How do you decorate?

[fairgame84]

My house never looks great and I can't put my finger on why. Once the tree is up it just looks too busy and untidy. It totally stresses me out, I'm even contemplating not putting the tree up this year.

Do you put Christmas decorations among your normal ornaments or do you remove all the normal stuff and be totally festive?

Is it a case of less is more or more is better?

I remove normal stuff and then Christmas explodes all over.

I do a tidy up first to make space for tree-pack some bits away. I also hang cards on string up round the walls so they don’t clutter surfaces.

I remove stuff first, so it doesn't look cluttered :)

Do you mix colours up or keep to a colour scheme?

Lights and tinsel anywhere and everywhere.......all the boring stuff goes upstairs.
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Fair game noooooooo, don't theme it. That looks naff.

You need tatt.

You need tinsel.

You need fibre optic villages and yes. Yes you do need that fibre optic village.

I aim to givey kids my dream, 80s Christmas. Paper chains, shiny stuff and tat aplenty. It's what Christmas is all about.

I definitely need tinsel.

I might swap my white tree lights for coloured ones. Go for the grotto look like my mum had when we were little.

Fairgame my living room is covered in coloured lights. I love it.

We don’t have many things on display normally just paintings.

I do a very traditional and same every year decorations.
Glass lanterns on crooks on drive with tartan ribbon and holly/Ivy
Red miniature ball lights and giant red baubles in the crab apple trees on the drive.
A front door homemade wreath
An advent wreath with advent candles on entrance hall table.
Full willow tree nativity set on the other entrance hall table
Huge green and red vases with twig/greenery/berries/fir cones and the tiniest of lights.
Crystal balls from rafters that reflect lights and fire.
Tartan tablecloth and table wreath with candles.
A Waterford lunch bowl full of Lindt chocolate balls in various colours.
Swags along chimney breasts.
Another older nativity set in winter sitting room.
Tree with balls from over the generations, warm white lights, homemade decorations made by children when young or by friends, decorations from day trips and holidays with nice memories.
A series of crystal angels along the kitchen mantelpiece
Cards hanging below mantelpiece
Candleabra put out only at Christmas

Very little tat. Very limited tinsel. No funny little snowmen. Nothing inflatable.

This was the tree last year. It's just so 'meh'. Twatty dog laying under it and knocking baubles off doesn't help.

I think the tree is too big for the room.

I think the trees fine........we use those combi strip things to drape lights everywhere. Actually ended up leaving some up year round.

Cherry your Dec's sound divine I'd love photo of the crystal balls...

Op your tree is fabulous!! It looks wondeful and brilliant colours too.

Mainly chopping bits of greenery - nothing fancy.

I'm a Christmas tat lover so everything usual goes away and I vomit Christmas over the downstairs.

I even have Christmas throws and cushions Everyone I know looks down on me but I don't care, the busier the better.

And Cherry I'm guffawing at your very specific list of finery for your Christmas schizz , I'm way too lazy for that.

Much easier than fetching lots of new tat from Poundland or John Lewis. Lovely ‘real’ decorations. Everyone joins in and takes no time at all.
Wreathes being done next week with village friends and wine. Advent one already done. A few chocolates in a bowl. A few tartan bows.
Not exactly a big effort.
Nativities are just unboxed. A Willow tree modern one and an old presepi. Neither needs any work doing.

Dragon I managed to convert a Christmas tat looker downer after her youngest DC was dragged from my house screaming she 'wanted to stay at the Christmas house'

Kid still wasn't allowed to touch the tree or put her nursery made decs on it but after a few donations from me and a pink tree from Argos now has a suitably gaudy playroom. I even gave her some lamenta and foil stars

Oh Foaming that's a heartwarming take. I live that you converted someone to gaudiness central

Tale ffs tale, not take.

I remove all of the childs tatt like her books from the windowsill (massive window) and put them in boxes. I need to make way for the Nutcrackers All the photoframes and 'flowers' are packed away. I like to do, what I call Tacky Chic, but do not involve tinsel/foil decos! But theres miniature Santa's, candy canes, novelty baubles, rave-like multicolour lights. Gahhh! Can't wait for the weekend to put then all up🤗

Most my baubles etc are handmade and years old. Made by the DC and a craft fayre that sells painted glass made by people who have disabilities........and some fabulously tacky ones picked up here and there. But tasteful it's not.

Given I live in a town that has around 70000 households I don't think the local bird and wildlife population would be too pleased if we all trotted up and.ripped out all the.hedgerows so us lovers of tat are actually doing the traditionalists a favour.

• swap cushion covers and throws for seasonal ones (old ones are washed and put away for January)
• 3x seasonal pictures in hallway swapped round (the other seasons are behind in the frames)
• door mat swapped (non c put in garage)

I then clear the shelves (there are 4) dust and replace with the Christmas things - books, dvds, wooden advents, candles etc. Non Christmas just goes in the now empty Christmas decoration boxes and back in the garage.

We just moved and I’m still undecided where to put a tree.

The pinnacle of our decorations is a 3ft tinsel tree which belonged to my great gran and is now proudly celebrating its 54th Christmas. Complete with slightly creepy ancient angel made of a silver cardboard doily with a wee heavily made up plastic face. And silver hair of course.
We also have a 5 year old Next number but the place just doesn’t step into Christmas (I knowwww ) until the heirloom tree is up. As I always say, it’s not about what it looks like, it’s about how it makes you feel . And this wee tree means the world and all it’s Christmases to me.