Surprising ways to decorate with Christmas ornaments

Ornaments can be used for much more than simply adding a decorative touch to the Christmas tree. They can also be a fun way to bring Christmas cheer to any room in the house.

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Deck the halls — and everywhere else — with Christmas ornaments this year. These 10 ideas are so simple and fun, you may be surprised if you haven’t tried them all yet!

• Tie a pretty ornament to the front of a rolled-up white napkin with a coordinating ribbon.
• Or use three mini ornaments attached by small ribbons to a larger ribbon, then tie it around the napkin in the same fashion.

• Add three or five pillar candles in differing heights to a metallic tray or plate charger.
• Surround the candles with coordinating ornaments in all shapes and sizes.

• Add swags of festive greenery to the handrail of your stairs.
• Thread a piece of thin ribbon through the hangers of your Christmas ornaments, and then hang the ornaments between the spindles of your stairs.
• Hang them at varying heights for the most impact.

• Gather fallen tree branches from your yard or local park, and attach them to the top of a window, to a door frame or to the fireplace mantel.
• Using their hooks, attach several ornaments to the branch.
• Another option is to use fishing line to hang the ornaments from the bare branches, and have the decorations drop down over the window or door at varying heights.

• Use small plates or round trays and mid-size ornaments to build stacked ornament pyramids.
• Keep each stack only three ornaments high, then embellish with a string of bead garland or sprigs of fresh holiday greenery.
• Place three pyramid pieces down the centre of the table.

• To identify the foods served at your holiday buffet, use a small ribbon to attach a tag listing the recipe name and main ingredients to an ornament that will be placed beside the dish.

Chandelier embellishment

• Use a branch garland, or simply hang beautiful ornaments from your chandelier.
• Keep in the mind the style of your ceiling light, and add decorations that suit it or that blend in nicely.

• Add a small, standard, foil-wrapped, potted poinsettia to a larger square or round clear glass vase.
• Drop in similar-scale ornaments around the poinsettia.
• Add enough ornaments to fill up the clear vase.

• Fill a large crystal or glass punch bowl or vase with a mixture of shiny and matte, small and large ornaments.
• Use as a centrepiece or to decorate a side table.

• Run a few lines of glue around a 24-inch wreath form, then tightly wrap the form with a wide ribbon.
• Use an extra piece of the ribbon to make the hanger, and loop it around the top of the wreath.
• Using a glue gun, attach the larger ornaments to the inside and outside (front only) of the form.
• Fill in the spaces with smaller ornaments and a bead garland. Keep layering and adding until all the spaces have been covered with a decoration.

More Christmas decorating ideas

Mini wreath decorations
Snowy pine cone ornaments
Homemade Christmas tree ornaments