Holiday Decorating for All Your Senses

The key to holiday decorating is to focus on the feeling that you want to invoke. Try to appeal to all your senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. Decorate with items that are interesting and provide texture; If you are not overly sensitive to scents, use scented candles or essential oils; provide holiday tastes through food by using seasonal flavors; use extra blankets and throw pillows to please your sense of touch and create a cozy atmosphere. Don't forget to accentuate your atmosphere through sound by choosing your favorite holiday melodies and playing them in the background throughout the season.

For a natural and relaxed look, focus on greenery and rustic touches. When decorating your tree, use many homemade Christmas ornaments, along with popcorn and cranberry garlands. Use any extra branches that you may have trimmed from your tree to decorate your fireplace mantel or to create a green centerpiece for a table. You may choose to accent the greenery with some flameless candles. Find pinecones on a walk, and place these around your home to add a woodsy feel. You may also enjoy simple wreaths of twisted and dried vines, available at many craft stores, and you can finish one of these off with a bow made from a favorite fabric or ribbon and some decorative sprigs of berries.

For sparkle and light in your Christmas decor, imagine silver or gold, and then choose one other main color, such as deep red or icy blue, to accent the metallic sheen. Your Christmas ornaments should reflect these colors, and they can be accented with white lights on the tree. Steer away from wood-colored items and homemade ornaments, and instead focus on glass, metals and anything that sparkles or shines. Find extra ornaments that you like, and mound them into decorative glass bowls, with tall white or silver taper candles set amidst the ornaments. The flickering candlelight plays off of the metallic finishes, and you will have created a Christmas setting that looks as sophisticated and classic as the setting of an Audrey Hepburn film.

Decorations during the holiday season are intended to enhance the good feelings that surround the season, so follow what makes you feel good and makes you feel at home.