Decorate Your Home for the Holidays with Grace and Ease

By Anja Lavigne

December is a packed month of festivities. Various cultures and religions are in celebration mode. It is a time of family and close friends gathering. As we gear up to enjoy many activities we want to begin by adorning our homes.

Some families now connect to celebrate more than one tradition, culture and religion in a home. For me growing up, there were two cultures and two different religions. The food was Indian inspired and the decor was styled with a German touch.

Keep It Simple: When decorating, try not to overwhelm each space. Whatever your preference is you can opt for specific areas, or all around your home. Usually the popular ones are outdoor urn, front door, living room, dinning room.

Front Entrance: If space allows, you can have a vase with holiday greens such as pine and even add some eucalyptus for that powerful, holiday fragrance when you first walk into the home. If you want more colour you can add picks of holiday balls or red branches.

Pillows and Throws: Adding a plaid pillow, tree motif, chunky knit or faux fur (to mention a few) is a fun, easy and stylish way to create a festive feel in your living room.

Kitchen and Bathroom: Add scented holiday hand-wash soap such as Fraser fir or orange.

Trees: The selection for styled trees are in abundance, from slender, taller, full and short, as many people are living in smaller spaces. If you are thinking about putting a tree in your home, decide where your tree is going and what size suits the space well.

Decor: When taking out your holiday decor don ’t feel you need to use everything; maybe think of a theme you would like this year to be. It can be based on colours or on a style such as woodland.

Candles: They play a very important role in many of the festivals, and they bring sparkle and joy. Either battery operated, which can be placed in more places and don ’t release toxins, or real ones that bring in that warm, cozy feel.

Table tops: Whether it’ s a buffet or sit down, a centrepiece is a lovely way to add some holiday splash to your dining experience. Winter solstice is all about lights with it being celebrated on the shortest day of the year. You can begin with a runner and add some whimsicalness to your winter table by suspending pine and berry clippings in a variety of glass bottles filled with water. Place tapered candles into the bottle openings to create a serene, illuminated centrepiece.

Positive Energy: Keep your home grounded. This allows the space to swish away any negativity that can arise. Flowers and spices such as cinnamon are advantageous. You can boil or diffuse cinnamon, orange and/or cloves. Have sage and crystals such as clear quartz around to uplift the space. Make writing a letter of intention part of setting up and place the letter somewhere such as under the carpet or in the bottom of a drawer. (Eg. This holiday season I want to feel ______ in my home.)

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!