A desk has to stay usable in December. Whatever you put on it should either sit somewhere you don’t work, like the top of the monitor or the shelf above, or take up less room than your coffee mug.

Off the desk surface

A slim garland along the top of the monitor. About 2 feet long and no more than 2 inches thick; a fat garland looks like the monitor is wearing a hat. Hold it with two small clips on the back edge of the monitor, not on the screen. You see it every time you look up, and so do people on your video calls.

The shelf above the desk. If you have one, that’s the best place for decorations. A small lit garland along the front edge and two or three tiny bottle-brush trees behind the monitor, and the background of every video call looks festive while the desk stays completely clear. A strand of fairy lights on that shelf also does a surprising amount for how you look on camera.

Lights behind the monitor. Run a warm-white strand (on Amazon) along the back edge of the desk, through the cables. The cables become less noticeable, and in the evening the desk glows from behind. A USB strand plugged into the monitor turns off and on with the screen, so there’s nothing to remember.

The windowsill. If your desk is by a window, put three LED tea lights in frosted holders or a small wreath leaning against the glass on one side of the sill. Keep it to one side so you can still reach the blinds.

On the desk, but small

One small tree (on Amazon). In the back corner that’s currently holding old pens. A pre-decorated one is worth a few extra dollars, because putting tiny ornaments on a tiny tree is fiddly. One tree looks nice; three look like clutter.

A small tray with three things in it. No bigger than 8 by 5 inches, next to the keyboard: an LED candle, a pinecone or ornament, and the pen you actually use. Inside the tray is decoration, outside is work.

A holiday desk mat or coaster. A dark green felt desk mat or a coaster shaped like a little wreath takes up exactly the space you already use. It changes the look without adding anything.

Scent

A small USB diffuser behind the monitor with a pine or cinnamon oil. It takes up no desk space and doesn’t show up on camera, and smell says December faster than almost anything you can see.

In January

The garland, lights and tree go in one shoebox. The mat goes back in a drawer. The tray goes back to holding pens.