Easy DIY Decorating Ideas for Your Christmas Party

The Christmas season may often feel overwhelming, but a few simple DIY tricks can ease your decorating load and make your Christmas party the hit of the season. Try just one for just a touch of chic holiday flair or go all-out for a spectacular holiday shebang.

1. Use what you have. You don't need to rush out and buy boatloads of new decorations for your Christmas party. Unless this is your first year out of your parents' home, there's a good chance you've already got some Christmas decorations laying around your house. For your Christmas party, use your Christmas tree as the focal point. Follow its color/ornament scheme throughout the main parts of your house to draw everything together.

2. Use natural accents. Pinecones piled high in a bowl make a fabulous centerpiece, look great on the mantel, and spruce (no pun intended) up your coffee table. If you don't have any pine trees in your yard, visit a city park and gather some (check the rules, first, please!). You can also hot glue pinecones onto a foam wreath form for a spiffy holiday wreath for your front or back door. Simply add a ribbon (burgundy or gold are great choices) and you're done. Poinsettias are also abundant this time of year and will look gorgeous on the steps or porch of your house, on either side of your front door and entryway, or on a table or the base of a fireplace.

3. Use ribbon, ribbon, and more ribbon. You know those huge rolls of ribbon that are everywhere during the Christmas holiday? Stock up on some and use it! You can use it as a curtain tie-back (attach faux holly for a fun effect), wrap it around a wreath or mini-tree, or use it to wrap up your sofa cushions Christmas-gift style. Ribbon can add color and festiveness to your house for a minimal cost if you are willing to think outside the box.

4. Use light. If you have dimmer switches, use them. Everything looks lovelier in dimmer lighting - including your Christmas decorations (particularly if they are sparkly or glittery). Replace your regular white bulbs with soft pink bulbs (check the light bulb aisle of your local store). Add groupings of candles to mantels, tables, ledges - any surface where they are unlikely to be hit or bumped. Use different heights of candles for visual interest, and use a similar color scheme for continuity (all ivory, for example, or shades of pink and crimson).

5. Use your holiday treats for decorations. You've probably already got an overflow of goodies, why not put them to good use both as decoration and treat? Use a glass jar or bowl filled with peppermint stars, candy canes, and other festive candies. Tie a ribbon (I told you they'd come in handy!) around the top of the jar for an added holiday effect.