How do you decorate your house?

[JulieAnderton]

We're moving into our first house next month (fingers' crossed...) after having only lived in small flats before. I'm really looking forward to decorating the house, but don't really have any idea of where to start.

It's a 1930's house with bay windows to the front (which is where the tree will go!) and has fireplaces in the front and back rooms. When I was growing up (also in a 30's house) my parents used to string those extending garlandy things from the corners of the room to the light bulb in the middle. Is that still done?!

Also, where do you put your Christmas cards?

Must go as toddler is demanding my attention, but will be back soon!

Your house sounds lovely, I can't wait until we can move fromour flat too! I think i'd be tempted to go the whole hog and have the wreaths/garlands along the mantlepieces, and along the stair banister, as well as the tree. A nice Christmas wreath on the front door too.

Well I go the whole hog....I just love how cosy and twinkly and sweet smelling it all is.

Apart from the tree, I put fairy lights around my dresser and also over a little gallery wall of pictures.

I also make up my own garlands from greenery, pine cones and dried oranges, one of these will go on my kitchen island and one on the mantelpiece along with tons and tons of candles dotted around, from scented to tea lights in jewel coloured holders.

I think some sprigs of holly over picture frames is FAB. I don't have an upstairs but if I did the banisters would have a garland going up it!

Do you mean those concertina style pull out paper decs? I'm not sure if they still make those! However, John Lewis have been selling massive paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.

You could make paper chains to hang across your ceiling, very retro and inkeeping with a 1930's house. They can be quite cheap to make if you cut up lots of strips of Christmas wrapping paper, and stick them together with sticky tape. Shiny foil type paper is good, you could sick to a colour scheme or do multi coloured. If your toddler is old enough to do a bit of sticking the loops together it's a nice activity, although will need direct supervision.

A garland or swag on each mantel would be lovely in addition to your Christmas tree; you could run a string of lights through them if not pre-lit. Christmas cards; I just stick them to the back of the lounge door with sticky tac. Some people put up a 'washing line' of string or ribbon to hang their cards from, if you have picture rails it's easy to put one up with drawing pins.

We have paper chains around and across the dining room, made by the DCs. In there we switch from mixed brights to a determined red and white scanbdinavian type vibe for Christmas, and the (usually red, green and white) chains work with this (also red gingham oilcloth, red and green primary coloured crackers etc.

In the sitting room we have the tree, springs of stuff over the pictures and twisted around the central light fitting. Alas no fireplace as the piano is where the hearth woudl be :-(. Everything is old gold, green and burgundy in there as that is the colour of the furniture/rugs all year round!

We hang our stockings up the banister on hooks hidden in a mass garland of holly and ivy the children help me tie and wire together each year after we have been out and raided the woods. I make a door wreath at a PTA evening session each year.

I am jealous Ditsy! Currently we put up the tree and a wreath on the front door, I also have a little christmas 'lamp', it's black with a cut out santa scene and the light inside changes colour, it sounds odd but is so festive! I then put a fat church candle in the centre of the coffee table with a small wreath around it.
DD has a small 3ft tree in her room too that Santa leaves her stocking under

One year we did buy decorations for the ceiling, but the white tack left awful marks when we took them down, and we had to repaint it so DH has banned them!

Sorry missed the christmas card question: I pin them on to lengths of ribbon and hang from picture hooks or over doors.
We always have a houseful at christmas so there is never surface space available as we move everything out for seating!

Yes, those concertina ones are the type I mean! My parents still bring them out every year!

Some lovely ideas here, thank you. I'm really looking forward to moving into the house and starting our own Christmas traditions there.

Where are good places (online and proper shops) to look for nice Christmas decs?

We have a little nativity set that I put on the mantel with some candles, we are not religious but I still think it is good to remember what Christmas is really about :).

I also got one of these story advent calendars so will have to put that up somewhere nice!
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0761152504/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1381004715&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

I bought some battery operated lights from the £1 shop last year (they were great). I put one lot in a tall clear vase, another lot round a large plant. If I had the kind of bannister that could take a fir garland, I'd do that with lights on. Sometimes I put small baubles in a rectangular glass vase. Also have some silver twigs in a vase and hang small wooden decorations from it (I have a lot of vases!!)
TK Maxx is good for different decorations nearer Christmas, I have some tasteful (I think anyway) tall Santas, reindeer and snowmen. OTher than that most of our decorations are trees of one type or another (had a bauble tree from Next a few years ago, still looks good, and various other trees - wooden, fake fir etc. Oh and we have a variety of wreaths - wooden, fake fir, baubles... and various candle holders.
I try to buy at least one new thing a year, and try ot make some (holly/leaves in oasis with candles) and love Ponsiettia -large and the little ones you can get in supermarkets. But have been doing Christmas for a LONG time so am running out of new ideas so will watch this thread with interest.

I hang string across the top of the curtain poles and across the room from one curtain pole to the other and put the cards on them. Then hang ribbon down the sides of the curtains and clip more cards to that.

I have a big garland going up the banister, and a tiny tree on the hall table.

I have a garland over the mantlepiece and wooden advent calendars and Christmas ornaments around with lots of fairy lights making the whole living room look cosy and festive. I also have the Christmas tree, which for the last few years has been in the conservatory, but this year I am bringing it into the sitting room, as I think DD is old enough to leave it alone!

In the dining room I have a second tree, decorated by DD, lots of fairy lights and greenery.

I cannot wait for it to be December so I can get out all the decorations - it is like greeting old friends.

We are going with 'traditional' this year ( first year we are getting a real tree ). I bought some nice paper chains in home bargains today that are traditional green and red with Christmassy patterns.

Where do I start!
Kitchen/sunroom has a real tree, red/ white scandi decorations. This is always a colour scheme you can add to as it comes in every year. A lot of mine is from Ikea. I hang large white paper snowflakes from the curtain poles here. Most of the back wall is glass so they look pretty. Might add curtain of lights this year.
Dining room is a bit glitzy. I bought long lengths of clear and opaque white beads and I drape these along the curtain pole, also hang big over sized plum baubles at different lengths from the pole as well as a string of twinkly icicle lights. I have a plum runner and silver organza cloth that I use on the table. I have a bag of faux glittery fruits like plums, berries and pears that I artfully scatter amongst tea lights.
Hall has a fake 9ft tree. It has all our decorations from over the years and stuff the dc have made. But I use a lot of the same gold bauble to make it look more pulled together. The stairs have a faux garland that I add pinecones, lights fresh greenery to
Porch has 2 huge lanterns and a decorative sleigh set in it.
Living room has lights along book case and all the dc favourite tacky decorations like oversized penguins and santas.
We have another little snug room that I'm planning to give a vintagy look to this year. Need to get looking for ideas on that.
P.s dc also have little trees in their rooms and fleecy christmas throws gor beds.