Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas Using Things Around Your Home
As we prepare for the holidays, I thought I'd share some easy holiday decorating ideas using things you may already have in your home. Look around your home for trays, bowls, baskets, and boxes to get started.
To create easy holiday arrangements, we will combine these with holiday greens, berry picks, ornaments, candles, and pine cones.
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Small tray arrangement
I'll take a marble tray, which you usually use on a bathroom counter for toiletries or perfumes. I use a candle, ornaments, green picks, and berry branches to create a simple but elegant display that can be used on a console or a coffee table.
I chose a battery-operated candle, and I used a candle base to elevate the candle and give it a little more presence on the tray. I will put the candle in the corner, leaving plenty of space for the other items I add to the tray.
I put some tape to keep them together so they don't move around while adding the other elements to the tray.
These are mercury glass, and I love how they reflect the candlelight and other lights around the space, adding sparkle to the arrangement.
For some interest, I include a smaller, different-shaped mercury glass ornament with a ribbed effect. Apart from the fact that I want to use them because they look so beautiful, they also help to carry my overall Christmas color scheme throughout the space.
The benefit of using artificial greens and picks is that you can manipulate the wire to shape them accordingly.
To fill the gap, I'll add this little piece of greenery left over from another arrangement between the two ornaments; this is the completed piece.
The beauty of such arrangements is that you can move them aside clean and back into place. I stick felt pads under all my trays so they don't scratch my surfaces.
Long tray dining table arrangement
The large tray is one I picked up at HomeGoods a while ago, but any long tray will work.
What's good about using such trays to create decorations is that when it comes time for dinner, you can easily slide it aside or pick it up, decorations and all, and just move it out of the way.
I start with some candle pillars. Start with the tallest one, place it in the middle, and work around it. Where I'm putting this tray, it is visible from all sides, so the arrangement needs to look nice from all angles.
I put the tallest one in the middle and then placed the second tallest a little bit further back from the middle one and then staggered the other ones slightly forward in between, creating a bit of a zigzag effect.
Once I've added the other elements, you will see the reason for this. I have some different kinds of green sprigs and berries I've had for years. I will link some similar ones below. I also have some natural pine cones and some little picks with a shimmer on the tips for added interest. Lastly, I'm also going to use some decorative pebbles.
If you pick these elements carefully after the holidays and store them, you can use them repeatedly in different ways. The white ones have a slight pearly look to them, and the others are a muted gold. Now, I'll show you how it all comes together.
Position the candles and add the white pebbles next.
You can also use flat beads from the craft store as a base for your tray arrangement. Regarding the pebbles, you could stop here because it looks fine the way it is, but I would like to add some variation, so I scatter the gold ones here and there.
I'll start with the green sprigs and place them to fill in the gaps between the candles.
Next, I'll layer in the shimmer-tipped ones. Make sure you look at the arrangement from all sides and position them in a way that looks good from all angles.
Then, we'll add the berries in the same way.
Play around with it until you like the way it looks. I added the pebbles to fill in what I call the bald spots.
Lastly, I added a few small pine cones for a bit more interest. It looks great from all angles.
Above are other variations using smaller trays for a smaller or differently shaped table.
Smaller arrangements
I have a different kind of arrangement I've made for the bottom shelf of my front entry console.
This is a dough bowl to which I've added some greens, large pine cones, and leftover ornaments.
I had a wooden lidded box here in previous years, and I decorated it similarly.
My console is right by the front door, so it serves as a prelude to my color scheme of silver, gold, white, and a touch of brown.
Easy wreath changes
You can change the look of your wreaths yearly by changing the color and type of bow of your bows or by adding or removing picks, berries, ornaments, or pinecones.
Below are different-sized wreaths, all styled in different ways.
I've had my wreaths for over 16 years, and they still look great.
I pack them well to ensure they do not accumulate dust while they sit in bins for most of the year until we pull them up for the holidays.
Holiday decorating ideas
I hope my examples sparked holiday decorating ideas to help you create a beautiful home on a budget. Look around your home for things to incorporate into your holiday decorating. Don't forget to share your decorating ideas and plans in the comments below.
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