If you live in a modern house with no features, where do you put decorations?

[Laundryangel]

I grew up in an old house with beams to hang things from & lots of nooks & crannies, then lived in a Victorian property with a dado rail and fireplaces in each reception room but now live in a 70s box. It's one redeeming feature in the sitting room is deep window sills but, once we pull the curtains, you can't see any cards or decorations on those. We do have bookshelves but they are more or less up to the ceiling and full of books. The children are still pre-school age and so things on the floor just get played with. This will be our fourth Xmas in the house and I would like it to actually look Christmassy this year. I always think it looks promising with a nice wreath & a festive doormat but goes downhill as soon as you get inside.
Thanks

garlands, garlands, garlands! And lights. I have poncetastically crocheted lots of star and snowflake garlands which look ever so tasteful and simple against the white walls, I just use white tak to put them up. you could hang them off the bookshelves...!

For cards I have a year round card washing line, a length of white string nailed in the wall, really high up. Cards of all types get displayed on that, birthdays, anniversaries, and then xmas.

Do you have an entryway? paper chains (can make them with the children!) look lovely going across narrow landing ceilings or hallways, again just white tacked up. Stuff on the ceiling makes a great cosy impact, I find.

I do mourn a fireplace, though. My IKEA Expedit gets invaded with holly and ivy every year but it isn't quite the same..

We hang festive bunting from a large mirror in the lounge, white tac flat felt decorations to picture frames, hang decorations from curtain poles (we have blinds so curtains never need to be drawn. We also put mini bunting and battery operated fairy lights on book shelves.
We have a kitchen table to eat at so I decorate the dining table for all of December.
We have a Christmas tree in the lounge and hall plus a garland woven through the banister on the stairs. Also a wreath on the front door too.
I often staple hanging decorations to the top of the doors with internal glass panels too.

If you have lovely deep windowsills, then Flameless Candles will look gorgeous.
You can do a fresh foliage garland or some ivy and red ribbon.
Completely safe and really festive Obviously keep your DC away from the foliage just in case......

Do you get a really big Christmas tree? Think that, lots of lights and maybe rows of tealights in sparkly tumbler style holders in rows in front of the books along a high shelf on your bookcases might work.

Always have a tree (real if staying put, fake if we are travelling) in the sort of bay window in the living room. Cards all over the drinks cabinet.

Bunch of mistletoe hangs in the doorway between the living room and kitchen/diner.

Some garlands on the ceiling in the hall - use thumbtacks for those. A wreath on the front door.

DD's advent calendar hung from the breakfast bar in the kitchen, and snowflake window clings on the patio doors. Festive hand and tea towels in the kitchen in Christmas week.

Crib on the table in front hall, another small one on the mantelpiece. Lots of candles lit and the stove going most days.

We have a Santa head "twirler" (v cheap from Eurosaver shop, like Poundland) hung over the stairs up to the attic room DD sleeps in. She has a couple of snowglobes in her room.

I'd love to have the time and energy to do garlands etc all over the place - but that's not possible in our lifestyle. A friend "wraps" a few of her living room pictures, with paper that she then rips to let the picture still be seen, but with ribbon around the frame too.

I do have fresh flowers in a vase, and usually make an advent wreath as well. I never remember to get poinsettia.

I put string from one end of the curtain pole to the other and hang my cards over them in both lounge and front room. Other cards I blue tack to the bannisters in pattern. In dining room I hang clear baubles from central light fitting. We always have a real tree with tons of lights on it in lounge and in dining room last year I brought one of those 6ft prelit winter trees that JL sell except I got mine offAmazon for half the price and it is so beautiful ithas stayed up all year.