Usher in the Holiday Spirit With the Best Christmas Decorations

Whether you want to decorate your home traditionally or prefer to add a contemporary touch, you can find Christmas decorations in different shapes, sizes, and styles. But, from plain spherical wreaths and icicles to animated light-up animals, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the range of decorative items available on the market. To help, we’ve put together this buying guide with all the essential information for choosing the right Christmas decorations this holiday season.

Factors To Consider When Purchasing Christmas Decorations

Moving pieces

Some Christmas decorations become lifelike with moving features like wiggling ears and tails, hanging charms, or bendable limbs and legs. These pieces not only look appealing but also work as entertainment for kids. The downside, however, is that the more moving parts a decoration has, the more fragile it will be.

Decoration designs

Popular designs, including circles, ovals, snowflakes, teardrops, and icicles, are among the most versatile Christmas decorations. You can use them as stand-alone tree decorations or as a lively backdrop for the rest of your decor.

Number of pieces

Though you can decorate a tree with as many items as you want, some people like to keep their decor minimal. That said, it’s important to remember that the number of pieces you can put on a Christmas tree depends on the size of the tree.

Generally, you can put between 10 to 20 ornaments per foot on a standard Christmas tree. A 5-foot tree, for instance, can hold between 50 to 100 items, and you can adorn an 8-foot tree with 80 to 160 ornaments or lights. Keep in mind that the size and shape of the ornaments affect the number of items you can place on your Christmas tree.

Unique features

Now you can find decorations with different elements, like moving parts or flashing lights. They are becoming more and more common in Christmas decorations, and children and decor aficionados love them.

For example, decorations for cars and bikes usually contain flashing lights and character decorations can repeat the lines that their characters use the most. When you approach certain other motion-activated interactive decorations, they may even start playing music or flashing lights.

Hanging style

Most Christmas ornaments come with hooks, loops, or ribbons to hang them. Although some hooks and loops are made using high-quality, durable plastic, most still have metal or wire construction for better support. Using them in homes with pets or kids may be risky, so you can hang lightweight decorations using ribbon or thin string.

Different Materials for Christmas Decorations

Glass

Hand-blown glass pieces with detailed patterns are traditional Christmas decorations, which most people prefer using to keep their decor looking more classic. Glass decorations are delicate and can break if you drop them; that said, they look great, which is why glass is still one of the commonly used materials for ornaments and lighting.

Porcelain

The amazing patterns and craftsmanship of porcelain Christmas decorations explain their high price. You usually put them on stronger tree branches because they are significantly heavier than other decorations. Also, you must handle porcelain decorations carefully because, like glass, they are fragile and prone to breaking.

Wood

Similar to glass decorations, wood Christmas decorations are a classic, but they’re more robust and durable. They usually include hand-painted nutcrackers, snowmen, and sled patterns. Other festive choices are two-dimensional wood decorations and cutouts of trees or snowflakes.

Plastic or silicone

Shatterproof materials, such as plastic and silicone, are a popular choice for many trendy decorations because they can endure rough handling and drops. These decorations closely resemble wood or glass, but some lower-quality silicone and plastic decorations don't look very attractive.

Tips To Make the Most Out of the Christmas Decorations

• If you’re on a budget and don’t want to compromise with the overall aesthetic of your decorations, you can DIY some Christmas ornaments.
• You can try using paper clips to hold a piece of decoration in its place if its ribbon or hook breaks.
• Mark an ornament with the year using permanent ink to keep track of when you added it to your collection.
• Invest in plastic or silicone decorations to prevent accidents.
• It’s better to remove the batteries before storing the lights as it not only delays their expiration, but also stops battery leakage that can cause damage.
• We recommend placing decorations as high above the ground as you can to prevent damage in the case of a heavy downpour or flooding.