No Tree? No Problem With These 30 Decorating Hacks
A modern approach to Christmas décor
Are you short on space but huge on decorating for the holidays? From joyous wall murals and Christmas console table arrangements to alternative festive focal points for the living room, click or scroll on for some inspired decorating ideas that will work in any home...
Build a winter village
Set a Christmas scene by putting together a miniature winter village. Look out for tealight holders in house shapes and set them together alongside miniature tree decorations. Thread through fairy lights and complete the tiny town with a dusting of sparkly fake snow.
Jolly up with pom-poms
Make up for not having a tree by adding plenty of playful colors instead. This turquoise stag head has been transformed into a Christmas reindeer thanks to fillable baubles packed with pom-poms in rainbow shades. Tie in the statement with more – you guessed it – kaleidoscopic pom-pom art and vibrant printables offering fun festive messages.
Sponsored Content
Add a space-saver
This chic iron Christmas tree makes a compact alternative to the real thing and is ideal for bedrooms. Its sleek and slender design with metal rings makes it perfect for small spaces where a traditional tree might not fit. The black finish creates a contemporary backdrop to colorful baubles and decorations tied with pretty ribbons. Don't forget the festive bedding to match.
Pop presents in new places
As a Christmas shortcut use your wrapped presents that would otherwise be under the tree as part of your Christmas décor. Smaller gifts make pretty props to display on sideboards when beautifully wrapped and stacked together in odd numbers.
Go mad with real greenery
Bring the outdoors in with plenty of greenery to make your home feel festive and smell lush just like a real Christmas tree would. Choose fragrant evergreens such as fern, eucalyptus and holly and drape branches and cuttings over beams and in doorways. Keep them bare for an organic and rustic vibe or dress the real foliage with fairy lights and hanging baubles to up the Christmas spirit.
Sponsored Content
Showcase the Christmas table
Highlight the dining area in an open-plan living room with a luxe and extravagant centerpiece suspended from the ceiling. Mix fragrant eucalyptus with flamboyant pink pampas grass to layer up an alternative and dramatic focal point for your Christmas table that will certainly wow.
Layer up a ladder
For those seeking a classic rustic feel this Christmas, an old ladder can make a surprisingly effective alternative to a tree. Ensuring it's safely secured to the wall, adorn with garlands, tree decorations and twinkling fairy lights. Depicting traditional festive scenes, these stunning glass baubles look completely enchanting.
Frame doors with a garland
Drape greenery around doorframes for a natural and traditional welcome. Take plain artificial garlands and hook or stick them up and around the opening, add battery-operated lights and decorate with shatterproof decorations. Added dried oranges, cinnamon sticks and pine cones will create a fragrant walk-through when guests make their entrance.
Sponsored Content
Hang handsome bunting
Spell out a festive statement with graphic flags. Get crafty and make your own with felt letters sewn onto alternating backdrops. Hang in a window or above a dressed mantelpiece to spread the Christmas message.
Work in a wonderland
Turn your home into a wonderland with a faux silver birch tree decorated with snowy baubles. The wintery silhouette will offer a sanctuary of calm within the chaos that the holidays can sometimes bring. As night draws in tiny lights twinkling from the branches will add an extra touch of magic to your space.
String up a constellation
Make a large dresser the star of the room by adorning the shelves with a beautiful assortment of twinkling gold stars. Especially effective against a dark backdrop, you can easily make your own constellation garlands at home with gold card. Enhance the look by filling the shelves with metallic accessories and shiny glassware.
Sponsored Content
Create a bauble wall hanging
There's no need to discard the Christmas tree decorations altogether – there are so many ways to get creative and festive in your home with ornaments. Attach twine to a large branch and hang color-coordinated ornaments from it at graduated heights. Combining blue and white baubles with metallic stars, this wall hanging looks simple yet striking against a white wall.
Work with willow
Style up a sleigh
Without a Christmas tree, wrapped gifts will need a new home until the 25th of December. A charming wooden sleigh is a great solution for your festive storage needs. Not only will it add a whimsical touch to your living room, but it will keep presents organized too – it's Santa's favorite mode of transport after all!
Sponsored Content
Go overboard with garlands
Whether they are shop-bought or homemade, Christmas garlands are a timeless way to add instant color and cheer. String paper chains along the mantel for an easy festive flourish or run wooden garlands from the ceiling for a rustic Nordic touch.
Paint a pegboard
Repurpose tree decorations
Sponsored Content
Wow with wood
If you're still yearning for that traditional Christmas tree silhouette, fear not. For a modern take on a Douglas fir, opt for a rustic wooden tree made from twigs and branches. An architectural festive focal point, you could even dress it up with ornaments and garlands or keep it bare for the ultimate minimalist statement.
Get crafty with washi tape
If you're feeling creative and space is at a premium, why not mark out a mini Christmas tree with washi tape? For real impact, opt for a black tree frame and use red and white baker's twine as garlands in amongst some colored paper stars. Wrap a few matchboxes with brown paper and place below to create an adorable 3D finish.
Stack Christmas crates
A pyramid of wooden crates can make a great budget-friendly substitute for a conventional tree. Once you've nailed the silhouette, fill the crates with fun festive décor, from presents to wreaths and baubles. Put a twist on tradition and pop a lantern in place of a star or angel at the top. It'll also make a great spot for an Elf on the Shelf!
Sponsored Content
Style up a sideboard
Fill your house with the scent of the holidays by framing a sideboard with foliage. Hang natural fern and eucalyptus wreaths to introduce a fresh fragrance and decorate the unit with a matching garland and battery-operated candles. Twinkling fairy lights will make your display look especially magical in the evening.
Create a curtain of fairy lights
Don't be afraid to go a little extravagant when it comes to festive lighting. Hang a wall of twinkling fairy lights in your stairway from the ceiling and over the stairwell to create the feeling of a cozy Christmas grotto. If you're feeling adventurous, why not opt for lights in different colors or LED strip lights?
Fall for faux foliage
Reusable and oh so realistic, fake foliage is an easy way to add natural festive cheer to your home. Nestle artificial sprigs of ivy, holly and fir amongst candles on the mantelpiece and create easy arrangements in vases that can be moved around and placed anywhere. If the real thing is hard to come by, this beautiful faux garland with pine cones looks super realistic and can be brought out again year after year!
Sponsored Content
Give wall art a whirl
Makeover walls with a mural
Set the scene in your home this year with a full festive backdrop. A woodland-inspired wall mural design will look seasonally chic and subtly transform your interior into a snowy winter wonderland. We love this Scandi-style mural featuring reindeers, Christmas trees and a sprinkling of snow.
Give windows the wow-factor
For an elegant addition this Christmas, dress your windows with an array of glitzy ornaments. Choose a plethora of different shapes in coordinating colors and hang them from lengths of ribbon at varied levels. Pop lanterns below to make the ornaments twinkle and glow in the evening.
Sponsored Content
Dress up doors
Fold a festive napkin
The festive table is a great place to add seasonal cheer in the absence of a tree. Create a colorful centerpiece using berries and foliage and learn the art of napkin folding to give every guest their very own fabric Christmas tree. A thoughtful touch, this nifty trick won't cost you a cent!
Wheel out the console table
Sponsored Content
Plump for paper snowflakes
Sometimes it pays to pare things back a bit. Channel Scandi-style minimalism and make a stunning display of oversized paper snowflakes in an array of intricate designs. Hang them from the ceiling above a festive tableau of LED candles, fairy lights, foliage and pine cones. Finish the scene with cute wooden ornaments.
Love this? Follow us on Facebook for more festive decorating ideas