10 Christmas decorating hacks for busy mums

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I don’t know about you, but I absolutely feel like Christmas needs to come as early as possible this year.  So much so in fact that I have started listening to Christmas music back at the end of October, and was on the verge of Christmas decorating and putting my tree up not long after that!

However, as much as I love Christmas time, I force myself to forget all the stress and mad rushing around that actually comes with it. 

In an attempt to save you some grief, I am today detailing 10 of my Christmas decorating hacks that will hopefully leave you with more time to enjoy the festivities.

1 – Start early! 

Definitely my number one tip is to begin getting ready as soon as you reasonably can. In our household, especially when the kids were younger, the trees would go up practically on December 1st, and I’d start putting up the fairy lights and other decor one day at a time. 

This would effectively mean the house was semi-decorated for a month, but it would save me a lot of energy, as I wouldn’t have to figure out where to find an entire day to do nothing but decorate. 

2 – Buy dimmers and timers 

If you, like me, like to enjoy waking up to Christmas lights, but hate having to walk around the place turning everything on in the morning (and especially turning everything off in the evening), find some timers on Amazon. 

You can set these up to turn your lights on and off automatically, so you can literally wake up to Christmas heaven, and save some money on your utilities as you won’t forget to turn a set of lights off overnight. 

3 – Lay the table days in advance 

Those of us that host Christmas or Boxing Day meals know just how long it takes to lay the table and make it look especially festive. 

If you can (i.e. if you are not using the dining table for every meal and can afford to eat somewhere else for a couple of days), try to lay the main table a couple of days beforehand.

I usually aim for December 23rd, but that doesn’t always happen. You can throw a tablecloth over your entire arrangement to prevent any dust from accumulating, and tick another to do off your extensive list. 

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4 – Have a tree theme 

While my kids were growing up, we used to have two Christmas trees. The larger one was a real tree that we selected as a family and that I would let the kids decorate. Since this tree lived in our dining room, we were exposed to my children’s immense talent for choosing the least matching ornaments for every meal. 

The other tree lived in the lounge, and was decorated with the same set of decorations I inherited from my grandma. 

Today, we still have the two trees, but they are now themed – one of them is decorated with a set we call “the progressive”, and the other is still the compilation of odds and ends we have accumulated over the years we call “the oddball”.

“The progressive” we swap with 5 other families of friends every season, so we only get to use one set every five years – makes for a whole lot of variety without having to buy new decorations. 

If you can, pick a theme for the tree and stick to it every year (or do swaps like we do) – this will eliminate the “I don’t know what to put where” anxiety we all feel with our trees. 

5 – Don’t buy glass 

While glass ornaments look truly amazing, they are going to break. No matter how careful you are and how careful the kids are, at least one is going to break.

Forego the glass ornaments unless all of your kids are well into their teens, and stick to something that is less likely to shatter and add to your already busy list of chores.

6 – Remove your usual decorations 

When you add Christmas decorations, be they ribbons or garlands or ornaments to your space, they tend to take over the entire room. If you also leave your regular decorative pieces out, chances are the space will begin to look crowded in no time. 

When you start adding the Christmas stuff, remove everything that usually sits out – family photos are fine, but all the other trinkets can go into storage until Christmas is over.

7 – Use fruits and nuts to add a rustic element 

Did you use to put the skins of oranges on top of your radiators to dry them out? They smell divine and still remind me of my grandma.

Using oranges and nectarines, as well as different nuts (especially walnuts) to decorate the table or the kitchen is a very simple hack. It is also super affordable, and it won’t take you too long to put together.

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8 – Consider when and how you are cleaning 

If you are going to give your space a proper clean (as I know you are) before Christmas, consider how easy this will be to handle with all the decorations up.

If you plan on going all out and throwing a lot of holiday decor up, try to do all the major cleaning first, and only then start placing decorations. If you need to add, then move, then return all the items, you’ll just be doubling your work for no good reason.

9 – You don’t have to use everything 

The great thing about Christmas decorating is that just a few simple ornaments and garlands, or a tiny tree and some lights make all the difference in a space. You really don’t have to make your home feel like Santa’s workshop in order for it to feel festive. 

Just because you own something decorative doesn’t mean you have to put it up. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have time to do everything you planned out – a few little details will do just fine.

Equally, there are some other less obvious swaps you can make which you may not have thought about. For example, Christmas is a great time to swap out your curtains which is the perfect way to give a room an instant lift at Christmas time. The SnugCo have some rather nice made-to-measure curtains in lovely deep reds which would be perfect for this time of year.

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Vizzini Curtain from The SnugCo

10 – Don’t do it alone 

As mums, we often feel we need to do everything and be everything. And that is sometimes simply impossible. 

With everything going on around at Christmas, you can, and should, enlist some help with the Christmas decorating..

This can mean your husband gets to hang up decorations from the ceiling, this can mean the kids get to wrap presents (even if they do it poorly, let them, your friends and family will have a nice chuckle), or you can get together with a group of friends (if you can) and help each other out.

Remember, once again, not to put too much pressure on yourself and enjoy the holidays, as opposed to driving yourself into the ground.

Before we part 

I’d love to hear your Christmas decorating hacks! Let me know how you handle the holidays in your family!


This blog is featured as part of Twinkl‘s Eco-Friendly Christmas Crafts for Kids blog.

Christmas photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com

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