15 Ways Holiday Decorating Can Be Easier

The holiday season is busy enough without adding decorating to your list of things to do. So let's make holiday decorating a little easier and just as festive.

Don't get me wrong, I love to bring out all the holiday decorations, but there are times when you are exceptionally busy or just feeling a little under the weather and don't want to bring everything out of storage.

1. By using your existing decor as the bones of your holiday decor you will need less to decorate with and have time for other things.

2. Greenery is the key to creating a festive winter theme.

Support your charities by purchasing a wreath and greenery to use around the house.

It smells great and you don't need to carry it to storage.

When the holidays are over, you won't be rushed to take down all the decorations at once, just the tree. With a winter theme you can leave decorations up through January or longer if you like.

3. To start, you'll need gardening shears to cut the greenery, rubber bands or floral wire, and a roll of ribbon.

4. Use the mason jars that are already in your kitchen cabinet, fill them with candy, cookies, cocoa etc, tie the jar collar with a ribbon. Place a few around your home as decoration, when you need a little gift for someone, take one from a table.

5. I was recently at a house walk where they put a single sprig of greens into the mason jar and tied the collar with a bow, simple, but effective, especially as a group.

6. Don't pull out a holiday bowl out of storage to set out, instead use a decorative bowl that is already on a table.

I have a large blue bowl that I add white and silver ornaments to and a Lenox bowl that works well with any color.

After the holidays, the colorful ornaments and ribbon go in the box with the tree decorations.

7. Another option would be to add fresh pine, pine cones, berries and ribbon to your bowl/platter.

After the holidays, simply pull out the ornaments and ribbon and leaving the beautiful greenery as a nice winter decoration.

8. Another tip for holiday bowls/platters is to place an unlit tea candle in the bottom of the bowls you create for the added benefit of your favorite scent.

9. Remember the glass container we used for the summer and fall decorating projects? Repurpose it for a third time by filling it with greens or ornaments and fairy lights. Most glass containers you have around the house will usually work.

10. If you have a glass bell jar or cake dome you can place greens and ornaments here too.

11. Add greenery above a mirror. If you use a neutral bow the greenery can stay past the holiday into the new year.

12. Secure a small bunch of greens with a rubber band at the top, tie with a bow to cover the rubber band and hang one on each bedroom door using a temporary hanger.

Take these down after the holiday as they will start to drop needles.

13. Add a few sprays of greenery to the spindles of your stair, leaving the hand railing free. This is a much safer option.

If you want to use garland, attach it to the hand rail but drape the garland below the hand rail and over the spindles.

14. Lay greenery on the mantle or the center of the dining room table. Add ornaments, sprays of holly, pine cones and a sprinkle of fake snow. Keep the table cloth or a runner on your table to protect the surface.

15. Use unscented candles for a dining table, scents can be distracting while eating.

After the holidays, you'll only need to pack a few extra ornaments when you take down the tree and less to carry to storage.

As an added benefit you have a nice winter theme to look at instead of a bare room and extra time for friends, family or an after holiday sale instead.