50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

Give your home holiday style in a flash with these simple yet creative decorating projects.

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Tiny tannenbaums

Clipped greens (in floral foam) displayed in egg cups make a mini forest when grouped on a silver tray. A strand of starry lights adds sparkle.

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Pretty platter

For an easy DIY tablescape, decorate a serving tray with silver ornaments. Tuck in boughs of evergreen for a simple yet elegant centerpiece.

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No-fuss festivity

Sprigs of evergreens fill a collection of plain glass vases for clearly inspired decor.

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Winter wonderland

For custom-colored bottlebrush trees, use fabric dye such as Rit or diluted stamping inks, which come in dozens of colors at crafts stores. Dip to dye.

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Branch out

Need something above your buffet? Hang Christmas cards, embellished tags and ornaments from a single evergreen branch tacked to the wall.

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Snow days

Like snow globes, apothecary jars hold tiny winter wonderlands. Stand bottlebrush trees and toy deer spray-painted gold in Epsom salts "snow."

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Fragrant decor

For a fragrant chair-back decoration, bundle bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and marjoram with twine. Bouquets can be made several days in advance, then refrigerated. Once dry, use them for cooking!

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Cozy containers

Everyday decor turns holiday-worthy when wrapped in knits. Cut off the end of a thrift-store sweater arm to a length that will fit your container, plus about two inches. Fold the edge under and fasten with hot glue. Glue on miniature jingle bells for extra embellishment.

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Go step-by-step

Spell out holiday greetings on tree containers that climb the stairs. We made paper letter ornaments for white ironstone pitchers and pots and planted a lacy Goldcrest cypress tree in each.

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Showcase glass and glitz

Pull glassware out of the cabinets and onto a mantel for a last-minute arrangement. Let curled ribbon drape out of a champagne flute. Place one ornament in a martini glass. Stack mini ornaments in a beer glass. Or create a "flower" in a clay pot with a wine glass and ornaments. Put a votive holder upside down inside the pot as a base for the glass. Secure the glass to the top of the holder with double-sided tape. Crumple tissue paper around the base of the glass, and fill with mini ornaments.

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Decorate an entry table

Ice skates with red pompoms made an easy entry table arrangement, while an apothecary jar filled with twigs adds an unexpected accent. A mix of faux and real evergreens brings holiday spirit throughout the area.

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Play with paper

Turn holiday-theme scrapbooking papers into an inexpensive tabletop display. Cut and fold papers to create simple cone "trees" of different sizes. Secure seams with double-sided tape.

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Light bright

Wrap string lights around a metal wreath form to create a twinkling wall accent. Crafts stores sell affordable forms in a variety of shapes and sizes.

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Serve up a centerpiece

To make a showy centerpiece, place solid-color ball ornaments inside a clear-glass vase and "serve" on a silver tray. Sprinkle faux snow (or coconut) over the display, and wrap it up with matching ribbon.

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Label maker

Charm party guests with customized drink markers. Simply draw characters-a friend, family member or pop culture icon, perhaps-with paint pens on each clothespin.Add facial and clothing details with a fine-point marker. Leave the clothespin legs unpainted to avoid paint touching the beverage.

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Ornament plain frames

Make a basic white frame a pretty focal point by hanging an ornament from the hanger in back. For a pretty arrangement above a buffet or mantel, flank the framed ornament with framed holiday wrapping papers. To ensure a perfect fit, wrap the cardboard that comes with the frame.

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Create a scene

Make a charming winter scene inside a glass bowl using faux snow, spruce or fir spigs, and props such as artificial birds and a nest (from crafts stores), along with mini ornaments.

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Make candlestick cones

Top silver candlesticks with silvery painted pinecones for a glittering display. Group several on a tray, and add some blue or silver ornaments for even more impact.To paint pinecones, apply several thin coats of metallic silver spray paint.

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Triple trees

Bring a little winter wonderland to your house with this white window box. Create the look by placing three small faux Christmas trees in a metal trough planter and decorating the planter with snowflakes. Place on a wooden bench or other high surface to raise it off the ground or floor.

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Hung with care

For a dazzling effect, hang single-color ornaments tied with ribbon from a window near your table. Improvise a tiered cakestand by placing an urn or vase upside down on a large plate and setting a smaller plate on the top.

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Give rooms "gifts"

Tie wide ribbons around solid-color pillows as if they're presents going under the tree. Place on chairs, sofas or beds for an instant spot of holiday color.

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Advent art

A homemade Advent calendar doubles as wall art. Containers filled with small trinkets hang with bakers twine from a birch branch. Include a few ornaments that can be moved to the tree when it's time.

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String me along

Handmade decorations afford a satisfying sense of creating your own style. To make tassels as shown, wrap yarn around an index card about 70 times. Snake a length of yarn between the card and the wrapped yarn, and tie it off. Slip the yarn off the cardboard and snip in half. Tie a second bit of yarn about 1 inch from the top to form a ball at the top. Idea by Illinois designer Jennifer Rizzo.

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Bedeck worn-out boots

Have a pair of boots you won't wear this winter? Dress them up with twigs, greens and ribbon for a welcoming display. To protect boots, line with plastic bags. Add weight with rocks to keep the boots from tipping. Insert twigs and small evergreen branches. Tie a bow around each boot, and drape an evergreen sprig down one side.

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Holiday kitchen

Michigan decorator Kelly Rinzema adds sweet festive touches to her sparkling white kitchen for the holidays: A wreath, copper cups with candy canes, a bowl full of red ornaments and a tea towel framed with stapled-together scrap wood.

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Tie twigs

A bundle of brown twigs makes a great hanging decoration to put on a door or above a mantel. To secure, wrap a wide rubber band around twig ends. Tuck one branch of greens, such as eucalyptus, inside the rubber band for color. Cover the rubber band with a ribbon.

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Set an effortless table

A set of kitchen canisters -- filled with crinkled newspaper, topped with moss and set amid scattered apples -- forms a simple centerpiece. Perched atop glasses, store-bought felt polka-dot ornaments with name tags attached act as place cards and make fun take-home favors for guests.

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Make organic art

Switch out art in existing frames, or buy inexpensive shadow boxes and/or frames with mats. Cut new backgrounds out of burlap or colored paper, then use hot glue to mount twigs or varied evergreen sprigs for art naturally themed to the season.

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Pretty perspective

Dressing up the kitchen window makes kitchen duties happy during busy holidays. Hang strands of beads, berries or ornaments on hooks, then create a winterscape using greens and household items. (Don't overlook the kids' toy box for inspiration.) Tip: Small cypress pine topiaries are a steal-just $5 at the grocery store. Idea by Illinois designer Jennifer Rizzo, author of Creatively Christmas.

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Display your favorites

Turn a shallow basket or tray into a fun arrangement for your dining or coffee table. We arranged rows of feathery moss, smooth stones, green apples and spiky pinecones, but use what's easily available to you: other fruits or vegetables, ornaments or bits of nature.

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Create an easy entry

Clothespins hold holiday cards on burlap ribbon tacked to the back of a mirror frame. Old wood rice scoops act as vases for unusual arrangements of stones and cut evergreen branches. Display a cut tree in a basket. We wrapped its trunk with yarn for a spot of color.

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Do linen tricks

Temporarily transform your bed. We layered holiday-theme hand towels on our headboard. Red-striped napkins and place mats work as "covers" for pillows. Attach with safety pins or basting stitches to remove later.

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Air plant ornaments

Air plants function as living ornaments. For a garland-like effect, spray-paint tree lights' cords a bright hue (remove bulbs and stuff sockets with cotton).

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Picture this

Decorate your walls with this no-water Christmas tree. Make a tree by forming a large triangle from 16-gauge wire and cutting progressively smaller pieces and twisting the ends to create branches. Hang the tree from an old picture frame and attach a decorative bow if desired. Add ornaments using small S-hooks.

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Second time around

Maria Marcusse deftly uses old things in new ways. When a strand of vintage mercury glass garland broke, she hot-glued the beads to her vintage bottlebrush trees nested in mustard pots (teacups work, too).

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Create a better buffet

Who says lanterns have to hold candles? Filled with apples and cherries, ours "light up" this buffet with red-and-green holiday style. A red table scarf, cut from $1-a-yard burlap, amps up the color. (Pull threads to finish the edges with a fringe.) Our three "trees" are evergreen branches set in wet florist foam in clay pots. (We hid the foam tops with dried moss.) A vintage window stands in as a message board. We spelled out holiday sentiments with stick-on letters.

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Eye candy

Filled with peppermint candies, inexpensive glasses make quick centerpieces, decorations or party favors. Tie a coordinating ribbon around the stems for an added festive touch.

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50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

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Tiny tannenbaums

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Pretty platter

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No-fuss festivity

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Winter wonderland

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Branch out

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Snow days

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Fragrant decor

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Cozy containers

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Go step-by-step

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Showcase glass and glitz

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Decorate an entry table

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Play with paper

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Light bright

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Serve up a centerpiece

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Label maker

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Ornament plain frames

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Create a scene

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Make candlestick cones

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Triple trees

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Hung with care

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Give rooms "gifts"

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Advent art

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String me along

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Bedeck worn-out boots

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Holiday kitchen

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Tie twigs