Interested in Your Own Personally Branded Magazine? Click Here!

Want to customize this content for your business?

Learn More

Categories

  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining

  • Printables
  • Videos


General

  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers


Editorial

  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea

American Lifestyle Magazine Logo
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
  • Search
  • Follow
  • 0 Heart
  • |
  • Food & Recipes Categories
    • All Recipes (772)
    • Appetizers (143)
    • Breakfast (64)
    • Cooking Tips (42)
    • Desserts (222)
    • Dinner (231)
    • Drinks (59)
    • Gluten Free (10)
    • Healthy (70)
    • Lunch (12)
    • Quick & Easy (65)
    • Vegan (38)
    • Vegetarian (55)
Dinner | Sep 15, 2023

Louise’s Upside-Down Chicken

  • Holiday & Entertaining Categories
    • Celebrate (2)
    • Christmas (84)
    • Easter (16)
    • Entertaining (46)
    • Fall (19)
    • Father’s Day (6)
    • Halloween (28)
    • Hanukkah (17)
    • July 4th (37)
    • Mother’s Day (8)
    • New Year’s (24)
    • Spring (20)
    • St. Patrick's Day (11)
    • Summer (30)
    • Thanksgiving (41)
    • Valentine’s Day (5)
    • Winter (20)
Fall couch
Decor | Sep 4, 2023

The Right Way to Design for Fall

  • Decor Categories
    • Crafts & DIY Projects (287)
    • Curb Appeal (6)
    • Decorate (88)
    • Interior Design (101)
Marie Burgos home redesign
Interior Design | Sep 12, 2023

California Dreamin’

Modern dining room
Interior Design | Sep 5, 2023

A Dining Room Design Guide

Fall couch
Decor | Sep 4, 2023

The Right Way to Design for Fall

  • Real Estate Categories
    • Buying & Selling (195)
    • Home Trends (21)
    • Staging (22)
    • Your First House (38)
Buying & Selling | May 15, 2023

America’s Best Cities

Staging | Feb 13, 2023

Put Your Best House Forward

Decor | Nov 14, 2022

Design Trends to Follow in 2023

  • Life & Culture Categories
    • Editorial (316)
    • Family & Pets (219)
    • Finances (37)
    • Health (158)
    • Travel (266)
Chairoplane
Travel | Sep 19, 2023

Where to Celebrate Oktoberfest This Fall

Travel | Sep 18, 2023

Melding Art and Nature

Health | Sep 11, 2023

Pickle Power

  • Home Categories
    • Cleaning (46)
    • Organizing (50)
    • Home Improvement (125)
    • Outdoors & Gardening (91)
Marie Burgos home redesign
Interior Design | Sep 12, 2023

California Dreamin’

Two children returning home from vacation with luggage
Travel | Aug 9, 2023

Get Organized After a Summer Getaway

Exterior of modern house
Outdoors & Gardening | Aug 8, 2023

Give Your Landscaping Some End-of-Summer Love

Follow us on social media today!

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Spread the Holiday Cheer

Editorial | By Rebecca Poole | 0 Likes
SHARE
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More

The holiday season can be stressful with all the planning, shopping, and hosting that needs to be done. But that doesn’t mean there has to be no jolliness. Keep the joyful spirit alive with these decor ideas, activities, and seasonal fun that are as heartwarming as a cup of cocoa.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

holiday-cheer

Make the most of being indoors by embracing what makes this time of year so special: decorating! Whether you’re someone who’s amped and ready the day after Thanksgiving or part of the late-decorating-tradition crowd, these ideas are sure to spark a bit more holiday cheer.

Focus on a minimalist aesthetic

If the thought of zeroing in on one specific look throughout your space seems boring, think again, because it can actually have the opposite effect. A pared-down aesthetic in every room has the ability to bring the beauty of the holidays to the surface without compromising personal taste. For a festive yet minimal feel in your bedroom, for example, add a little greenery and a throw blanket in a cool tone such as blue, gray, or ivory. Don’t forget a seasonal accent piece like a nutcracker, a snow globe, or macramé. The less-is-more approach elicits a sense of peacefulness while keeping alive the joy that comes with decorating.

Add greenery

As previously mentioned, adding plants to your space livens everything up. But did you know just how many mental and physical benefits you can get from doing so? It can support fresher air quality, help you concentrate, and even boost your mood—replicating that feeling you get when you take a walk through a park, a field, or the woods. So while this isn’t necessarily a typical holiday decor element, it’ll surely help keep the spirit of the season alive simply by making you feel better. Holly, poinsettia, cyclamen, and Norfolk pine are a few seasonal staples to consider. Shop online at any of these websites: The Sill, Bloomscape, and, for flowers, The Bouqs Co.

Make atmosphere a priority

Yes, decoration is a key factor in creating a festive atmosphere, but don’t forget about all the other little details that contribute to an unforgettable season. An essential-oil diffuser—Vitruvi and Objecto are fan favorites—fills your home with peppermint, clove, or pine fragrances all day, every day. Considering that smells are firmly tied to memory, nothing evokes holidays of the past quite like diffusing essential oils in nostalgic scents. You can even blend your own cheerful scent by combining drops of clove, orange, and cinnamon in the diffuser. Flood your other senses as you wrap gifts to your customized playlist and snack on festive confections.

OUT-OF-THE-BOX IDEAS

holiday

The holidays are typically steeped in tradition, whether that’s baking gingerbread cookies or strolling along on a holiday lights tour around the neighborhood. But that doesn’t mean you have to do those things every year. This season, try switching up or swapping out old activities for new ones. You just might find a tradition in the making.

Have a bouquet-making competition

This will not only give you centerpiece options for days but also provide an activity that people of all ages will enjoy doing. Why? Making floral bouquets sparks creativity, inspires you to learn something new, and ignites your adventurous mindset. Start by grabbing a few bouquets of varying colors and styles from your local supermarket. If it sounds expensive, don’t worry: most stores carry arrangements for less than ten dollars. Pick up garland from a home improvement store (or buy online—Etsy and West Elm have great options). Separate and lay everything out on your table. Play around with pine cones, holly, and even greenery you find outside. Make everyone adhere to a theme for a more competitive element: a minimal look might include a frosted rose bouquet with evergreen tied together with twine, whereas a traditional holiday bouquet might include holly, red amaryllis, and plaid or gold ribbon.

florals

Give a little differently

Instead of buying gifts for each other, have each person in the family pick a charity of his or her choosing and donate or create a gift basket for the organization. GuideStar has a directory of both charities and other nonprofits that you can browse through to find one that speaks to you. If you decide to go this route, another helpful resource is CharityWatch, which ensures that you’re making informed decisions when contributing.

Another gift-giving idea is to only buy presents from small businesses. This is a great way to support those in your local area while also giving gifts that are a bit more one of a kind. Manta is a search engine specifically for finding small businesses. Whether you’re on the hunt for art, baked goods, jewelry, or anything else specific to someone’s personality or favorite hobby, your thoughtful purchases will inspire joy all around.

4170 Views

This article is tagged in:

DecoratingDIYDIY and CraftsEditorialHoliday SeasonHolidays

Related Posts

Life & Culture | Sep 11, 2023

Pickle Power

Modern dining room
Decor | Sep 5, 2023

A Dining Room Design Guide

Monica Benavidez table design
Decor | Aug 11, 2023

Accessible Luxury

Decor | Jun 12, 2023

Tuft Love

Life & Culture | Apr 20, 2023

Tales of Yore

Popular Posts

can-planters-card
Decor | Mar 25, 2020

Make Your Own Can Planters

Home | Jul 8, 2021

Tips for Redesigning Your Patio Space

Life & Culture | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Home | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Real Estate | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist


You may also like:

can-planters-card
Crafts & DIY Projects | Mar 25, 2020

Make Your Own Can Planters

Outdoors & Gardening | Jul 8, 2021

Tips for Redesigning Your Patio Space

Health | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Cleaning | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Buying & Selling | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist

Make Your Own Seed Paper
Crafts & DIY Projects | Mar 17, 2016

Make Your Own Seed Paper

home office with white furniture
Health | Mar 30, 2020

Here’s How to Work From Home Effectively

Share on Social Media

Our mission is to deliver entertainment that inspires and motivates our readers, encouraging them to follow their passions as they explore new horizons.

© 2023 American Lifestyle Magazine

General
  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers
Editorial
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea
Categories
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
Follow Us
Facebook Pinterest Instagram Youtube

Customize this content for your business!

Learn More

,