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50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

Updated October 03, 2020

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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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All the trimmings

Credit: Adam Albright

Poinsettias become real showstoppers when cut for petite displays. Place them in little glasses, but first dab away sap and burn the ends with a lighter; this keeps the water clear and makes bracts last longer (about two or three days).

To create the glasses, brush glue onto small vases or votive holders, then sprinkle with fine glitter.

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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 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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More

50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

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Tiny tannenbaums

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Pretty platter

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All the trimmings

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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