The art of decorating your home for the
holidays is a strange one, when you think of it in terms of practicality and
keeping the rest of your home’s theme intact. In fact, for the amount of work
required to full deck out your house in the spirit of the holidays, I feel like
it’s absurd. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the holiday atmosphere
and decor fever like the best of them. Considering my mother used to put up 6
to 8 trees (and still does!) and have shipping supplies strewn about the house everywhere, I have grown extremely
familiar with what works and what doesn’t. She’s enlisted my help so many times
that I have a good feel for what looks great and what ends up as a flop.
Do I put these skills to the test every
December, though? Unfortunately I don’t have the same drive to make my home
festive, especially since I’ve never been one for the surface level things like
home decorations and the likes.
Nonetheless, I’ve compiled a few tips for your
decorating sessions this December, and if you’re on the fence about something
risky or non-traditional, my advice is to go for it. No matter if you use basic
shipping supplies or elaborate holiday decorations that are rare and expensive,
it’s all about making your own decorations stand out while being bold and
owning your theme. And that leads us into the first item today.
Picking
and sticking to a theme.
The theme of the year is what ties everything
in together. I don’t care if you choose a generic, overplayed theme like
“rustic” or “chic”, you need to stick with what you pick and go from there.
Some people like to get crazy and incorporate fantastical themes with overly
dramatic nods to candy and gingerbread houses, but I think that’s brilliant if
you can pull it off and have the resources to do so.
The best advice I can give, though, is to pick
something that’s all encompassing and a wide enough theme that you can fit all
of your decorations under. If you pick something niche and unique, you’ll be
forced to stick to that theme with every
little decoration you’ve got that isn’t a neutral color or material. You
know, things like garland and other reds, greens, whites, and browns all go together
no matter what you do. But if you side with a gingerbread theme, it won’t make
much sense to also have a more modern or rustic item alongside your sweets
themed home.
