Can you believe it? Christmas is almost here again, and the signs are everywhere. Festive lights are popping up. Eager shoppers are flocking to the malls. And Christmas tours of massive neighborhood homes are here once again to remind you that your small apartment can be difficult to decorate.
If you’re stuck for ways to make your apartment fun and festive this Christmas season, take heart. The elves have been busy combing the Internet for helpful hints you can use to decorate your place from the outside in.
So what are you waiting for, Christmas? Grab that cup of holiday cheer and check out this list of 6 Christmas decorating tips for your apartment. You may even want to check it twice.
Decorate Your Front Door
That’s right. Great Christmas decorating starts at your door. A Christmas wreath on your door is a great way to greet your guests and get them into a festive mood before they even step inside. To really make your door stand out from all the others in your building, try turning your door into a giant present by wrapping it with Christmas paper and attaching a giant colorful bow of ribbon. A bright and colorful construction paper gift tag affixed to the door could proclaim the words “Merry Christmas” in glittery glory.
Oh, and don’t forget to program your doorbell to play a favorite Christmas song.
Deck Your Hall or Entryway
Once your friends and guests step through your door a festively decorated entry way will keep the Christmas theme going. A bench with Christmas pillows makes a fun statement. Snowflakes or Christmas cards taped to mirrors are also a great way to say, “Welcome, it’s Christmas.”
If there are stairs in your entryway, stair balusters are the perfect place to hang stockings from, and red ribbon can turn every other baluster into candy canes. Evergreen garland wrapped around stair railings and bannisters also makes a warm Christmas statement.
Theme the Whole House
Christmas is a theme all its own, but you can take your decorating to a whole new level by introducing another theme throughout your whole apartment. Theming by colors—silver and blue or gold and cream or red and green—for example, creates a nice visual flow that can actually make your apartment look bigger. Theming by collectibles, such as elves, reindeer, teddy bears, angels, or candles, is another fun way to go. What’s great about theming is that it also creates a certain Christmas mood—such as cheerful and playful, modern and sophisticated, old-fashioned and elegant, or cabin and rustic.
Get Creative With the Tree
Most apartments aren’t really made to accommodate the tall and robust Christmas trees you typically see in magazines. If that’s the case with your apartment, it’s no biggie, because real or fake the size of the tree doesn’t matter. Smaller trees are a good fit because they make that all-important “it’s Christmas” statement without taking up lots of needed space. Placing a small tree on a festively draped table in front of a window is a great way to add Holiday warmth to your place that you can see from inside or out. And decorating the tree with the themed colors or ornaments you’ve chosen helps it to stand out and blend in at the same time. For a fun effect in a small guest bathroom you can make a Christmas tree by sticking red, green and gold Post-it notes in a tree pattern on a mirror or wall. Top it off with a bright red Christmas star cut from construction paper.
Don’t Forget the Fire Place
What’s that? Your apartment doesn’t have a fireplace? Hey, it’s Christmas. You don’t have to have a real fireplace to bring the warmth of Christmas into your home. You can make your own.
If you have kids, have them draw and color a fireplace scene on a large sheet of poster board and tack it to the wall. Even better, get a large piece of canvas cloth, cover it with chalkboard paint, sketch a fireplace and mantle on it and then hang it from a curtain rod with ribbon. But don’t stop there. Cut icicles and candles out of white felt and stick them on the chalkboard mantle. Or tie Christmas stockings to the “mantle” with ribbon threaded through small holes in the canvas.
With a little creativity, you can have chestnuts roasting on an open fire in your own apartment fireplace and the landlord will never need to know.
Pay Attention to Your Table
Somewhere in your apartment you have a table. And while your table is always a great gathering place for friends and family, the right decorations will make it even more inviting come Christmas time. A decorative table runner always makes a nice statement. Add a small center piece, some candles—electric candles are safe and look great—and you’ll have guests gathering round it in no time. The trick will be getting them to leave.
Merry Christmas, and Happy Decorating!