Exciting Ways to Dress up Your Home for Christmas

There are unlimited possibilities and ideas (and budget levels) for dressing up your home this Christmas. If you make it a team sport, you can unleash your family's creativity and build memories for future generations that will outlive toys and games and doozy dinners.

In most countries, Christmas is one of the most celebrated times, irrespective of the dominant religion. So wherever you are, bring in the colour, the bells and the festivities to your home.

Most folks do what they can to dress up the living space, from a sprig of evergreen to a flashing nightmare of roof Santas and plunging reindeer.

Others go overboard and transform their homes into a Christmas wonderland. Some streets even require their residents to do a theme as they have built up a tradition of busloads of people coming to enjoy their Christmas decorations. Nothing is left undecorated from the roof to trees in the garden and the footpath.

Do what suits your style and what gives you joy. It is a time to be happy.

One of the essential things to remember when dressing up your home for the holidays is to prepare everything in advance, just like the mise en place before cooking. Clean up and clear up spaces for your decors. Detoxify overstuffed corners and put away knick-knacks that gather dust and add sweet diddley to the season.

Start by assessing the area where you will place your Christmas tree and other decorations. Then, clean the furniture and have a Christmas theme all over your home. The theme will make it look more coherent and much brighter, ready for your Christmas makeover.

Choose a theme for your Christmas décor. Visualize your décor and the shades of colour you want to use. Remember to use what you already have. You'll be surprised at how you can use what you already have. You need to set your creative mind to look at these items differently.

You can have a traditional theme with the Nativity as the centre. You can have a winter wonderland or a country Christmas. Also, Toyland, if you have kids, is a great theme to use. Christmas in the Park or Christmas in the Farm. Get that creative hat on and set your theme for a truly unique Christmas.

The front door to the living room should be the centre of your Christmas decoration. Think of what invites your guests to the theme you are following this Christmas. So, the entrance teases them about what more you offer inside. Since your living area is where you receive family, friends and guests to celebrate the joyous holiday season, this should get the most attention.

Look where your guests' eyes will focus when they enter your house. Put there the extensive impact décor you have. Then, walk through your space as if you are the guest and start visualizing what would be just the appropriate décor to put there.

Get one that fits. Your Christmas tree is an essential Christmas décor in your home. As such, pay extra attention to getting a tree that fits. A monster looks ridiculous, and a shrimp looks like you cheapened out!

You can choose between a fresh and an artificial tree. Decorate it with lights, garlands, ribbons, flowers and other ornaments that complement your house's overall look. It is essential to place the lights first, followed by the other decors.

Remember, it is NOT a random pizza. Could you give it some thought? Give the kids exclusive domain over the bottom three branches but slam dunk the angel yourself.

You can place fresh or artificial flowers all over the house. Mistletoe, Holly and poinsettias are among the favourite blooms for the season, but any bunches of cut flowers can add a festive spirit.

Hang stockings for everyone and make this a party night.

If you have children at home, you can hang colourful stockings on the windows or walls or the fireplace with the children's letter to Santa Claus. The ritual hanging of the socks should be a great family party the night before Christmas, along with the yearly run of "Scrooge," the 1951 edition of Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim, please.

They look like they're celebrating with you. You can pretty up your teddy bears and dolls with Christmas decorations and place them all over the house. You can group them or put them around the Christmas tree. It will be more fun if you can dress them in Christmas clothes.

I just saw a giant Christmas tree of all teddy bears. It was a crowd-getter in the store.

You can do this for your Christmas table or any of the mantels in your home. I like to use fresh sprigs of holly because of its symbolism. Place candles in the appropriate places interspersed with the holies.

What would even be better is to have a circular tray filled with sprigs of holly or evergreens and place four candles, one of which must be purple to celebrate Advent. You can prepare this four weeks before Christmas and light one candle at the start of each week. Your anticipation of Christmas will have even more meaning when you do this.

Make Christmas more meaningful by reminding yourself of the very first Christmas. This decoration is, of course, if your family is Christian. Get a nativity set that matches your home décor. Invest in this set, as you will use this each year.

You can start with the basic set of Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus. Then, each year, add something like a shepherd or two, sheep, the 3 Magi, a camel and whatever is significant or memorable for you and your family.

Add something international to your Nativity set. A famous addition is the "Caganer." This piece is an excellent conversation about Barcelona and Catalan culture, where they have these figures just behind the crib. They even have actual figures and celebrities added now. You can see the figure on top of stalls selling these in Christmas markets.

A good centrepiece for your coffee table is colourful Christmas balls in a glass bowl. You can also do a manger scene, a flock, or miniature wooden camels with odd hats. Or place your collection on display.

Place your favourites around your house to read once in a while. You can place Christmas books on your side tables to commemorate your favourite Christmas stories.

Make your dining table look festive. Use sparkling and bright colours for your Christmas table. Bring out your best dinnerware because sharing meals with family, friends and guests is the center of the festivities. If you do not have a Christmas dining set, you can buy a red set of plates to complement the season. Or add Christmas decorations to your table setting.

You can add candles and ornaments like cones, evergreens, mistletoes or small fir tree branches. Get the worst taste of Christmas napkins and humiliate the entire family with crackers containing appalling festive hats. Remember, it's supposed to be fun.

For your outdoor Christmas décor, you can hang Christmas lights on your porch and garden. Others even adorn their trees and shrubs with lights. Reindeer and Santa in plywood do a great early project for the handy person, and a few cardboard carollers with a few wireless speakers can give the old place Christmas street appeal.

Hanging a beautiful wreath on your door is also a great way to say to the world: "celebrate, be joyful and peace and goodwill to all."