Entryway
A wreath on the door, a branch in a tall vase and soft light by the entrance greet guests at the threshold. Keep the way clear, and use LED candles here instead of real ones: an entryway is full of coats and people moving about.
Ideas
Projects and ideas
Decorating for a holiday does not mean filling every shelf. A few well-chosen touches are usually enough: a wreath on the door, lights in the window, a fresh tablecloth and branches in a tall vase. Below are ideas by room and season that are easy to put together in an evening and just as easy to take down when the holiday is over.
A few well-placed accents stand out more than decorations on every free surface.
How this section works: ideas are described by room and season in general terms, with no sizes, models or manufacturers. Check anything involving flame or electricity against the product instructions and keep it supervised.
Ideas by room
Where festive decor works best and how to avoid overdoing it.
Living room
A tree or an arrangement of branches, lights on a shelf, pillows in festive covers. Set the tree up so it stays steady, away from the radiator and out of the walkway, and run cords along the wall.
The holiday table
A tablecloth, cloth napkins and low flowers or branches so guests can see each other. Put candles on the table in stable non-flammable holders and blow them out when you leave the room.
Spring holiday (in Russian)
Window
Paper snowflakes, cardboard silhouettes, a string of lights around the frame. Make sure paper does not touch bulbs or a heater and curtains do not rest on the lights.
Kids' room
Soft toys and fabric or paper bunting that a child can help make. Anything glass, small or electrical goes up high or out of the room, and candles have no place in a child's room at all.
Balcony or porch
Evergreen boughs in a planter, a lantern with an LED candle, a wreath on the railing. Outdoors, use only string lights the manufacturer approves for outdoor use, and attach them without pulling the cord tight.
Ideas by season
Holidays change with the weather outside, and decor can change just as calmly.
Winter
Evergreens, pine cones, dried oranges, warm light and heavy textiles. Winter decor stays up the longest, so think ahead about where it will not get in the way of everyday life.
Spring
Flowers and greenery in vases, pale napkins, light fabrics instead of heavy ones. In spring the rule of “fewer things, more air” works well.
Spring holiday (in Russian)
Autumn
Pumpkins, leaves, berry branches, lanterns and warm throws. Autumn decor is easy to gather on a walk, and after the holiday much of it can simply go in the compost.
Read next
- Materials
Paper, fabric, branches and pine cones, dried citrus, glass and lights: what to make decor from. The article catalogue is here too.
- How-to
How to hang string lights safely, set up a tree so it stays steady and make a decoration from dried oranges and branches.
- Planning
A schedule for getting your home holiday-ready and a budget in general terms: what to do early, a week ahead and on the day.
What we rely on
- Instructions from manufacturers of string lights and electrical appliances
- Holiday fire-safety guidance from Russia's Emergencies Ministry (in general terms)
- Editorial materials of the Prazdnichnyymir guide
The advice here is general and based on the instructions of string light and appliance manufacturers and on widely accepted rules of fire safety at home. Always check the instructions for the specific item on how to plug in a particular string of lights, where a stand or candle can go and how to handle the product.