Room Decorating Ideas, Holiday Decorations

Sometimes decorating for the holidays can feel like going through the motions when you lug the same ornaments out of storage and put them out in the same spots. But with a few creative touches, your home can take on a fresh festive look without a lot of work or cost. Here are some easy ideas:

1. Glowing Glass
   Have a favourite glass vase, bowl or bottle? Drop in some battery-operated Christmas lights or flameless LED candles for added glow anywhere in your home, including your holiday table settings. Use clear, double-sided tape to secure lights on longer vases or bottles for a more artful arrangement. Mason jars can also be given this lighting treatment, with ribbon and garland added to the arrangement to create festive mini lanterns.
2. Budget-Friendly Floral Arrangements
   Stretch fresh flowers further: Buy one or two bunches and mix them with evergreen branches from your garden or wooded area (you can also buy fresh holiday greenery at your local Home Depot Store). Another idea: Spray-paint branches, evergreen sprigs, pinecones or ornamental grasses in a metallic shade for instant sparkle in an arrangement. (Be sure to follow paint safety instructions.)
3. Garlands
   Spruce up your décor - literally! - with fresh-cut or artificial garlands wrapped around staircase railings, draped across mantels or hung around doorways. Command strips are a great tool for securing garlands in place; leave them unembellished or customize your look with ribbon, lights and trinkets.
4. Festive Scents Don't underestimate the power of scent to add holiday charm. Create a holiday potpourri of cinnamon sticks, vanilla, cloves and orange peel. You can also place pine cones, clove-stuffed oranges or pieces of fresh-cut winter greenery in small glasses of water around your home to subtly add those much-loved holiday smells in every room.