Managing director of Cheshire-based The Christmas Company, Adele Gregson, shares advice on how to bring your home to life this festive season...
With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to start planning your Christmas decor and thinking about which colour palettes and themes you want to incorporate into your home. Putting up your Christmas décor is one of the most exciting parts of the festive season and is a great opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones while making your home feel joyful and cosy during dark winter days. We all have our favourite decorations and trends but anyone who loves Christmas time knows there’s always room for more!
Making an entrance
Your doorway is the first thing guests will see as they enter your home, so getting your doorway décor right is vital in impressing your guests and creating a warm and festive atmosphere. Rather than having a standard arch with baubles and lights, large props such as nutcrackers, reindeers, and bears are now favoured over smaller items to elevate your décor to the next level - the bigger the better!
Lighting is also crucial for external Christmas décor and will help you truly make a statement. The key is to be creative and express your unique style, the candy cane theme is on trend this year with many wanting to go back to a traditional red and white palette with large ribbons and candy cane props.
Tablescaping
Presenting a table laden with all things festive (even before you get to the food) is a great way to add even more excitement to the atmosphere on Christmas Day, and I actually recommend you dress your table well in advance to start the atmosphere building early, and save yourself time on the day. Drape a garland along a long table or or set a wreath in the centre of a round table, then add baubles to match your colour scheme and add tall candles for a striking centrepiece.
Last year, I had lots of people asking for décor support without wanting the full Christmas Company service, so I introduced Christmas in a Box, which contains a luxury pre-lit Christmas tree, pre-lit wreath and pre-lit garland. Both the garland or wreath work really well for tablescaping and you can add your own touches such as candles, ribbon, baubles and, of course, crackers, to finish the look.
You could also go down the route of purchasing fresh and real wreaths and use a selection of pinecones and candles to achieve a more rustic look if that’s your preference.
Oh, Christmas tree
When decorating your Christmas tree, the first step is to decide on a theme or colour scheme and stick to these colours when buying your décor. Popular colour trends this year include monochrome and caramel beige tones, as neutral colour palettes work pretty much in every home. Another tip would be to invest in high-quality products, particularly Christmas lights, as not only will it make your décor look premium, but high-quality products can be used year after year.
It’s best to be strategic when placing your ornaments on your tree, always start with placing larger baubles at the bottom of the tree and work your way up. Using foliage and twigs is a great way to fill out the space in your tree and create depth and balance. The most important thing is that you have fun and that your design reflects your individuality and personality.
Ideally, avoid multi-coloured lights and coloured tinsel as this can make your décor look outdated and it can be hard to achieve a harmonious balance. Colourful decorations can be great for achieving a vibrant look, but following a specific colour palette will avoid clashes and your décor looking too busy and disorganised.
Decorating the bottom of your tree is becoming increasingly important as your tree décor and big props for children to sit on seem to be a popular trend this year. We are being asked more and more for giant props, such as storybooks, drums, Nutcrackers and polar bears. Large props will fill out your tree a lot easier than purchasing lots of smaller items, and will save you a lot of time decorating.
Trends
As I have already mentioned, giant props have become increasingly popular this year, especially large teddy bears and nutcrackers. Using giant props to decorate your Christmas tree, or create tableaux in rooms where you don’t have a tree, can add a unique and eye-catching element to your festive décor, they’re great for creating a bold statement and act as a visually striking centrepiece. Giant props are unique and using them can set your décor apart and make it memorable compared to smaller decorations that can get lost within your tree.
The gingerbread theme is also popular this year, for example incorporating decorations such as gingerbread dogs, gingerbread girls, and gingerbread boys. This year we’ve added props such as a gingerbread family, teddy bears and nutcrackers which light up and play music, which is again a nod to Christmas décor going back to nostalgic and traditional themes, but with a contemporary spin.
The Christmas Company range of bespoke props and Christmas in a Box is now available online at christmasinaboxuk.com
