It’s Christmas time again, and with it comes the desire to make your home the ideal place for friends and family to visit and relax. It’s no small task, but fortunately, there are easy, creative, and budget-friendly ways to turn your home into the perfect holiday haven.
Add warmth
Warmth creates an inviting atmosphere. If your home has a fireplace, light it up to keep out the winter chill and give the family room a cosy glow. Pile soft, warm blankets and throws onto the sofa and armchairs and cover wooden floors with thick, festively-coloured rugs for added warmth before inviting everyone around the fireplace for a glass of mulled cider or wine.
Visual warmth can be introduced by turning off or dimming down the main lights in each room and using elegant lamps and candles instead. Find the perfect lighting solutions at Lampcommerce including the beautiful and contemporary Axo Light range.
Introduce the scents of the season
If none of your family members or guests are sensitive to fragrances, use different scents to create a magical and celebratory feeling. Burn candles and lay out dishes of potpourri to recreate the warm aromas of orange, cinnamon, spices, and evergreen. For more, take a look at this Independent article on the 15 best scented candles for 2015.
Your Christmas tree is the holiday centrepiece, so decorate it with festive accessories that will make it glitter and glow. Spread the cheery decor to the fireplace by hanging up stockings and draping a lush garland and gently twinkling electric lights across the surface of the mantle. This Christmas Pinterest thread has some gorgeous fireplace decoration examples to inspire you.
Other festive suggestions include:
Placing Christmas cards around the family room to reinforce the atmosphere of goodwill
Playing soothing holiday music in the background
Putting a bowl of glittery pinecones on the coffee table and / or dining room table
Hanging a thick, ribbon-bedecked garland or wreath on your door to introduce the Christmas cheer to your guests before they even enter your home
Lay a sumptuous holiday spread
Christmas Day dinner is a holiday highlight, and you can make it even more special by adding seasonal trimmings. If the price suits your budget, invest in silver candelabras and gilded glassware that can be used again year after year, but festive table top decorations and platters can also be picked up at supermarkets and even Poundland.
A glass bowl filled with pine cones, colourful glass baubles, or sprigs of green and red holly makes an attractive centrepiece; especially it is surrounded by evergreen and fairy lights. Combine it with small pine cones serving as lovely name settings and you’ve got an abundance of natural beauty to accent
Red is unquestionably ‘the’ Christmas colour, and for those on a tight budget, the shops are full of decorations, place settings, and other accents in lovely shades of red from deep scarlet to bright holly. A red paper tablecloth and napkins, complemented by some green or gold tinsel and candlesticks, can create a heart-warming holiday table without breaking the bank.
Let’s face it, who hasn’t gazed at a Normal Rockwell country Christmas image and wished they could step right into the cosy scene, grab a mug of homemade hot chocolate, and curl up before the blazing fire while a picture-perfect tree glitters in the corner? You don’t need to live in a Midlands village to ‘go rustic’: natural decorations, candlelight’s and a roaring fire is all you need. If you don’t have a fireplace, there are DVDs of crackling flames that can make your television screen provide a similar effect.
Christmas is when you want to spend time with family and friends, so invite your loved ones over. After dinner, share memories, play games, and watch a festive programme on television. After spending so much time making your home reflect the holiday spirit, you will want to share it!
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