Ah, decorating for Christmas; being tangled in lights, breaking Christmas ornaments, or shattering the third wise man in the nativity scene. Getting ready for the holidays doesn't have to be like this. Follow these steps for success to get your holidays off to a good start. Once your Christmas decorations are out of the attic, start at the top.

If you have lights to string up, go ahead and get those hung before you do anything else. This will give you an opportunity to make sure every bulb is working along the walkway or the roofline outside your house. Next, set up your best garlands and wreaths. Frame the doorways, wrap garlands around railings, and use them around the mailbox if you wish. Once the major decorations are done, you can bring in the tree.

Setting up the Christmas tree seems simple until you are wrist deep in sap and can't figure out which screw is loose on the tree stand. An option to simplify this is to use an artificial tree with pre-strung lights. If you prefer the look of real trees, get the tree set up, and then start with the lights. Start at the top of the tree, and have a buddy help you by passing the lights back and forth.

Next, circle any ribbon around the tree. After that, it's time to break out the Christmas ornaments. Be sure to space your ornaments evenly around the tree so there aren't too many crowding in one spot. If you have children, but prefer a sophisticated look, consider having one tree for your Christmas ornaments and another that holds all of the precious handmade ornaments.

For those final touches of Christmas cheer, set up festive decorations as centerpieces in the dining room, place items along the mantel, use cheerful-smelling candles, and hang stockings. One way to show off your holiday spirit is to buy small wreath inserts (usually about a dollar), and tuck those into overlooked areas. Set one behind the soap dispenser in the bathroom, lay them in open areas of your bookshelf, or place a few on the plate with Santa's cookies. Try to decorate throughout the house because often one or two rooms are spruced up, and the others are left out. Both you and your guests will get in the holiday mood with Christmas decorations scattered along throughout every room.