5 Christmas Decorating Tips for a Festive Home and a Happy You

It must feel so good to go back to a time when everything was simple and all you ever thought about was what Santa Claus would get you. According to psychoanalyst Steve Mckeown, Christmas decorations can evoke feelings of childhood. For most families, Christmas is that time of the year when everyone gathers together to celebrate. Other than giving you warm nostalgia, decorating your home early can also help connect to wonderful memories of your departed loved ones. Also, listening to Christmas music as early as the start of the -ber months can help enhance your mood, too! Don’t hesitate to sing along to “Christmas in Our Hearts” with Jose Mari Chan!

Whether or not you’re a follower of annual Christmas decoration themes, experimenting with different colors never disappoints. This year, spend some time familiarizing yourself with your house’s color palette and think about what colors will perfectly go along with it. If you’re in the mood for a sentimental holiday, rekindle the kid in you and choose colors from your childhood Christmas decors instead. Sticking with the traditional green and red is always a good idea, too. You can also be festive and use metallic colors like gold and silver to get you into the holiday spirit sooner.

Christmas lights can signal your senses that the holidays are near, and it can ignite happiness and excitement. Take yourself out of your regular everyday habits and put up Christmas lights everywhere!

When choosing the tone for your Christmas lights, keep in mind that lighting can greatly affect your mood and contribute to both good and bad mental states of mind. In this case, choose warmer colors because they can help put you in a positive mood. And if they improve your mood, leave them out for a bit longer after Christmas. Who says Christmas is only in December? Let your celebration end whenever you want!

When it comes to decorating, there’s no such thing as “too much flowers.” Bringing a touch of Mother Nature indoors is very therapeutic and it can help increase your happiness. The scents of flowers can also help reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. Imagine the joy of receiving a bouquet of flowers or seeing rows and rows of different colored flowers. Now, imagine seeing them everywhere in your home. Both things can give you the same feeling of elation.

As with Christmas lights, be mindful when it comes to choosing the colors of flowers that you’re planning to display. Bright-colored blooms in yellow and orange shades can help enhance your mood, but sticking with the traditional Christmas flower poinsettia is always a wonderful idea. Other than on your Christmas tree, put the flowers where you’re going to see them often. Don’t hesitate to decorate your shelves, countertops, and kitchen tables.

If there’s a popular symbol for Christmas, it's the Christmas tree. Far from the artificial pine tree, original Christmas trees were live evergreen trees. Decorating Christmas trees can be traced back as far as the time when people still used winter trees that had no leaves. They believed that when the leaves of the tree fall, the spirit of the trees abandon it as well. Because of that, they started decorating trees to attract holy spirits during the holidays.

Decorating Christmas trees can also trigger happy childhood memories, and it can give you a sense of fulfillment once you’ve finished doing so. Christmas trees aren’t just symbols of Christmas, but of life and rebirth, too. The next time you put up your Christmas tree and you’re feeling down, decorate it as a good pick-me-up and keep in mind that as long as there’s life, there’s hope.

There are so many ways and ideas on how to boost your happiness while being productive at the same time. These holiday home decorating tips are amazing starters. Who knows, this might even ignite a talent you didn’t know you had!