Christmas is a wonderful time of year when we’re surrounded by family and friends, enjoying good food and exchanging gifts. So it’s not surprising that we want to create a cosy home in which to enjoy the festivities. But how do you make your house warm and snug for Christmas?
Take a look at our tips from choosing your Christmas look, to heating your home with a real fire and making sure your home smells inviting for all your guests. It’s a lot easier than you may think!
Choose your Christmas style
Before making your home look inviting and cosy for Christmas you will have to choose a style. There are many great aesthetics for this time of year and it can take time to decide which is right for you.
The easiest way to pick a style is to begin with what you love. Think about what makes you feel Christmasy and draw inspiration from memories of previous festive seasons.
Whether your Christmas look is rustic, modern, traditional or neutral there are plenty of ways of filling your home with inviting elements to welcome guests and make your family feel cosy at this time of year.
Decorate your home
Once you have chosen a Christmas style you can get stuck into decorating your home to make it festive and welcoming. Of course, your Christmas tree will be the star of the show and will set the scene for the rest of your decorating style, colour and aesthetic.
Whatever your chosen theme, decorating with natural elements can make your home feel relaxed and enticing. Introduce some greenery like holly, mistletoe or just some evergreen branches to bring the outdoors inside.
Extend your theme to all parts of the home including around the front door, kitchen and stairs. Scatter mini wreaths, paper decorations and garlands in different rooms and areas of your home.
Christmas candles
Christmas is the perfect time of year to fill your home with beautiful candles and a classic way to make your home cosy. The welcoming light of candles during short, dark days along with seasonal fragrances are the perfect addition to your home at this time of year.
Flameless candles are a great choice for households with small children, the elderly or pets so you don’t need to miss out on this aspect of Christmas decorating.
Create a cosy area
One of the best ways to feel snug and warm at Christmas is to have a wood burning stove in your home. Not only will this make the festive season more cosy but will heat your home over winter without adding to your gas or electricity bills.
The comfort of a real fire cannot be overestimated, and it provides a welcoming focus in your home during the cold, dark nights of winter. At Christmas when your house is full of family and friends what better place to gather and enjoy the festive season than around a crackling fire?
Wrap up your home
Just as you layer your clothing in winter you can also introduce layers to the soft furnishings in your home at Christmas. Put some fleece, woollen or velvet throws on your sofa to create an enticing and relaxing space. Mixing textures also gives a homely feel to your rooms such as a cable knit blanket on a smooth leather sofa.
Change the cushion covers on your regular sofa cushions and replace them with some festive covers. Alternatively, add some faux fur or chunky knit cushions to make your sofas and armchairs even more inviting. Put some warm rugs on the floor and you can even change your bedding to a festive theme.
Warming up from the inside out
Create a wonderful welcome for family or guests coming in from the chilly outdoors with some warming drinks this Christmas. Have a dedicated area for your mulled wine, hot chocolate or some seasonally flavoured coffee.
Decorate this hot drink station with festive items and add some gingerbread, marshmallows or chocolate dipping sticks. You can also set up a festive bar for your guests and make some Christmas cocktails, or mocktails for younger guests and drivers.
The sound of music
Christmas music shouldn’t be reserved for office parties and shopping centres. Having some festive tunes playing in the background at home will certainly put everyone in a festive mood and make your home inviting to family and guests.
Enjoy some Christmas carols as you decorate the tree or while you make some gingerbread. Festive favourites as you prepare your home for the big day will take some of the stress out of the preparations.
Lighten the mood
Soft lighting is much more inviting and cosy so make more use of lamps, candles and fairy lights at this time of year. Use your dimmer switch for overhead lighting. If you don’t have a dimmer system invest in some smart lightbulbs that you can control from your phone or smart speaker to change their colour and brightness.
You can even link them to a light strip for your TV and have all the lights in your home interact with what you’re watching. It certainly gives a new dimension to Christmas movies!
Festive fragrances
Some of our fondest memories come from the wonderful smells of Christmas. The fragrant pine Christmas tree, the warming scent of mulled wine and the lure of baked mince pies are synonymous with this time of year.
Fill your home with these wonderful smells to make your house a cosy and welcoming place to be for you, your family and guests. Seasonal scented candles and essential oils allow you to choose exactly the fragrance you want for your home.
So now you have a list of all the things that you can do to make your home cosy and warm for Christmas and all without breaking the bank.
