As the time approaches for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and many other winter festivities, choosing to decorate one’s house to celebrate the season is a great decision. Here are a few tips to make sure houses look as festive as their owners feel.
Tip 1: LIGHT IT UP
Since winter is the season of lights, decorating with them is an easy way to brighten any home. String lights can be hung from mailboxes or over doorways to light up the home’s entrance. Testing out string lights in different colors can also add to the fun. For Christmas, colors like green and red can help spread holiday cheer. To be more inclusive, including a variety of colors can help represent multiple winter holidays. Either way, with string lights up, it’s hard to go wrong.
Tip 2: ADD WINDOW GELS
A fun way to involve younger children in holiday decorating is with window stickers. These are gel-like molds designed to stick to glass windows so both people outside and inside the house can view the message or image. They include letters to spell out phrases of holiday cheer and shapes to create images. They only stick to glass surfaces, so there’s no mess or residue to worry about, making them an easy and creative addition to any window.
Tip 3: ADD INFLATABLE CHARACTERS
While it may seem a little over the top, convincing parents to invest in an inflatable character can add the ultimate touch to a festive house. Inflatable decorations range in price from $50 to more than $100. The bonus, however, is that like string lights, they are reusable and durable, allowing houses to dominate the decorating game year after year.
Tip 4: CRAFT PAPER CHAINS
If spending hundreds of dollars on store-bought decorations doesn’t feel right, making paper chains to hang up is definitely a fun activity to keep homes from looking bare this winter. Whether it’s making a simple paper chain or getting more creative by cutting out snowflakes, hanging paper decorations can elevate a house’s festive exterior while keeping it budget-friendly.
Tip 5: TO WREATH OR NOT TO WREATH
Choosing whether to add a green circle of ferns and little red berries can be a decision many spend lots of time pondering when decorating for the holiday season. Adding a simple wreath can make a home seem more welcoming and in tune with nature and the holiday spirit. If the first thing you see before knocking on a door is festive cheer, then the home has already accomplished its goal of celebrating winter with its community.
Deciding to decorate a house can be a tedious task, but gathering friends and family to help can make the decorating process more meaningful than the decorations themselves. Happy winter holidays, Giants and good luck decorating houses!
