Christmas is a wonderful time for everyone, and decorating your house can enhance that joy, this can be something small like a table display or you could decorate your whole house inside and out. Christmas decorations have been around a lot longer than Christmas its self, as pagans were doing it for over two centuries.

The Christmas Table.

You can do a lot to your dinner table without spending too much money, get into the woods and find some fir cones, some gold spray paint along with some fake snow and you have a centre piece to grace any table on the special day and for a long time after. Tinsel with holly leaves and mistletoe makes a natural and cheap adornment and is a very old Celtic symbol of fertility.

A Christmas Tree.

Christmas trees have been brought into our houses for years, probably it was the Germans who started it, but now everyone has a tree for Christmas. A real tree is beautiful, but could make a mess of needles on your floor if it hasnt been treated with chemicals. If you want a real tree get one with roots, you can keep it alive and then re-plant it in the new year and it shouldnt make a mess, or get a fake tree, these can look realistic but you will not fool anyone, they are not real but will look beautiful every year when you pull it out of the cupboard.

Originally candles were used to light Christmas trees, this proved very dangerous, so now electric lights that flash and play Christmas carols are a safer option. Some people go over the top with tree decorations, keep it simple, tinsel, balls, stars and of course a fairy or an angel on the top to finish it all off.

Inside The House.

Coloured paper, silver tinsel and fake snow around the house will bring a festive feel to your home, snow on the windows, holly above the doors and you must have mistletoe to get those Christmas kisses from your guests. House decorations, like your tree should be subtle, Christmas is a happy time of the year and a time to relax with the family in a calm joyous atmosphere.

Outside The House.

A wreath of holly on the door was all that people used to show at Christmas, now people have father Christmases climbing up their roofs, light shows and carols played from loudspeakers. Fake snow on all the windows is nice, but covering your house in it is probably going too far. So do what pleases you (and your neighbours), but have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.