Tired of Tinsel? 3 Alternative Decorating Ideas

There’s nothing wrong with a traditional Christmas, but if you’ve been putting up the same decorations year after year, it might be time for a change. While you’re trimming the tree and decking the halls, try one of these alternative decorating ideas.

Rustic Christmas Decorations

For a rustic look, decorate with natural accents and rough textures, like burlap and raw wood. With a little creativity, a few candles paired with evergreen branches, pinecones, and sprigs of holly will make an elegant mantelpiece topper or dining table centerpiece.

Something as simple as a basket of chopped wood by the fireplace can give your hearth a rustic feel, and adding fir branches and bundles of Christmas lights to the arrangement will complement your mantelpiece decor.

Burlap is a versatile staple used in many understated but stylish rustic decorations. For an easy, rustic Christmas look, replace your traditional garland with a humble burlap ribbon, and dress the branches with pinecones and white, gold, and copper baubles.

Floral Christmas Decoration

Bring back a little bit of summertime by decorating your tree with flowers. The colorful blossoms will look lovely against the dark green of the branches, particularly in a room with a neutral color palette. For a more traditional take, use red and white poinsettias and holly branches in your arrangement. Fresh flowers won’t keep very long without water, but silk imitations look just as nice, so use faux flowers if you want your look to last all season.

Scandinavian Design Christmas Decorations

Well known for its clean lines, simple shapes, and utility—think IKEA—Scandinavian or Nordic design is a modern departure from the bows and frills of a traditional American Christmas.

For this sophisticated holiday theme, choose a neutral color palette of grey, black, white, and cream with sparing touches of silver, gold, and red.

Decorate with fresh pine clippings in simple water vases, natural wreaths, and a generous number of candles and lanterns. Add wool blankets or animal skins to chairs, or set animal skins around the base of the tree in place of a skirt.

As for the tree itself, use a small pine, or, for a low-maintenance alternative, make a bare-branch Christmas tree and decorate it with homemade ornaments made from raw materials.