8 Christmas Living Room Decorating Ideas to Prep for the Holidays

Ready to deck the halls with boughs of holly? How about your living room?

After all, the living room is the heart of any home, even more so when Christmas is near. It’s here where families gather, exchange gifts, and entertain guests. To make the most cherished memories, the living room should reflect the festive spirit.

With the right decorations, the living area can be transformed into a warm, and welcoming space where families can spend the holiday season.

Are you looking for ideas to decorate your living room this Christmas? You’re only limited by your imagination. However, here are eight ways to decorate your living room as the holiday season approaches.

Choose a Christmas Theme

First thing’s first. Make sure your living room decor doesn’t look messy and cluttered.

Before decorating your living room for Christmas, you should start by choosing a festive theme. That way, you’ll have a cohesive decorative scheme that looks polished and intentional.

What Christmas theme should you choose? You simply cannot go wrong with traditional red and green decorations. The classic option evokes nostalgia. Choose red and green ornaments, stockings and garlands. For an added touch of glamor and luxury, substitute red and green with gold and silver.

Another popular holiday theme is a rustic woodland. Add natural elements like pinecones, branches, and burlap. Muted colors like browns, greens, and whites will help create a cozy, nature-inspired space.

You can decorate your living room for all the winter holidays by creating a winter wonderland. Focus on white and silver lights and decorations. Hang snowflake ornaments, string up silver garlands, and set out frosted decor for a bright, wintry look.

Deck the Walls and Mantel

Does your living room have a fireplace? The mantel is the focal point of many living rooms. You’ll want to decorate it thoughtfully and according to your chosen theme.

Some popular ways to decorate your mantel for the Christmas holiday include hanging garlands – real or artificial – along with stockings in coordinating colors and patterns.

Christmas artwork is another way to decorate your mantel. Swap out your everyday paintings and prints for holiday-themed artwork. You might choose framed prints of reindeer, Christmas trees, or seasonal quotes.

Regardless of your theme, your mantel won’t be complete without plenty of twinkling lights. Drape strings of lights along the mantel for a soft, magical glow. You can further boost the festive ambiance by adding candles or lanterns to either end of the mantel.

Decorate the Perfect Christmas Tree

You likely know you need a proper Christmas tree, but do you know how to create one?

The traditional Christmas tree is the living room’s centerpiece at Christmastime. Place the tree in a place where it can easily be viewed from many different angles.

Try to stick with just two or three colors within your palette so your tree isn’t too busy and distracting from the rest of your decor. Traditional color palettes – like red, green, and gold – are popular, as are more modern color combinations like white, silver, and blue.

Of course, you’ll want to put ornaments on your tree. You can add them in a way that enhances your tree. Layer ornaments for a fuller effect. Start by stringing up the lights, then add some garland or ribbon. Place your larger ornaments on inner branches to add dimension. Then place the smaller ornaments toward the edges.

It wouldn't be a Christmas tree without a proper tree topper. You can add this finishing touch in the form of a star, an angel, or a bow, among others. You can even make the tree topper a DIY project for a more personal touch.

Light Up the Room with Christmas Spirit

It’s the season of lights, so there is no better way to lift everyone’s Christmas spirit. There are so many ways you could add light to your living room. Candles are a classic holiday decoration, and they come in all sizes, shapes, and colors to coordinate with your overall theme. You could choose a safer route and use flameless LED candles that flicker and glow sans risk of fire.

Other classic Chrismtas decorations include twinkling lights that light up your living room. Strings of these can be used in a variety of creative manners. Try weaving them through garlands, in mason jars, or even hanging them off curtain rods.

If your living room has a fireplace, take advantage of its warm glow. When you light a fire during holiday gatherings – or turn on a faux fireplace – you invite the warmth of Christmas into the room. You might even highlight the fireplace with lights or greenery on the hearth.

More Ways to Decorate Your Living Room for Christmas

There are more ways to decorate for Christmas than we can possibly count – definitely more than we can add to this list! But hopefully our list will give you a head start.

A few more of the most popular ways to decorate your living room for the holiday season include:

• Add Cozy Furniture and Decor: Transform your living room by placing holiday-themed throw blankets and accent pillows throughout your living room. These can reflect your overall theme by matching colors and characters, or the pillows can feature festive phrases, santa, reindeer, snowman, etc.

• Create a Christmas Centerpiece: A centerpiece can be a fun DIY project that lets you personalize your holiday decor. You can make a simple centerpiece by arranging candles, pine cones or Christmas ornaments in a bowl. If you’re more adventurous, you can create a more complex centerpiece out of craft supplies and your chosen materials.

• Personalize DIY Holiday Decorations: Create a truly unique and personalized decorative scheme, why not create your own decorations. You can use any materials you like, but one popular idea includes personalizing ornaments by filling clear glass balls with glitter or photos. Or, if you prefer, you can create custom stockings using felt, ribbons, or embroidery to personalize them with names or initials.

• Include Complementary Sounds and Scents: For the most festive display, treat all the senses. Don’t just delight guests with what they can see. Instead, add elements of sound and scent. Play festive music and burn scented candles or wax melts scents of pine, cinnamon, and peppermint.

Transform Your Living Room Into a Cozy, Festive Space

The right Christmas decorating ideas will help you turn your living room into a cozy, festive space where you welcome your holiday guests. Just choose a theme, decorate with intention, and add some personal touches reflecting the family's traditions.

Remember, the sooner you prepare for the holidays, the more fun the season is for all. So start to plan today!

Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas?