!! I'll copy it out for you and place it in the box with the others. Don't make it too long!!!!

(Tippy - I wasn't taking the piss, but I might have been a little bit joking in a warm-hearted fashion. Will you still nick me the pencils?)

Oh, my sense of humour is shorting out this morning. Does that mean that you do have a box or you don't?
It is hard work being as thick as me sometimes

Either way I will nick pencils - I see it as a civic duty. Ditto the tape measures. If you like I will bundle you some mini pens from Argos and various gentlemen of the turf shops too

I don't have a box...but I'm bloody well going to get one. I am impressed by my own idea. A couple of gentlemen would be lovely.

Well I am getting a box, in fact a general suggestions box in the hall would amuse me greatly, marked:

How Can We Improve Your Visit For Next Time?

I shall put my pens on string though as all my friends are thieving chancers.

Mr Darcy and Mr Bennet on their way to you Hully, I do hope they don't get lost in the post.

Hully, you know me of old and I definitely wasn't being serious.