Decorating for the holidays can feel like a daunting task, especially with so many options. Luckily, our editors have plenty of experience decorating Christmas trees, mantels, and porches for the holiday season. After years of perfecting holiday scenes for photo shoots and decking the halls of our own homes, we've picked up a few Christmas decorating hacks.
From budget-friendly decor ideas to the best ornament organizers for easy cleanup, these are the products our editors are actually using to decorate for the season. Here are our best ideas for Christmas trees, cookie tins, and ornaments.
COURTESY OF AMAZON
Ornament Organizer
"This ornament organizer makes decorating the tree (and putting it away) so much easier. It comes with eight removable trays, so you can easily keep like ornaments together. If you're like me and decorate more than one tree each year, it's easy to keep all the ornaments for my mini tree in one tray, so I can just grab it and decorate. This organizer has individual spaces for 128 ornaments, but I've actually been able to store way more by grouping small ornaments together in one slot. I even have room for other decor too: I keep small bottle brush trees on the bottom layer of the organizer."
— Emily VanSchmus, Home Editor
Keepsake Metal Tins
"Those decorative holiday metal tins are affordable, functional, and becomes an easy decoration. Baked goods are on display on my kitchen island. Loose tea is kept on the tea bar. Tape and scissors for my wrapping station. I also repurposed a popcorn tin (the ones we all get with the cheese and caramel popcorn) to store my holiday cookie cutters. And if you end up with too many, pop some treats in there and give them away as gifts."
— Katlyn Moncada, Food Editor
COURTESY OF TARGET
Pencil Christmas Trees
"I love the pencil Christmas tree trend for several reasons: 1. Smaller trees are ideal for small spaces and apartments (not to mention, kinder to your storage space), 2. If you have cats that love climbing Christmas trees, these create a bit of a deterrent—they're not as big or lush for kitties to really get up into, 3. You can group multiples in different heights and colors for cool decor corners, and 4. Who doesn't love mini versions of everything?"
— Emily Manchester, VP and General Manager
DIY Kitchen Cupboard Gifts
"I wrap my kitchen cabinets with thick ribbon and add a big bow in the center so the they look like giant wrapped gifts. If you really wanted to go big, you could also first wrap with wrapping paper. It's an inexpensive project with big impact."
— Sheena Chihak, Associate Editorial Director
COURTESY OF TULIP WORLD
Waxed Amaryllis
"This is the most fuss-free way to enjoy big, beautiful amaryllis flowers. The wax holds in enough moisture so you can place these bulbs anywhere you need a spash of festive color and they'll just do their thing without you having to mess with soil or watering. You even can choose from different colors and patterns of wax to match your decor."
— Viveka Neveln, Senior Garden Editor
Honeycomb Decorations
"For major impact on the cheap, you can't beat old-fashioned honeycomb decorations. I buy red ones in a bunch of sizes and hang them on my stair rail, mantle, and tree. Major wow, minimum spend."
— Amy Panos, Home Editor
COURTESY OF MICHAELS
Flameless Candles
"I love a good scented candle—especially during the holidays—but I've recently started decorating with flameless candles and I'm hooked. I love that I can display them anywhere, rather than having to watch my real candle while it burns—and I don't worry about my cat knocking these over. They give every room such cozy feel and perfectly complement the twinkle lights on my tree. "
— Emily VanSchmus, Home Editor
Mini Ornaments
"They're easy to get anywhere and not exactly flashy or unique, but mini ornament bulbs are my go-to decorating tools for my small city apartment. I can nestle one or two pretty much anywhere for a little holiday shine with minimal effort or space, and they're little pockets of holiday joy throughout the season."
— Lauren Phillips, Associate Director, Special Projects