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On a tree, a lot of ornaments end up facing the wall or lost near the back. If you’re not putting a tree up this year, or you have more ornaments than branches, you can spread them around the apartment where people can actually see them. A big tree holds 80 to 100 ornaments; most of these ideas use somewhere between 5 and 20. In bowls and under glass A large glass bowl (on Amazon). Big ornaments on the bottom, smaller ones on top, with a strand of battery fairy lights (on Amazon) tucked in so it glows. The bowl needs to be big, at least 12 inches, or it looks like storage. Thrift stores have plenty. ...

Most village collections start with one little house (on Amazon) that was too charming not to buy. A few years later there’s a church, a bakery, three lampposts and a question of where it all goes. Places that work An entryway console. Usually the best spot: eye level, the first thing people see, and often 14 to 18 inches deep, which is enough for two rows. Tall buildings at the back, small cottages in front, a snow blanket (on Amazon) underneath. Leave an inch or two between houses so it looks like a town with streets rather than a pile. ...