Check out this collection of clever hints and tips that will make your holiday decorating faster, easier, greener and more fun!
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17 Handy Holiday Decorating Tips
Updated on Sep. 25, 2024
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Wreath Hanging Hack
How to hang a wreath without messing up the door? Removable plastic hooks. Use a wreath hanger, or try placing an upside-down Command hook on the interior side of your door. Loop your wreath’s ribbon or some fishing line around the hook and drape it over the front of the door.
- Green pro tip: If you use a natural wreath, compost the cones, pines, and other greens together with your holiday tree, according to green-living author and advocate Stephanie Miller. “Just be sure to remove all wires, hooks, glitter and other non-compostable decorations beforehand,” she says.
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Try Easy-Clip Tree Ornaments
Replace those pesky wire hooks that come standard on Christmas tree ornaments with plastic-coated paper clips. They’re stronger, easier to use and won’t scratch the decorations, so you can leave them attached when you pack the ornaments away at the end of each season. The larger ones are easiest to use, but in some places, you might want smaller ones, too, which look more discrete.
Don’t want to deal with a traditional Christmas tree this year? Check out these ingenious Christmas tree alternatives.
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Use a Light Tester to Check Holiday Lights
Burned-out holiday lights, even the cheap kind, are often fixable with a small investment of time and money. A tester and repair tool can help you find the problem quickly without checking every bulb. Here’s more about how to fix your Christmas lights.
- Bonus holiday tip: If you don’t want to spend your weekend hanging strings of light bulbs, consider a Christmas light projector that’s quick and easy to install.
Also, don’t forget to explore ways to decorate your fireplace for Christmas.
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Try Clothespins for Holiday Light Hangers
Ditch the nails for hanging holiday lights outside and try using clothespins instead. It’ll save putting holes in your aluminum soffits and fascia, and it’s easier on your hands, too. Just clip the wires to the bottom lip. The only drawback is that it might not work well in windy places, or those with heavy snow loads or particularly curious squirrels.
- Safety tip: More than 164,000 people are injured on ladders each year, and most ladder deaths are from falls of 10 feet or less, so adhere to these expert ladder safety tips while hanging your lights.
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Stow It Away, Kindly
Your next year’s self will thank you if you spend a little time properly packing all of your decorations and lights. For lights, try coiling them around a five-gallon bucket to keep the proverbial rat’s nest at bay. As for extension cords, coil them around the inside of the bucket. You can then pack fragile decorations in the middle. Don’t forget to label your other holiday decoration boxes well, too.
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Multitask The String Lights
You don’t have to put your holiday lights in deep storage. Instead, use them to add cheer all year. We even keep some permanently set up in our camper van and bedroom.
“Use them to bring in the New Year in style,” says Bree Steele, an interior designer at RJ Living. “On Halloween you can also put them in a pumpkin patch to make your house look prettier for trick-or-treaters.”
- Green pro tip: Once your lights are beyond repair, dispose of them responsibly. Many hardware or big-box building centers accept them for recycling at certain times of year, says Miller.
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Zip-Tie Your Decorations
Zip-ties are a simple way to string holiday lights on banisters and fences without marring the surface.
“Garlands on a railing, large ornaments or tree toppers to the tree, wreaths on the back of chairs, a zip -tie is your best friend,” says Emily Piepenbrink, founder of Merrie Company. “They’re easier and faster to use than floral wire and removing them just takes a quick snip.”
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Handy Light Hanging Hack
If your home has gutters, you can hang lights from them without leaving the ground. All you need are an eight-foot 1×2 board, a strong magnet, some galvanized steel plumber’s hanger straps and a pair of work gloves to prevent splinters. Cut the hanger strap into seven-inch sections, bend the sections into hooks, and attach the hooks to the string of lights every five feet or so. Here’s how to make this light hanger.
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Easy Outdoor Light Control
The glow of outdoor holiday lights is cheerful, but going out in the cold to plug them in and unplug them is a pain. Fix that hassle by using an outdoor remote control switch. Just plug it into any outdoor outlet and use the small transmitter to control it. You can even use it from your car, to magically light up your life the moment you arrive home.
Also, check out front porch Christmas decor ideas to beautify the outside of your house for the festive season.
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Use Wax Paper With Garlands
Adding garlands to your bannisters is a delightful way to deck your halls, but you’ve got to be careful not to let the wire underside scratch your beautiful wooden handrails. Piepenbrink’s favorite hack for keeping them scratch free: Lay small squares of wax paper between the wired garland and your bannister.
“You’ll be able to hide the sheets with the garland, but they’ll provide a barrier to protect your wood from scratches,” she says.
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Use Painters Tape for Hanging Decorations
Most adhesives, even temporary sticky clips, can harm wood and other surfaces. But at least for hanging lightweight decorations, you can use the mildest of tapes: painter’s tape, says Piepenbrink.
“I added these handmade foam snowflakes to my bookshelf last year and used painter’s tape to keep them upright,” she says. “The great part about painter’s tape is that you can paint the non-sticky side; you’re able to completely disguise it!”
Here’s also how hanging holiday decor on stucco can be much easier.
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Use Dryer Sheets for Surface Protection
For any heavy, metal or rough decor items that are part of your holiday display, you can use dryer sheets to protect whatever surface they’ll be sitting on or affixed to, says Piepenbrink.
“Adhere a dryer sheet to the back or bottom of anything that you don’t want to scratch your home decor,” she says. “Use a glue stick or sticky tack to attach the dryer sheet, and then cut off the excess.”
- Safety pro-tip: Dryer sheets are flammable, so don’t use them near a flame or heat.
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Use Everyday Items for Decoration
Just because it’s a holiday doesn’t mean you need to spend heaps of money on new decorations. “You can use everyday things in your home if you get creative!” says Steele. “This will lessen your consumerism and also the number of decorations you need to hold onto for the next holiday season.”
One example from Steele is to fill champagne glasses with confetti for New Year’s Eve. In my family, we even go so far as to use our old ficus tree as our Christmas tree, adding ornaments, lights and all.
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Use Nature As a Decoration
Speaking of plants, you can turn to the natural world for a wealth of free, eco-friendly decorations. “Natural elements like pinecones, acorns and dried leaves make great decor for things like centerpieces at the dining table,” says Steele. “For Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, arrange them in a shallow bowl in the center of your table, and even spray paint them in the colors of the season, to create a seasonal, homemade and easy decoration.”
- A bonus: studies show that nature also makes us feel more relaxed, and we could all use a does of that during the holidays!
Also, check out how to decorate the house with a tree stump.
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Try Alternative Wrapping Papers
Americans generate an extra five million tons of waste during the holidays. One way to cut back on that is to use reusable gift bags or natural cloths. You can even cut up that worn-out T-shirt for the job, instead of sending it to the landfill.
“Choose paper bags without metallic embellishments, which can be recycled,” says Miller. “And, if you are feeling more creative, use ribbon made from natural fibers. Adding some natural sprigs or dried orange slices makes the package even more festive.”
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Go Green With Entertaining
It’s fun to serve up cookies on holiday-themed paper plates, but it’s more affordable and easier on nature if you use your own plates, silverware, cups and cloth napkins. Yes, the clean up will take a bit longer, but you won’t feel guilty about those extra post-party bags of trash.
“Often, friends will help with clean-up, which becomes part of the fun,” says Miller. “But if this feels like too much, you can mix reusables with single use. Saving some waste is better than nothing.”
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Break With Tradition
If being kinder to our planet is on your wish list, a powerful way to accomplish that is by changing your gift-giving traditions (since new items have negative impacts from mining the raw materials to manufacturing, transportation and, eventually, the landfill where they end up).
Miller’s family recently switched to a Secret Santa tradition, which means the whole family gives just 11 gifts total instead of more than 100. My family mostly skips holiday gifts and instead gives them when we happen across something we know a loved one would really use. That way, we’re not buying something sub-par just for the sake of having gifts under the tree.
About the Experts
- Emily Piepenbrink is an artist, designer and Christmas enthusiast. Her brand, Merrie Company, is devoted to colorful Christmas decor, original Christmas tree ideas and easy holiday DIYs.
- Bree Steele is an interior designer at RJ Living, a leading Australian interiors brand. She’s been in the industry for over a decade and styled more than 100 homes.
- Stephanie Miller is the author of Zero Waste Living, the 80/20 Way and founder of Zero Waste in DC. She reaches a wide audience through keynote presentations, learning events and household consultations.
