The living room is often the heart of the home, where family and friends gather to relax, unwind, and spend quality time together. During the holiday season, the living room takes on even more importance as the main setting for celebrating Christmas with loved ones. Applying the living room Christmas decor transforms the room into a warm, festive gathering place that sets the stage for creating joyful memories. Decorating the living room for Christmas can be a delightful way to infuse your home with yuletide spirit. From a beautifully adorned evergreen Christmas tree sparkling with lights and ornaments to stockings hung with care over the fireplace, Christmas decor lends a magical feel. Thoughtful touches like a poinsettia plant, pinecones, candles, and a plate of homemade Christmas cookies can make your living room extra inviting for the holidays. Let’s start discovering how to decorate the living room for Christmas 2023.
Ideas to Create Festive Living Room Christmas Decor
When decorating your living room for Christmas, it’s important to plan out your design scheme ahead of time. Factors like your decorating style and color palette will help create a cohesive look. For a coordinated effort, repeat certain decorative elements throughout the space, such as metallic accents, plaid patterns, or nature-inspired themes. You’ll also want to designate key furniture pieces to highlight, like your Christmas tree, fireplace mantel, or entryway.
To inspire you to turn your living room into a winter wonderland, here are some festive living room Christmas decor ideas:
Decorate a Christmas Tree
A beautifully decorated evergreen Christmas tree is the centerpiece of most living room Christmas decor. Choose a fresh cut tree or artificial tree in size appropriate for your space. Position it in a prominent area visible from the entryway or picture window. Decorating the tree is one of the most enjoyable holiday tasks. You can keep it simple with strands of twinkling lights and a few treasured ornaments. Or go all out with an elaborate theme like Santa’s workshop with miniature toys and tools or a woodland wonderland with pinecones, faux critters, and faux snow.
Adorn the Fireplace Mantel
The fireplace mantel is prime real estate for showcasing Christmas decor. Clear the mantel of regular knickknacks and replace them with festive decorative touches. For a unified look, choose decor pieces like stockings, garlands, candles, greenery, and a Nativity scene that share colors, materials, patterns or styles. For example, red plaid stockings can coordinate nicely with a pine bough garland and red poinsettias. Or, create a vintage vignette with mercury glass candleholders, faux red berries, and an antique-style truck holding a Christmas tree.
Hang and Fill Stockings
Christmas stockings are a must-have for the mantel or another living room focal point. Opt for stockings in a pattern or color palette that complements your existing decor. Monogrammed stockings with family member names add a personal touch. Hang stockings with care using decorative hooks, hangers or clips. Filled stockings also look fuller and more festive. Stuff them with fun little gifts, treats like oranges or chocolates, and lightweight filler.
Create a Christmas Tree Skirt
For an eye-catching tree base, make or buy a decorative tree skirt. A tree skirt collects fallen needles and conceals unattractive tree stand legs. Choose a sturdy fabric tree skirt with colors or patterns suited to your decor. For a DIY no-sew skirt, arrange cotton fabric squares in a circle on the floor around the tree, then secure them with double-sided tape. Or splurge on a burlap tree skirt with lace trim or a velvet one with gold accents.
Incorporate Holiday Throw Pillows & Blankets
Get cozy with Christmas accents on your living room sofas or chairs. Swap out regular throw pillows for ones featuring holiday colors, patterns, textures or images. Options include forest green velvet pillows with red tassel trim, red and white stripe pillows, or linen pillows with Christmas tree embroidery. Drape festive throw blankets over chair arms or sofas. Opt for plaids, decorative holiday scenes, or solids in red, green or white.
Set Out Christmas Figurines and Decorative Objects
Fill tabletops and shelves with beloved Christmas figurines and decorative objects to create visual interest. Display a collection of different sized nutcrackers wearing uniforms and suits. Arrange snowclones, carousels, and miniature Christmas villages around the room. Place carved wooden Santa’s, angels, reindeer, and woodland creatures in vignettes with pinecones, glittery pine branches, and tea light candles.
Create Faux Snowscapes and Woodland Settings
Capture the essence of winter with faux flurries and magical woodland settings. Scatter glimmering snow blanket filler over mantels, tabletops, and shelves for a sparkling snow effect. Arrange birch logs and pine boughs for a natural feel or set up miniature artificial trees on side tables. Incorporate faux critters like snow owls, foxes, deer, and woodland birds. Hang laser cut 3D paper snowflakes in windows or use frosted window film to mimic icy panes.
Style Festive Botanical Arrangements
Fresh holiday greenery and festive blooms instantly add Christmas cheer to living rooms. Create arrangements featuring pine boughs, holly branches, red roses, white amaryllis, red poinsettias, and hypericum berries. Display them on the mantel, side tables, console tables or as centerpieces on dining tables and kitchen islands. For added drama, opt for overflowing greenery runners down the center of tables.
Use Candles and Christmas Lights
Nothing says Christmas, like twinkling lights and flickering candles that evoke cozy wintertime warmth. For the safest use, opt for LED lights and flameless candles. Wrap garlands of warm white lights around a fireplace mantel. Place flameless candles in translucent glass votives or mercury glass candle holders for sparkle. Line staircases with lights and light up greenery and floral arrangements. Outline door and window frames with icicle lights. Use battery-operated candles for surfaces like side tables, shelves and dining tables.
Set Up a Christmas Village
Captivating Christmas villages can bring the magic of the holidays to life through intricate details. Set up a miniature Christmas village using ceramic or porcelain Victorian-style houses, shops, churches, and accessories. Blanket the base with artificial snow flocking and miniature pine trees dotted with lights. Use cotton batting to simulate rolling hills of snow. Decorate windows with tiny electric lights and top rooftops with snow. Place figurines of carolers, skaters, and other villagers about the scene.
Create Woodland Christmas Scenes
Rustic woodland Christmas decor creates an enchanting natural feel. Place potted mini pine trees around the living room and decorate them with twinkle lights and woodland critters. Arrange birch logs, pinecones, and faux fur throws on a mantel surround. Set out a wooden bench with a cozy red and black buffalo check blanket. Or create small vignettes featuring deer figurines foraging in the snowy “forest,” set against backdrops of birch rounds, pine boughs, snowy pinecones, and glittery snow blanket.
Craft Paper Chains & Snowflakes for Walls
Get crafty with homemade paper chains and snowflakes that add a handmade touch to your living room. Make classic paper chains by cutting strips of paper, stapling them into circles then linking the circles. Hang them on walls, across doorways, over fireplace mantels or around Christmas trees. Cut paper snowflakes in varying sizes and hang them on walls or inside windows to resemble a gentle snowfall.
Incorporate Christmas Tree Themes
Have fun decorating your Christmas tree according to creative themes that tie in neighboring decor. Some ideas:
– Woodland Winter Wonderland – white lights, snowy owls, deer, pinecones, icicles, glittery snow branches
– North Pole – blue lights, penguin and polar bear ornaments, toy soldiers, snowmen
– Gingerbread House – gingerbread men ornaments, peppermint lights, oversized candy ornaments
– Santa’s Workshop – toy train, toy decorations, miniature tool ornaments, elf figurines
– Nutcracker – nutcracker figures, mini ballet dancers, flowers, ornate decorations
Set the Scene with Christmas Accessories
Deck out your living room with special Christmas accessories for added old-world holiday charm. Display vintage-style oversized light-up letters that spell JOY or NOEL. Arrange old-fashioned carolers figurines singing joyfully. Have kids leave Santa notes beside plate of cookies and milk. Place a cozy rocking horse next to the Christmas tree. Set out a miniature model train that chugs around the base of the tree. Use clip-on candle sconces to line stair railings and illuminated garlands on balusters.
Create Ambiance with Holiday Music
Christmas music instantly infuses holiday spirit while creating a cozy, festive ambiance. Play instrumental Christmas classics and carols at a low volume in the background. When hosting gatherings, make custom playlists including popular songs and special tunes meaningful to you and your guests. Incorporate multimedia so guests can listen to music while enjoying a looping video fireplace or shots of a dazzling Christmas tree on your TV.
Set Out Holiday Treats and Libations
Offer delicious treats and sip-worthy libations to indulge guests with the flavors of the season. Bake fresh Christmas cookies like snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, or thumbprint cookies decorated with jimmies. Set out eggnog, mulled wine, hot chocolate, and apple cider along with fun glassware and mugs. Create a hot cocoa bar with flavored syrups, marshmallows, chocolates, crushed candy canes and whipped cream. Arrange candy dishes with bite-size confections, chocolates, and conversation hearts.
Use Wall Decals to Define Spaces
Removable wall decals are an easy way to add Christmas motif accents. Use tree wall decals to designate a Christmas tree corner. Place wreath decals over mantels or on walls. Use decorative decals to border entryways, accent walls or define spaces used for holiday dining, baking, or crafting. Opt for classic icon stickers like snowflakes, poinsettias, evergreen sprigs, stars, or Christmas light strands.
Incorporate Personalized Ornaments & Decor
Add heartfelt memories to your holiday decor with personalized ornaments and specialty accessories. Display ornaments engraved with family member names and the year. Include ornaments commemorating weddings, new babies, special trips, your family pets, or milestones. Craft homemade salt dough or glittery clay ornaments crafted by kids. Set out photo card holders to display your favorite family Christmas photos from over the years.
Use Ribbons & Bows for Festive Finishing Touches
Incorporate festive ribbons and oversized bows to add playful finishing touches. Adhere bows made from velvet, plaid fabric or burlap to stair railings, lampshades, and chair backs. Use ribbons to create bow toppers for Christmas trees and wreaths. Tie ribbon around plain glass vases and votives to dress them up. Wrap ribbons around candle pillars and garlands. Finish gift wrapping with elaborate bows. Display a giant bow on the front door or entryway wall as a welcoming touch.
Small Living Room Christmas Decor
Decorating a small living room for Christmas can be challenging, but there are plenty of ways to add festive cheer without sacrificing space. Here are 10 ideas to get you started:
1. Get creative with foliage
Instead of a traditional Christmas tree, opt for a smaller tree or a festive wreath. You can also hang garlands from the ceiling or mantel, or place potted plants in festive containers around the room.
2. Scandi reigns
Scandinavian-inspired Christmas decor is all about simplicity and natural beauty. Use white lights, natural wood accents, and pops of greenery to create a cozy and inviting space.
3. Mantel scaping
If you have a fireplace, use the mantel as a focal point for your Christmas decor. Hang a wreath, garland, or stockings, and place festive figurines or candles on the mantelpiece.
4. Be sensitive to your space
When decorating a small room, it’s important to be mindful of how your decorations will affect the overall space. Avoid cluttering the room with too much decor, and instead focus on adding a few key pieces that will make a big impact.
5. Scent sets the mood
Nothing says Christmas like the smell of pine needles, cinnamon, and cloves. Add festive scents to your living room with candles, potpourri, or a diffuser.
6. Use vertical space
If your living room is short on floor space, use the walls and ceiling to display your Christmas decorations. Hang wreaths, garlands, and stockings from the ceiling, and use wall shelves to display festive figurines and ornaments.
7. Choose clever storage solutions
When it’s time to pack up your Christmas decorations, choose storage solutions that will maximize space. Look for foldable decorations or ornaments that can be packed away in bins. You can also use under-bed storage or empty suitcases to store your decorations.
8. Use mirrors to create the illusion of space
Mirrors can reflect light and make a small space feel larger. Place mirrors strategically around your living room to create the illusion of more space.
9. Choose light colors
Light colors can make a small space feel more open and airy. When decorating for Christmas, choose light colors for your tree, ornaments, and other decorations.
10. Don’t be afraid to mix and match
There are no rules when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Feel free to mix and match different styles and colors to create a unique and festive space.
With a little planning, you can easily decorate your small living room for Christmas without sacrificing space. Use these tips to create a cozy and inviting space that you and your family will enjoy all season long.
FAQs
- What are good Christmas color schemes for living room decor?
Popular Christmas color palettes include classic red and green, red and gold, silver and blue, sparkling white and silver, red and plaid, or wintry white and pine green. Choose a few key holiday hues and repeat them throughout your decor.
- How can I decorate my living room on a budget?
Affordable ways to decorate include using items you already own creatively, making DIY decorations, purchasing inexpensive supplies like greenery and ribbon from discount craft stores, thrifting decor, repurposing everyday items with holiday flare, and focusing decor on a few key areas.
- How can I decorate when I have a small living room?
Opt for a smaller tree, multitask furniture like using your coffee table to display a village, choose slim pieces like a thin pre-lit garland over bulky decor, arrange groupings on shelves or walls rather than surfaces, decorate with fairy lights and candles, and utilize vertical space with a gallery wall or hanging decor.
- How can I decorate my living room if I have pets or small kids?
Use unbreakable plastic ornaments and decor on lower branches of your tree, avoid delicate glass pieces or choking hazards, store breakables out of reach, opt for kid-friendly decorations they can help make, attach decor firmly to avoid pulling down, avoid toxic plants, and place pet beds/crates out of high-traffic areas.
- How can I make my living room decor feel warm and welcoming?
Use soft lighting like Christmas lights, candles, and table lamps to create a warm glow. Incorporate plush throws and pillows for cozy seating areas. Infuse natural elements like greenery, pinecones, and woodsy accents. Set out holiday treats and use festive tableware. Play Christmas music. Display personalized decor and family photos.
Conclusion
Creating a festively decorated living room helps make the holidays special and more festive when gathered with loved ones. With a thoughtful plan and some creativity, you can design a living room that reflects your personal Christmas style. From a beautifully decked evergreen showstopper of a Christmas tree to festive accents on the fireplace mantel, entryway, walls and tabletops, make the most of your living room’s decor potential.
Coordinate colors, patterns and decor motifs throughout the space for a cohesive feel. The most popular Christmas decoration varies among households, but incorporating cherished decorations meaningful to your family, along with fun and whimsical touches, ensures that the memories made in your picture-perfect living room Christmas decor will be the greatest gift of all.
