Holiday Decor Ideas

Whether you're entertaining holiday guests or relaxing by the hearth, these decor ideas will make your home festive and beautiful.

High-Style Mantels
These inspirational ideas will help you create stylish mantel decorations with a personal touch. Best of all, you may already have everything you need!

Find new spots for favorite ornaments.
If you can't resist the beauty of glass tree-toppers, but are stumped for a way to display your collection, try the idea shown here. Nestle candlesticks among greenery, and rest an ornament or tree-topper finial on each candlestick, securing it with a little candle wax. Place additional ornaments along the mantel, and attach a rope of blown-glass ornaments at intervals with floral wire.

Mix the old with the new. Decorate around your favorite volumes. You don't have to chase everything off your mantel in order to decorate for Christmas; add greenery and fruit or ornaments for a holiday look. In this traditional setting, the old books that are permanent mantel residents nestle into garland and cuddle up with a porcelain reindeer and glass balls

Sparkling Settings
Give holiday table settings a creative and unexpected twist by putting your costume jewelry to work. Large bracelets make perfect napkin rings, and necklaces add panache to hurricane lamps. If a necklace is too short to drape around the hurricane lamp, use fine wire to extend it.

For a romantic, dressy table -- perhaps a New Year's Eve dinner for two or four -- layer on the rhinestone jewelry: Drape a silver candelabra with necklaces and earrings and scatter large rhinestones (or crafts-store look-alikes) around the table to catch the light.

Eye-Catching Candle Displays
When candles make an appearance in unexpected places, they're sure to enliven the atmosphere. Give your fireplace a new glow. If you don't need to use your fireplace to help heat your home, try filling the firebox with pillar candles of all sizes. You'll get the effect of firelight without the mess of wood ashes. Add fresh greenery and gilded leaves, but be sure to keep plant materials well away from the candles' flames. This idea is also good for older homes where the chimney has been sealed off but the hearth remains.

Reflect candlelight with sugared fruit. Old-fashioned sugared fruit stacked on tiered serving plates and paired with round beeswax candles adds up to a stunning display. Sugared fruit is for display only. To make it, brush fruit with egg white, then roll each piece in superfine sugar. This technique is best used for a special occasion -- after a couple of days, the sugar may begin to absorb moisture from the air and won't look its best.

Note: Of course, never leave burning candles unattended.

Article from Holiday Decorating Ideas on Better Homes & Gardens website, www.hbg.com