How to Decorate the Mantle For Christmas

Christmas is the time for celebration. Some of the most fun ways that we all come together for celebrating is looking at the holiday decorations that flank neighboring houses--on the inside and the outside. How you decorate your mantle can set the tone for the holiday season of your entire house and can inspire your family's Christmas spirit daily.

Instructions

1. Place all the Christmas cards you receive on the mantle. Some save cards from years' past to add alongside new ones received daily. That's one way to fill the mantle before the cards start pouring in for the year. You can do this even before Thanksgiving to set the holiday spirit in motion for that first gathering of the season.

2. Line the mantle with holly leave and berries or garland. If you want an old-fashioned look for the mantle, consider stringing popcorn. If your year has brought along a new little one, consider stringing pink or blue loop cereals for a double Christmas and newborn celebration. You can surround the rectangle of your mantle, and you can also tack the string at each end of the mantle to have a hanging decoration as well.

3. Put your family on the mantle. Switch out the normal mantle photographs with some holiday photographs in paper Christmas frames. Go through the years of your children, or perhaps the Christmases of the childhoods of you and your husband.

4. Pick a theme for your Christmas mantle. You could go kitsch and put old sentimental Christmas things like Coca Cola tins and old advertisement tins with Santa's image. You could go for elegant, and choose white or beige ribbons unraveling gently around a sophisticated framed display of photographs. You could even go for the cheesy look, and place Christmas stills from your favorite holiday flicks. Go with what feels right for you and your family.

5. Place scented candles on the mantle. This will fill the house with festive smells, even if you choose to get all your holiday meals as take out. You'll get the perks of no dishes with the positive of all the same smells in candle form. Just make sure to put the candles in a Christmas holder if they aren't prepackaged in holiday themed holders.

6. Frame some Christmas drawings that your children do for display on the mantle at Christmas. You can even turn this into a fun event for them.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't try to fit too much onto the mantle. If you have more decor than the mantle can handle, simply expand your decorations. Try placing stuff on the stereo or side tables that call upon the holiday theme as well!