I don’t want a lot for Christmas. But I do want a house that looks nice and makes me feel festive. Besides from being where St Nick squeezes himself through once a year, a fireplace is the focal point in many of our living rooms, and is therefore a great place to start with your Christmas decor. Here are some ideas to get you feeling inspired.

Greenery

If you go for real greenery, this one is going to make your house smell gorgeous. If you’re feeling particularly handy, there are lots of tutorials online on how to decorate your mantelpiece using… wait for it… chicken wire.

If you’re not up for getting the wire cutters out, there are plenty of luscious faux-botanical garlands, some even with fairy lights included. Go a little bigger than you think you need - we don’t want a sad spaghetti garland!

Minimalist

If Christmas decor isn’t really your thing but you still want to nod to the season, there are plenty of minimalist ideas to bring a little touch of festivity to your mantelpiece.

I like this subtle mix of greenery (no chicken wire here) and a trio of candles.

Colourful

This looks particularly great if you’ve got a colour on your chimney breast or wall - step away from the red, white and green and throw in some primary colours for a different take. Colourful paper decorations mixed with neon and mirror balls… what’s not to love?!

Kitsch

I love a kitsch Christmas, especially a Christmas tree covered in slightly naff ornaments and lots of colour. If you’re feeling a bit retro this year, you can get the kitsch look by adding lots of bows and colours, and don’t hold back on adding ornaments.

Christmas forest

This is so adorable - I love these little wooden trees and the fact they’ve been grouped together to make a little festive forest.

You can also do this with small ceramic houses and create a proper little Christmas village on your mantelpiece.

Candles

In our house we have a “Christmas candle” - a huge green candle which smells exactly like a Christmas tree, and as soon as I smell it I know Christmas is round the corner. The cosy glow of candles is so Christmassy to me, so decorating your mantel with them is a fabulous choice.

If you’re going for paper decorations or greenery and you also want to add some candles, may stick to some battery powered ones to be on the safe side.

Paper decorations

Finally - paper decorations, there’s plenty available on Amazon or Etsy, or if you’re feeling particularly resourceful you can make them yourself. The ones in the example above are made from packing paper, but you can use newspaper or any other paper you have to hand for a low cost but effective display.

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