Holiday Decor

A Christmas tree in a small apartment usually means moving a chair into the bedroom for a month, and then finding somewhere to keep the tree for the other eleven. Lots of people skip it, and the apartment can still feel like Christmas. What works instead is decorating the few places you actually look at every day. In most small apartments that’s the front door, the TV stand, the windows, a wall or two, and the coffee table. Get those right and you won’t miss the tree much. ...

When you walk in, you see the window. When you sit on the couch, you see the walls. In a small apartment, those are the surfaces that make it feel like Christmas, and they use no floor space at all. Windows A lit garland around the frame. Run a pre-lit garland (on Amazon) along the top and down the sides with warm-white lights woven through. Three removable hooks per window are enough. A 6-foot garland frames a standard 36-inch window with a little left over to drape at the corners. From outside, it glows. ...

Every January the same thing happens: the tree box leans in the hallway, the lights sit in a knot on the counter and the wreath ends up on top of the fridge. In a small apartment you live with these boxes for eleven months and enjoy what’s in them for one, so it’s worth deciding where everything goes before you buy any more. One bin No garage, no attic, no storage unit. So the rule is: all your Christmas decorations fit in one bin. Two at most. ...

Most of what makes a room feel like Christmas costs very little: greenery, warm light, something that smells good. The decorations that look cheap are usually the shiny plastic ones, and those aren’t cheap anyway. Here are twenty ideas that each come in under $25. A lot of them are close to free. Things you can pick up outside or at the grocery store 1. A bowl of pinecones. Collect them on a walk, let them dry out for a day, and pile them in a big wooden or ceramic bowl. If you like, touch the tips with white craft paint so they look a little frosted. Cost: nothing. ...

A lot of Christmas decorating advice assumes you can hammer a nail wherever you like. If you rent, everything needs to come down in January without leaving a mark. Working within that often ends up looking better, not worse. Walls, without holes 1. Stockings on adhesive hooks. Large removable hooks (on Amazon) along a mantel, or if there isn’t one, along the top of a bookshelf or a console. Use hooks rated for at least three pounds each; a filled stocking is heavier than it looks. Press the strip for thirty seconds when you put it up, and in January pull the tab straight down so it releases cleanly. ...

The living room gets the tree and most of the decorations. The bedroom is better off with less. It’s the one room that’s supposed to stay calm in December, so the ideas here lean on softer light and fabric rather than ornaments. A mini tree on the dresser and a pile of red pillows usually just make the room feel busy. Pick two or three of these instead. Start with the bed 1. Change the sheets. If you do one thing, do this. Flannel (on Amazon) or brushed cotton in cream, oatmeal or a deep green changes how the bed feels every night, which you’ll notice far longer than any decoration. Solid colors also mean you can leave them on until February without it looking like you forgot to take Christmas down. ...

A lot of Christmas happens in the kitchen: baking, cocoa, a table covered in cookie icing. But it’s also where you need every inch of counter. So everything here goes somewhere you don’t cook: the table, a wall, a shelf, the fridge door. On the table and above the stove A runner. A 72-inch runner (on Amazon) down the kitchen table or island is the quickest change you can make. Get washable cotton or linen, because December tables get gravy and glue on them. Lay it over your everyday runner rather than replacing it. ...

You probably look at your TV stand for a few hours every evening, so if there’s no room for a tree, it’s a good place to put Christmas instead. These ideas are sized for a typical 50 to 65-inch TV setup. A few rules for the whole stand: keep anything tall to the sides so it never blocks the screen, group things in odd numbers, and leave some empty space. ...

The entryway is the first thing anyone sees when they come in, and usually the last place that gets decorated. It doesn’t need much room. These ideas work in an entry as narrow as three feet, and nearly all of them come down without a trace. If you have a console table Even a 30-inch console is enough. A lit garland across the back. Lay a 6-foot pre-lit garland (on Amazon) along the back edge of the table and let the ends pool a little. On a 30-inch console that leaves about 18 inches hanging at each side, which looks generous without sliding off. A narrower table needs only 4 feet. Tuck a few pinecones or dried orange slices into it. Pick one with a timer (six hours on is typical) so you never have to remember to switch it off. ...