Time-Smart Christmas Decorating
Decorating your home for Christmas is another one of those activities that can be a lot of fun and a chance to get creative, if you plan ahead. Without a plan, it’s easy to end up overwhelmed and short on time.
Here are a few tips that can help you make the activity run more smoothly and stress free.
Start with a Plan. Decide on a colour palette and theme (use last year’s theme if it worked well) and decide on a date or dates to get the job done. Put the date in your calendar. When the day is approaching, get all the decs out ready so nothing is missing or buried.
Declutter BEFORE you Decorate. It will be a lot easier if you make room in advance for the decs. Box up everyday decor and store it where the Christmas dec boxes live. That way, swapping them back after Christmas is easy.
If the Task Feels Big, Divide and Conquer! If you decorate outdoors, you may want to do that on a different date to indoor decorating. Or maybe you want to do a room at a time? Kid’s areas vs shared spaces. Breaking it down into smaller tasks makes it far less daunting.
Prep in Advance. Make sure lights are working and have batteries to hand if they are required. Keep extension leads, cords and tape with the dec boxes so you are ready with all you need.
Go for High Impact Zones. If time is tight, you can create impact with just a few items. In the hallway; a wreath and some fairy lights. In the living room; a tree and some cosy throws and Christmas cushions. In the dining rooma festive centrepiece. These give a cosy, Christmas feel without too much effort.
Make it a Team Effort. Give everyone a job. Choose a set day each year as a decorating day (first Saturday of December for example). Play some music and get out some snacks. Turn it into family fun time.
Label your storage boxes clearly (and lights) so you will know next year what is in each box and what lights go where.
Result: you have planned, prepped and decorated with ease. Now sit back, sip something festive and enjoy your beautifully styled space - stress free. Or until the dog wrecks it!
