HOW TO | CHRISTMAS DECOR

Give us 5 tips to prep the home for Christmas | Start by finding 2-3 places in your home that you would want to Noel-ify! It is usually the mantelpiece, a Christmas tree area and maybe a small part of a wall you can use for an installation.

Pick your color theme | Most people go for green, red and gold, but sometimes simpler color schemes can look beautiful and elegant, such as white and blue, gold and white or silver and blue.

Narrow | down a few elements that you can then repeat through the decoration theme, for example, if you have a rustic nature theme, then just twigs, leaves and candles can be hugely repeated through your home or even ornamental globes in your theme colors, hanging from the mantel, the trees and in a wall installation.

The olfactory feeling of warmth is a large part of the Christmas experience, so have dried orange peel, cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc, lying in a potpourri across your home invoking the smells of mulled wine and Christmas cake. Have glass vials and mason jars filled with foil covered goodies and have them displayed across the house along with candy canes.

Take fairy lights and decorate them across a bamboo ladder, a mantelpiece or just across a wall.

And, finally the best part - the gifts! If you want to go rustic and in a white and green color theme, wrap your gifts in brown paper and white twine with a green vine entangled across them and your writing in white ink.

Any trends this year one could integrate for Christmas decorations?
One trend is the less typical notion of a Christmas tree. So, instead of a Christmas fir tree, which in Indian homes, tend to be fake plastic trees, we see a trend of using twigs, branches and parts of claimed trees that have been repurposed into sculptural centerpieces by gilding them in gold, white or silver spray paint and decorating them with beautiful vintage paper or glass ornaments. At our store, we have a wire tree covered in scrap material, in a medley of cloth, glass and paper ornaments.

What are some must-have items | A wreath, cute colorful socks hanging on strings, silver foil stars as decals or hanging mobiles, gift-wrapped gifts!

Some of your personal favorites for Christmas | A personal favorite, which adds rustic charm, a sense of nostalgia and is incredibly economical is to glitter the house with pinecones. You can spray paint them gold or silver or even slather them in glue and shower them with glitter so they look like beautiful glitter bombs and either hang them by the windowsill, off a Christmas tree, or cluster them across mantlepieces or tables.

Any quick and easy last-minute DIY ideas for Christmas décor | Easy peasy ideas: Fairy lights! Take fairy lights and decorate them across a bamboo ladder, a mantelpiece or just across a wall.

Spray paint: A white Christmas is easily acquired with a few squirts from a spray can over vases, boxes, twigs or photo frames. Cluster the objects with red bows, and add fruit or flowers.