Unusual Ways to Make Your Home Feel More Festive this Holiday Season

“Holiday—a restoring thing, which, by blast of magic turns man into himself.” –G.K. Chesterton

It has been said that the holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out better ways to make life better for those around us. As the year draws to a close, each and every family is given an opportunity to reflect on the things they are thankful for in the year and what they can do for everyone else. With the Christmas holidays looming in, we have seen people appropriately decorating their homes with Christmas decors, sipping on cocoa and sporting seasonal sartorial items such as Christmas sweaters. However, the Christmas holiday is not only a time for family but rather it has also been an avenue for the gathering of extended family and guests in the family home. In fact, Filipino Christmas has been noted for its extraordinarily long string of celebrations, feats, and reunions that would spill well into the month of January.

As this is the case, it would only be fitting for you to decorate your homes in a manner suitable for the holidays knowing that you would be entertaining a series of guests come Christmas season. This holiday season, bring Christmas into your homes by giving it a bit of flair and a touch of Christmas cheer with the techniques offered below. So that, regardless of whether you are living in high park or solstice, your living space will feel a lot more festive. 

1.)       Give your homes the scent of Christmas

When it comes to decorating homes, a universally accepted aspect is that it should be visually pleasing. As a result, home decorations—even Christmas holiday decors have all been constrained to only their visual aspect. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is rather commonplace. Try to mix it up a bit by incorporating scents so that your guests would not only have something to feast their eyes on but something to ensnare their sense of smell as well. Simmer cinnamon sticks, pine needles, cloves and mandarin oranges in a pan of water until your house smells like Christmas morning.

2.)    Sparkly footprints

Make it seem as if the big man in the red suit has just been in your place by decorating sparkly footprints all over the place or in one corner of the house. Place some glittering powder and icing sugar around a pair of boots at the foot of the stairs or perhaps somewhere near the corner of the living room. Once the kids see it, they would be ecstatic.

3.)    Add Christmas cheer to your kitchens

Apart from the traditional holiday mittens and aprons, the kitchen is that one area of the house which lacks Christmas cheer and would rarely get any extensive holiday decorating done. To give your kitchen that much needed Christmas cheer, display your Christmas cards by making a mobile to dangle them from the ceiling. Take it a step further by tying red Christmas accents to your kitchen cupboards and sticking Christmas cards on them. For a classic touch, add small wooden pegs to attach the cards.

4.)    Redecorate your fridge

If you have a rather large freezer that is preferably colored white, make your own makeshift indoor snowman by adding some accents and details. Cut out some Christmas wrapping paper in the shape of a scarf and a hat and add the details such as the carrot nose, eyes and mouth afterward. It would look just as if Frosty the snowman himself is right in your kitchen.

5.)    Bauble display

Contrary to popular opinion, baubles are not constrained to ornaments solely for the tree. In fact, a set of baubles is one of the most versatile Christmas decors as you can use them in lieu of hanging lights.  Tie a few baubles at different heights. For a more festive look, disguise the ties with the spare branches from your Christmas tree and some springs of holly. While you are at it, hang some mistletoe among the baubles as well.