This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you decide to click that link and make a purchase. For more information please refer to the Terms & Conditions.
Christmas decorations don’t have to look the same every year.
I love the idea of mixing old decorations with a few new touches to create a home that feels festive and personal.
You can give your holiday decor a fresh look without spending too much.
Try using things you already have at home.
Add a few thrift store finds, natural greenery, or simple handmade touches to make your decorations feel a little different.
Below, you’ll find 13 unique Christmas decorations to inspire your holiday decorating.
These ideas will help you create a cozy, festive home with plenty of personality, without relying on the usual store-bought look.
1. Dried Citrus and Cinnamon Stick Garlands
Making your own garlands is one of the easiest ways to add handmade Christmas decor to your living room. You start with regular navel oranges. Slice them about a quarter-inch thick and lay them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the slices at 120°C (250°F) for about three hours, flipping them halfway through so they dry evenly. Once the orange slices cool, they feel like stiff cardboard and smell amazing.
Next, grab a spool of thick baker’s twine and a large needle. A large tapestry needle works best to pull the thick string through the fruit. Thread the twine through the center of an orange slice, then tie a cinnamon stick to the string right next to it. Alternate the oranges and the cinnamon sticks until the garland is long enough to drape across your mantel or over a doorway.
This project costs almost nothing, but it looks incredibly charming. The deep orange color stands out against green pine branches, and the cinnamon scent lasts for weeks. When the season is over, you can just throw the garland in the compost bin.
2. Velvet Ribbon Tied on Everyday Wall Sconces
You do not need to buy entirely new items to make a room feel festive. Sometimes, the best approach is dressing up the things you already own. I like to buy spools of wide velvet ribbon in dark red, forest green, or mustard yellow. I cut long strips and tie a simple bow around the base of my everyday wall sconces. You can cut the ends of the ribbon at a sharp angle to keep the fabric from fraying.
The trick is to leave the tails of the ribbon long. Let them hang down a foot or more below the light fixture. The soft velvet texture immediately makes a plain metal sconce look like it belongs in a holiday movie. You can do this on dining room chandeliers, table lamps, or even the handles of a tall cabinet.
Velvet ribbon is cheap, easy to store, and takes five minutes to put up. When January rolls around, you just untie the bows, roll the ribbon back onto the spool, and put it in a drawer for next year.
3. A Vintage Ladder Wrapped in Twinkle Lights
If you have an empty corner in your living room, a wooden ladder makes a great focal point. I found an old, paint-splattered wooden stepladder at a flea market for a few dollars. I leaned it against the wall and wrapped it tightly with a long strand of warm white twinkle lights. Make sure the base is pulled out far enough from the wall so it stays completely stable.
This is one of my favorite unusual Christmas decorations because it adds height to the room without taking up much floor space. You want to hide the green or white wire of the lights, so wrap the strand closely around the side rails and the rungs.
Once the ladder is lit, you can use the rungs to display other things. I like to hang a few glass ornaments from the steps using small pieces of string. You can also drape a plaid wool blanket over the bottom rung. It creates a cozy corner that glows beautifully at night.
4. Foraged Pine Branch Chandeliers
Bringing branches in from the yard is a completely free way to decorate. I go outside with a pair of pruning shears and cut a few small pine branches. Then, I bring them inside and attach them to the arms of my dining room chandelier. You can also weave a longer branch up the center chain if your fixture has one.
You can use thin green floral wire to wrap the stems of the pine branches directly onto the metal arms of the light fixture. Just make sure the pine needles stay clear of the actual light bulbs to avoid any fire risk. The green wire blends right in, so the branches look like they are growing out of the chandelier.
This simple trick brings the smell of fresh pine right to the center of your dining table. If you are looking for more christmas decoration ideas, adding natural elements to your existing light fixtures is a great place to start. The branches will dry out over a few weeks, but they usually hold their shape nicely until the holidays are over.
5. Asymmetrical Mantel Cascades
Most people drape a garland evenly across the top of their fireplace mantel. If you want creative Christmas decor, try making it asymmetrical instead. You pile the garland heavily on one side of the mantel and let it spill all the way down to the floor.
To do this, you need a few heavy-duty command hooks. Use the clear plastic hooks so they blend in with the wood or stone. Stick them to the top of the mantel to anchor the garland. Start with a cheap artificial garland as your base, then tuck real pine branches into the wire frame to make it look thick and full. Focus most of the branches on the left side, letting the right side stay bare.
When the garland reaches the floor, let it pool slightly on the hearth. You can tuck a few pinecones or brass bells into the thickest part of the branches. The uneven shape catches the eye immediately and makes the fireplace look much more interesting than a standard symmetrical drape.
6. Glass Jars Filled with Vintage Ornaments
Vintage glass ornaments are beautiful, but they are also incredibly fragile. Hanging them on a tree where a dog or a child might bump them can be risky. Instead, I like to display them safely inside large, clear glass jars. Wash and dry the glass thoroughly before you start so the ornaments really shine.
You can use a big glass canister from the kitchen or a tall glass vase. Carefully stack the ornaments inside, mixing different colors and sizes. I usually put the largest ornaments at the bottom and fill the gaps with smaller ones. You can find beautiful, faded glass ornaments at antique stores or thrift shops for very little money.
These jars make wonderful original Christmas decorations. You can set a jar in the middle of your kitchen island, on a bookshelf, or on the entryway table. The glass jar protects the fragile ornaments from breaking, but you still get to see their faded colors and chipped silver paint every time you walk by.
7. Kraft Paper and Twine Wrapped Faux Presents
You do not have to wait until you finish your shopping to have presents under the tree. I save empty cardboard shipping boxes in November and wrap them to use as decorations. I use plain brown kraft paper because it is thick, cheap, and looks great in any room. Run your thumb along the edges of the boxes to make the paper creases sharp and crisp.
Once the empty box is wrapped in brown paper, I tie it up with red and white baker’s twine. I wrap the twine around the box twice and tie a neat bow on top. Sometimes I slide a small sprig of green pine under the string for a little extra color.
You can stack three or four of these empty boxes on the floor next to a side table, at the bottom of the stairs, or under the tree. They add a festive feeling to empty corners of the house. Plus, because the boxes are empty, they are incredibly light and easy to move out of the way when you need to vacuum.
8. Miniature Wreaths Hung on Kitchen Cabinets
The kitchen is often left out when people decorate for the holidays, but it is actually the easiest room to dress up. I buy small, six-inch artificial wreaths and hang one on the front of every upper cabinet door. A one-inch ribbon is usually thin enough that the cabinet door will still close tightly.
To hang them without damaging the wood, I use a long piece of ribbon. I loop the ribbon through the center of the wreath, pull the two ends over the top edge of the cabinet door, and tape them to the inside of the door with heavy packing tape. When you close the cabinet, the tape is completely hidden, and the wreath hangs perfectly on the front.
This is a classic trick for christmas kitchen decor. It takes about twenty minutes to do the whole kitchen, and it instantly makes the room feel ready for the holidays. I leave the wreaths plain, but you could easily tie a small red bow to the bottom of each one.
9. A Hot Cocoa Station in a Tiered Tray
Setting up a dedicated spot for hot chocolate makes the kitchen feel welcoming. I use a two-tiered wooden tray on the kitchen counter to hold all the supplies. This keeps everything contained in one spot instead of spreading out over the counters. Push the tray back against the wall so you still have plenty of room to chop vegetables.
On the bottom tier, I stack four heavy ceramic mugs next to a glass jar full of cocoa powder. On the top tier, I put a smaller jar of mini marshmallows and a cup holding peppermint sticks. Keeping the cocoa powder in a glass jar with a tight lid is important.
Having the mugs and the cocoa out in the open encourages people to actually use them. It looks incredibly festive, and it makes making a warm drink on a cold afternoon incredibly easy.
10. Potted Amaryllis in Tarnished Silver Urns
Red poinsettias are everywhere in December, but I prefer the look of a tall amaryllis. They are striking, and watching the bulb grow a few inches every week is a lot of fun. To make them stand out, I plant the bulbs in old, tarnished silver urns or ice buckets.
You can find silver-plated bowls and buckets at almost any thrift store for a few dollars. I do not polish them. The dark tarnish looks beautiful next to the bright green stem of the flower. Just put a layer of small rocks at the bottom of the silver bowl for drainage, add some potting soil, and plant the bulb halfway deep. Water the soil lightly once a week, being careful not to soak the bulb itself.
These potted bulbs make fantastic different Christmas decorations. You can line three of them up down the center of your dining table, or keep just one on the coffee table. When the massive red or white flowers finally open, they steal the show.
11. Floating Paper Snowflakes in the Hallway
Hallways are notoriously hard to decorate because there is no floor space for furniture or trees. My favorite solution is to hang paper snowflakes from the ceiling. You can buy large, three-dimensional paper snowflakes that fold out like accordions.
I use clear fishing line to hang them so the string is invisible. I stick small, clear command hooks to the ceiling, tie a loop in the fishing line, and hang the snowflakes at different heights. Tie a double knot around the hook so the line does not slip. Staggering the heights makes the hallway look full and interesting.
Walking down a hallway filled with floating white stars is a great example of unique holiday decor. The paper snowflakes are incredibly light, so they spin slowly when the heater kicks on or someone walks past. When the season ends, they fold flat and take up almost no space in a storage bin.
12. A Book Page Table Runner
If you need a quick centerpiece for a holiday dinner, an old book is all you need. I look for damaged books at library sales—the ones with broken spines and yellowed pages that cannot be read anymore. I carefully tear the pages out and use them to make a paper table runner.
You just lay the pages flat on the dining table, overlapping the edges slightly so no wood shows through. I use a tiny piece of double-sided tape between the pages to keep them from sliding around. Press the tape down firmly so the edges of the paper do not curl up. You can make the runner as wide or as long as you need.
Once the pages are down, I line the center of the paper runner with small glass votive candles and a few sprigs of green pine. The black text on the yellowed paper looks beautiful under the warm candlelight. It is a completely free decoration that you can just recycle when the dinner party is over.
13. Taper Candles in Mismatched Brass Holders
Lighting changes the mood of a room faster than anything else. Instead of relying on overhead lights, I collect brass candlestick holders all year long. I look for different heights and shapes at yard sales and thrift stores. You can put a small clear glass plate under the holders to catch any dripping wax.
For the holidays, I group seven or eight of these mismatched brass holders together on the mantel or the dining table. I put tall white or dark green taper candles in them. You do not need to worry about the brass matching perfectly. The mix of shiny brass and dull, tarnished brass is what makes the grouping look interesting.
Lighting a cluster of taper candles makes the whole room feel warm and inviting. It is a simple, old-fashioned way to decorate that never goes out of style. You can leave the brass out all winter long, long after the tree comes down.
Finding ways to decorate that feel personal makes the whole month of December more enjoyable. I used to stress about making my house look like a department store window, but letting go of that pressure changed everything. Using things like dried oranges, old books, and thrifted brass actually makes the house feel more like a home.
You do not need to spend a lot of money or buy completely new things to make your rooms look festive. Start with one small project, like tying a ribbon on a lamp or hanging a paper snowflake, and see how it feels. I would love to hear what you are trying this year, so leave a comment below and tell me what you are working on.
