I can hear you through the internet, you’re saying, “it’s too late for decorating ideas and tips” and “my decorations are already up, how can you possibly help now.” Well, I assure you, this post is timely. Because it might be a little late to change your decorating style this year, but right now is the perfect time to plan for next year. Why? I will tell you:

1. Everything is on sale right now (or it will be soon). Start watching for Christmas decor sales now, especially if there is something you really want. Last year I waited until the day after Christmas and it was too late.

2. You know what you need (and what you have). Don’t wait until the beginning of the next holiday season to start buying new decor. Right now everything you own is out and it is a great time to evaluate what you have, what you need, and what you can part with.

Ready to update your Christmas style but don’t know where to start? I can help with that too. My number one decorating tip:

Pick a Theme! This helped me so much this year as I was starting from scratch in decorating our new home. My theme was “arctic holiday,” which is something completely made up that I saw on a box at home goods. It’s not so important that you name your theme, but take a minute and think about it the following questions:

• What is your non-holiday decorating style? The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to incorporate as much blue as possible. Blue is the taste tester’s favorite color and our non-holiday decor is blue and grey, so I knew incorporating blue in my Christmas decor would make for a more cohesive look. It also allowed me to incorporate existing decor (like the vases and candle holders on the mantle), so I didn’t have to start from scratch.
• What do you already have? To give your holiday decor a fresh look, there is no need to buy all new items. In building a new “theme” for your home, think about what you already have. We didn’t have much, but what I did have was red, so it was an easy decision to incorporate red with my blue decor.
• What can you steal borrow from others? If your friends and relatives have been living in one place for awhile, they have likely accumulated lots of holiday decor. Maybe they don’t put it all out every year. After I picked my theme, I raided my mom’s Christmas boxes and hauled lots of stuff back to Michigan with me. I was happy for the new things and she was happy to purge.
• What do you like? In addition to the color blue, I love “snow” themed decor because we get lots of snow here (Michigan) and because I don’t feel as bad leaving it up through January. Luckily, much of the snow decor was already blue and silver so it helped to build my theme. I also loved all the reindeer decorations in stores this year, which is why I chose to describe my theme as “arctic” (that’s where reindeer live!) rather than “winter.”

Some other advice:

Incorporate things you love. You don’t need to be married to your theme. Leave plenty of room on your tree for sentimental and personal items, like our Michigan stockings and ornaments. Not everything needs to match. If you feel your tree does not have a uniform look, snatch some cheap ball ornaments in your theme colors and add them to your tree. You can even incorporate into vases and tabletops to keep the theme throughout.

Use matching wrapping paper. Choose two coordinating papers in your theme colors and use them for all your Christmas wrapping. This is a cheap and easy way to keep things looking put together.

Host a Christmas Decor Swap. This is such a great idea, especially for more settled folks who have not recently moved. As I mentioned above, almost everyone has Christmas items they don’t use anymore. Invite all your friends over after the holidays to polish off the remaining Christmas cookies and swap decorative items.

Most importantly, START NOW! Stock up while everything is on sale and you will be thanking yourself next year.

Source List:

Unless otherwise noted, everything is from Home Goods.

Merry Christmas Mantle Sign: Kohl’s

Snowman on end table: Estate Sale

Santa on mantle: Estate Sale

Lantern with Ball Ornaments: Pottery Barn (gifted several years ago)

Doll Ornaments: Madame Alexander ornament collection from Hallmark, my mother started collecting for me in 1996.

Blue/Clear Christmas Lights (on tree): Target

Blue Lights on Stair Rail: Amazon

Garland on Stairs/Mantle: Michael’s

Snowflake ornaments on stairs: Hobby Lobby

Pink Christmas Lights: Christmas tree farm about 15 years ago

Blue and Red Ball Ornaments: Hobby Lobby

Stockings: Homemade, but fabric/materials are from Joann’s

Sourced from my mother: tree topper, garland on tree, unique tree ornaments, filling of vase in center of mantle