65 Elegant Christmas Decor Ideas You Can Totally DIY

Lighted Stairway

You may be thinking just about adding lights to a lush garland to frame your staircase, but pretty luminaria can also add a glow to your staircase. Use battery operated lights and candles for both the garland and the luminaria to make it easy (and safer!) to create that gorgeous glow.

Faux Fire Basket

If you don’t have room for a traditional tree, create the same look on a smaller scale. Instead of a 7-foot fir tree, opt for a 3- or 4-foot-tall one, and use a decorative metal planter in place of a typical tree stand and skirt. Keep ornaments minimal, so you don’t overwhelm the branches.

For a faux hearth to accompany your small tree, wrap birch logs in fairy lights and set them in a wire basket. Your room instantly looks warmer.

Beautified Bar Cart

Gilded accessories and pretty bottles of your favorite alcohol look decadent and festive when displayed during the holidays. And when an impromptu visitor comes to your door, you’re ready to entertain.

Decking All Your Halls

While your main living areas tend to get most of the holiday decor love, you can add a little festive flourish to every room in the house. Swap out your bedding for a cozy Christmas-themed set (a traditional tartan is right on trend with the Ralph Lauren Christmas vibe), and adding a tree (small or large) will be the perfect nightlight for any holiday guests you’re hosting.

Colorful Mantel Decor

For an unexpected and sophisticated mantel display, keep your pairings minimal. This grapevine wreath of evergreen branches, pomegranates, and amaryllis blooms makes an impressive holiday decoration when paired with a trio of elegant candlesticks.

Holiday Card Garland

For a clever way to display holiday cards that come your way, use clips or clothespins to string them along the staircase.

Striking Wreath Accents

For a traditional-yet-updated winter wreath, welcome holiday guests by mixing classic elements (in this case, spruce and olive branches) with unexpected accents (echeveria succulents and seeded eucalyptus branches).

Lit Birch Logs

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but your fireplace looks so delightful. Set a cozy scene by wrapping twin birch logs in twinkling holiday lights. Position mercury-glass candlesticks and votives alongside for an extra boost of shine.

Glass Candlesticks

For a hassle-free holiday display, take over an end table or deep windowsill by grouping contemporary candlesticks and mercury-glass votive candles. Add colorful glass ornaments for a pop of color and cheer.

Special Delivery Advent Calendar

Transform a large bulletin board into an Advent calendar with lined envelopes and stick-on numbers. Fill each envelope with treats that are joyful and surprising such as candy canes, gift certificate to the ice cream parlor, or a coupon good for an extra hour of video games. With the promise of a small treasure each day, the young and young at heart will love counting down the days to Christmas.

Silver and Gold Palette

If red and green aren’t your thing, lean on tones that complement your existing décor. Paper medallions in silver, gold, and bronze look right at home atop the mantel. Add a warm finishing touch by draping sprigs of evergreen garland embellished with berries and ornaments.

A Sweet Scene

Greet holiday guests with a sweet indoor winter wonderland entry display. Decorate foam cones from the craft store with rock candy to create your own sparkly arrangement.

Window Snowflakes

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Dangling from a window, these cascading strands of silver and white gift bows create the illusion of falling snow. Shovel not required.

Center of Attention

‘Tis the season for glitz and glamour on the holiday table. For this show-stopping statement, nestle sparkly, color-dipped vintage bulbs in a decorative glass bowl.

Double-Duty Decorating

Pretty wrapped presents can work overtime as last-minute decorations. To pull this off, focus on the finishing touches: Adorn festive wrap with clever tie-ons (like a strand of color-dipped wooden beads), a fancy bow, and a peppering of metallic ornaments.

Cohesive Candles

Group pillar candles for ambiance and extra light. Wrap festive ribbon around a few to complement your décor and add texture.

Eye-Catching Table Runner

Forgo the fine china, fancy linens, and extravagant centerpiece in favor of a unique runner to steal the dinner scene. Place pins along the sides of a gilded poster board and artfully weave colorful string from pin to pin to create a modern, textured focal point.

Fireside Forest

Layer an assortment of tree-shaped objects in varying heights and textures atop the mantel. Below, hang a metallic, leafy garland to reflect the firelight from below.

Twist on a Traditional Wreath

Instead of traditional evergreens, make a wreath of citrus fruits. Start with a circular piece of florist’s foam and then use wooden florist picks to secure large items, such as oranges. Fill in with smaller fruit―kumquats, clementines, and limes―and finish with a thick velvet ribbon.

Celestial Doorway

Trick out a door or window frame with an asymmetrical assortment of stars. Use adhesive strips to hang a strand of cascading star lights accentuated with ornaments and various-sized lanterns.

Stockinged Stairwell

Hang stockings from a banister trimmed with garland (live or faux) using floral wire or zip ties hidden amid the greenery.

Leaning Ladder

Attach stockings to a decorative ladder and then liven it up with a swag of pine garland. In January, replace the stockings with throw blankets.

Cozy Stockings

Choose stockings that match your decorating vibe—like this cozy, chunky knit for a more rustic look. You can add pretty wrapped packages even before the big day for a festive touch.

Charming Countdown

This unique adaptation of the traditional Advent calendar speaks to the spirit of the season. Replace a leaning mirror for the month of December and fill pint-sized numbered bags with your family’s favorite treats.

Frosted Tablescape

Set a simple and sophisticated white-and-black table to give your holiday gatherings a perfect wintry vibe. Pinecones and evergreen sprigs add a touch of nature to the snowy white scene.

White Christmas Tree

A monochromatic tree sets a festive tone that’s soft, airy, and completely captivating. Accentuate its pure richness with ornaments in clear glass, shimmery silvers, and brilliant white.

Playful Accessories

Think outside the overflowing bins and boxes of decorations for a clever way to embellish bare tabletops. Turn Friday’s game night staple into an innovative holiday prop.

Wintery Scene

At your entryway or on a windowsill, welcome a few unexpected characters to your décor with enchanting wintry wildlife.

Pinecone Table Topper

For this simple and elegant centerpiece sure to impress dinner guests, start with a garland of lush winter greenery that runs the length of your table. Enlist the kids to collect pinecones, and then secure them to the garland to serve as rustic toppers.

Centerpiece Simplicity

Load a simple glass jar or bowl with multiples of the same fruit, nut, or holiday candies. We filled trifle bowls with walnuts and the colors of Christmas—red apples and green baby artichokes. For a pop of brightness, display lemons or limes in a clear bowl, or put extra Christmas decorations to use. And think outside the table: Display clear containers of monochromatic ornaments in any room.

DIY Outdoor Decor

You don’t have to leave your outdoor planters stark until planting time. For a weatherproof display that lasts until spring, arrange pinecones in window boxes or pots on your porch, positioning the largest ones on the bottom and the tiniest on top.

Holiday Crafting for Kids

Crafting aluminum-foil ring chains is a perfect, zero-supervision craft for kids—no scissors, glue, tape, or (huzzah!) sparkles. Cut them squares of foil (or buy precut sheets), wait several hours, and then help the little ones display their chains wherever your home needs some extra shine. For easy removal in January (and damage-free paint and wallpaper), hang using Command strips.

Holiday Cut-Outs

All you need is colorful paper and stencils to create a some bright decor for the holidays. These festive doves will brighten up windows or can be strung on ribbons as a garland over a doorway or even ornaments on a tree.

Starlight Balls

Wind a strand of battery-powered fairy lights around a medium-sized Styrofoam ball. Tie it off, and then tape the end of the strand to the ceiling or loop it around a curtain rod. For an even brighter arrangement, group three or four balls of varying sizes.

Indoor Snowman

While a bowl of seasonal fruit always makes a bright addition to your holiday table, you can kick it up a notch by build snowman decorations from edible ingredients. Stack the fruit, holding the pieces together with toothpicks and royal icing. You can use what you have around the house to finish your snowman—cloves for eyes and a nose, cinnamon sticks or tiny branches for arms, and scraps of fabric to make a scarf.

All-Purpose Candlelight Display

Streamline seasonal decorating with a mantelpiece tableau that takes you from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Evergreen branches, walnuts, votive candles, and golden accents will add a glow that’ll brighten up every holiday.

Wrapped Up Art

Blank canvases in assorted shapes make an artful (ha!) mantelpiece display when wrapped with cheerful ribbons.

Cookie-Cutter Approach

These unique window decorations take just minutes to create. String tin cookie cutters of assorted shapes—angels, bells, and stars—on pretty ribbons, and then tack them to the window casing.

Holiday Card Display

Using greenery from outside, attach ribbons to a branch and then hang your Christmas cards using a pretty binder clip or safety pin. Recruit the kids for this afternoon project.

Monochromatic Color Palette

Spare can be beautiful. Decorate a small, artificial white tree with objects that share a color scheme―in this case: candy canes―and place it on a side table or a coffee table.

Front Door Flair

Let visitors jingle all the way into your home. Tie big golden bells to the front doorknob with festive ribbon.

Seasonal Finds

Another festive pick from the grocery store: This warming seasonal vignette calls for apothecary jars filled with cranberries, with a touch of evergreen surrounding it.

Modern Mobile Chandelier

Use wooden quilting hoops to create a mobile that floats over a table like a weightless chandelier. Turn the inner ring 180 degrees and wood-glue it to the outer ring at the top. Use clear fishing line and thumbtacks to hang various-sized spheres at different lengths.

Silver Bells Arrangement

Add sparkling style to your table by filling a snifter to the brim with an array of shiny silver bells.

Modern Christmas Color Scheme

Not feeling that traditional red and green? Delicate chartreuse, lavender, and pink balls scattered amid the branches make an attention-worthy display. Instead of garland for texture, feathers provide an unexpected twist.

Glowing Tealights

Looking for something festive for a small space—like your powder room? A few sprigs of holly and a tealight or two will add a subtle glow. (Pro tip: Choose a lightly scented candle to help keep your bathroom smelling fresh.)

Family Photo Display

Collect your family’s holiday picture cards from previous years and use lights or a clothespin them to display them along the wall. Display them in chronological order and, if you’re particularly detail-oriented, date the pins.

Glowing Glass

Strands of holiday lights coiled in glass vases, hurricane lamps or jars are a glowing addition to your holiday decor.

A Stellar Swag

You don’t have to reserve your greenery for a banister or the top of a doorway. Hang some greenery along a doorway edge, with lavish greenery, ribbons, and other adornments to brighten up the space. (Bonus: If you don’t have the room or the desire for a full tree, this festive adornment can be a wonderful alternative.)

Holiday Throw Pillows

Add a cozy, festive touch for the holiday season by incorporating Christmas throw pillows on your bed, couch, and more. This is an easy way to add the holiday spirit in your home.

Christmas Mantel

Decorate your mantel for the Christmas season by adding garland with bells and snowflakes. Match the stockings to the mantel colors for cohesive decor. For an added touch, light candlesticks that match the mirror and mantel to tie in the design.

Sparkly Ornament Display

Nest vintage ornaments with magnolia leaves on a cake stand for a stunningly simple centerpiece.

Fabulous Window Dressings

The ultimate preppy power couple―hot pink and lime green―make an unexpected debut in this modern all-feather composition. The dangling ornament adds just the right pop to this decorative piece.

Mix and Match Centerpiece

To make this five-second centerpiece, mix clementines or oranges with peppermint candies in a single glass compote or a grouping of three.

Cookie Forest

Decorate a buffet table with a trio of snowy cookie trees. Start with a base frosting by beating 6 egg whites with 3¾ cups powdered sugar. Spread a thin layer of the frosting on a Styrofoam cone and then, working up from the bottom, overlap vanilla wafers (use straight pins to hold them in place until the frosting dries). For a snowy effect, use a small sieve to dust each finished tree with powdered sugar.

Extra Ornament Displays

For a dramatic, high-impact window display, turn a bare windowsill into a stylish nook by filling glass jars of varying heights and shapes with leftover ball ornaments.

Sweet Centerpieces

Bring colorful delight to the table with a sweet setup of treats that never goes out of season. We filled our no-fuss arrangement with red-and-white peppermint balls and fluffy marshmallows. Call on ribbon candy, multicolored chocolates, and candy canes as the perfect sides.

Subtle Arrangements

Pull off a show-stopping arrangement that speaks to your style by keeping decorative elements simple. Fill a glass hurricane with an assortment of holiday ornaments, and then surround it with lush greenery.

Wintry Mix

Don’t overlook a simple window ledge as a decorating opportunity. Pine boughs look charming in a large vase, while white starfish evoke snowy weather, even when it’s sunny.

Overhead Opulence

Don’t restrict magnificent baubles and sparkly snowflakes to the Christmas tree. Accentuate overhead lighting with shimmery decorations in a fresh winter palette like pale blue and silver. Finish with an elegant satin ribbon gently dangling from the chandelier.

Indoor Topiaries

Light up a room with twinkling topiaries, which look especially magical flanking a fireplace. Buy them ready-made, or insert five-foot-tall bamboo plant stakes around the perimeter of a potted evergreen, tie them at the top with florist wire, and then swirl white lights all around.

Flanked Entryway

Nothing like a pair of inexpensive plastic urns to instantly dress up a front entryway. Place a tall foam cone in each urn and anchor it with sand. Then use florist sticks and wire to attach greenery and Christmas balls.

Ornamental Plants

It’s likely your grocery or home improvement store sells small, potted coniferous plants (like pine or fir) around the holidays. Pick one up and loop small ornaments onto the branches for a festive touch. Bonus: This is an excellent alternative to a full-sized Christmas tree for anyone living in tight quarters.

2-D Christmas tree

If you’ve got a little bit of wall space to spare, consider stringing together some branches so it’s shaped like a tree then hang it on the wall. String a few lights and hook some ornaments for a dazzling 2-D Christmas tree.

Woven Wonderland

Pull out some yarn and wrap it around foam or paper cardboard cones from the craft store. Keep them colors in neutral or soft shades for a tasteful arrangement.