Elegant Christmas Decorating Ideas

Glass decorative bowl filled with gold and red Christmas tree ornaments.

These elegant Christmas decorating ideas will bring festive joy to your home this holiday season without depleting Santa's budget.

Elegance - with a 3-year-old? Yeah, right. And let me call in my uniformed nanny - it's the butler's day off. Seriously, though - festive holiday decor can be as simple as accessorizing with a few luxurious fabrics.

Think velvet pillows, slipcovers, cozy faux fur throws, or beaded organza table runners in brilliant seasonal jewel colors. These elegant Christmas decorating ideas will get you started.

Elegant Christmas Decorating Ideas

Woman prepares to decorate a Christmas tree.

To make room for these elegant Christmas decorating ideas, pack up some of your usual decor and put it away until January. This is Christmas!

Enjoy the clean look for a festive change if you don't have many Christmas decorations.

In the dining room, add a sparkly table runner or a crystal bowl filled with glittery fruits or holiday ornaments to your Christmas table.

Alternatively, deck the table with numerous candles of the same color but varying widths and heights. Corral them on a sterling silver tray. Bring out your traditional Christmas decorations and blend them into your new design.

You can also make Christmas ornaments to add to your family's collection.

Elegant Christmas Decorating Ideas: Lighten Up Everywhere

A clear glass bowl filled with colorful ornaments adds an elegant touch.

String tiny white lights throughout your home's living areas as part of your Christmas decorations. That way, the whole house will twinkle at night with the classic warmth of the holidays.

String lights to frame windows, over tall houseplants, along doorways, and around bookcases. Dim your regular lights and enjoy it.

Focus on a Single Theme

Focus on a single theme. Don't mix funky Frosty the Snowman Christmas decorations with elegant Father's Christmases, no matter how tempting it may be to use all your favorite decorations.

Instead, choose one or the other as the theme for your Christmas decor this season. At the very least, keep the themes uniform in each room.

For example, if you have both types of decorations, you could do a fun Santa theme in the family room and a more formal, sophisticated theme in the living room.

Group Christmas Collections Together

Collectibles, such as your favorite wooden nutcrackers or china Santas, are always more visually striking when grouped together instead of scattered about the room.

Go Wild with Ribbon

Stairway banister wrapped in holiday greenery.

Greenery is so messy. Consider making garlands of Christmas ribbons instead. They'll stay fresh throughout the season and be significantly less expensive. Use wired ribbon for the best results.

They'll stay fresh throughout the season and be significantly less expensive. Use the wired kind of ribbon for the best results.

Loosely twist two colors around a strand of twinkling white lights. Or, drape the ribbon duo down a banister or across a mantel.

Think - and Decorate - Vertically

Decorate with Christmas greenery and plants for an elegant touch.

Think - and decorate - vertically. Don't just decorate your Christmas table and mantels: Hang ornaments and decorations from tall house plants, chandeliers, even mirrors, and plants.

If you have ornaments too delicate or precious to risk, display them on a high shelf.

Go beyond one Christmas tree. Consider placing several small Christmas trees in the family room or one in each of the kids' bedrooms, and let them decorate them however they want.