Give in to a kid-friendly tree.

A mix of new and vintage ornaments dress this glowing tree. Its stand fits inside a galvanized wash bucket that the owner outfitted with casters for instant portability.

Find more holiday inspiration in our Festive Christmas Trees photo gallery and our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Opt for a longer lasting wreath.

"I love a simple, oversized magnolia wreath on the front door — it's both classic and contemporary," says Mauran. "It costs more but lasts longer — I leave mine up all winter."

Splurge on ribbons, wrap and more.

Just pick up number stickers at a craft store and affix them to ornaments for an instant DIY hit — then watch faces light up when they see the display.

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Keep all five senses in mind when decorating for a party.

The 9-1/2-foot Christmas tree, decorated simply with chartreuse and gold ornaments, a grapevine-twig garland and about 2,000 white twinkle lights, serves as a festive focal point in the great room. Gifts wrapped in kraft paper and tied with green and gold ribbons are in keeping with homeowner Pauline Esdale’s simple, natural holiday theme.

See more of Pauline Esdale’s Festive Home in our photo gallery.

And for more seasonal ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

See more wreaths in our photo gallery, plus learn tips for decorating a door with small wreaths and crafting a DIY boxwood wreath.

Frame the kids’ Santa picture each year to add a personal touch to a console or mantel.

“Even though it’s a crazy time of year, we go to Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall to have the kids’ photo taken with Santa,” says Toronto designer Anne Hepfer. “The nostalgia of a child believing in Santa brings tears to my eyes. We stand in line and they ask all kinds of questions about Santa. The only reason I’m in this photo is because they wouldn’t have their photo taken without me in it! I then frame the photo and display it in the living room for the holiday season.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Send simple, classic greetings in lieu of digital prints.

“Every year we send out a family holiday card,” says Toronto designer Hepfer. “Call me a traditionalist, but I still like to glue the photo on. The quality is just better than the new digital formats. I order my cards from The Printery in Oyster Bay, New York.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Trade poinsettias for paperwhites.

Layering antique furniture with soft shades of lilac, this room is an elegant and upscale take on holiday dining. There’s no ornamentation here; a garland of magnolia leaves decorating the 19th-century Dominican sideboard, potted paperwhites and a single vase of hydrangeas, lilies and berries offers subtle nods to the season.

Find more inspiration in our photo galleries of Thanksgiving Tables and Holiday Tables, plus see more holiday decorating ideas in our photo galleries of Christmas Decorating and Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips.

No mantel? Display Christmas cards on a large board instead.

Toronto designer Anne Hepfer keeps hers up all year for the kids to enjoy: “All of the holiday cards we receive go up on a giant bulletin board in our playroom and they stay up all year long. The kids love looking at photos of their friends and relatives — a lot of whom are in the U.S. and abroad.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Secure sentimental ornaments to the tree with wire.

“We decorate the tree together as a family with the ornaments that we’ve collected over the years,” says Toronto designer Anne Hepfer. “Each ornament has a special meaning or memory. My most sentimental ornament is a Christopher Radko “Brave Heart” which commemorates September 11, 2001. I was living in New York City on that tragic day. I wire on any breakable ornaments to the tree, that way if a child, pet or person accidentally bumps the tree, we don’t have any casualties!”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Logs add a rustic, wintery feel.

This charming chimney is framed by rough beams, while the windows are flanked by sweet interior shutters. Fireplace tools hang neatly from a set of antlers, turning these utilitarian objects into rustic objet d’arts.

See more of this country home in our Rustic Fall Farmhouse photo gallery, plus find more inspiration in our photo galleries of Cosy Winter Cabins and Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips.

Invest in fresh flowers for a party.

Toronto designer Philip Mitchell doesn’t cheap out on faux flowers for the holidays — he can’t resist the fresh scents of pine and fresh flowers. “My partner Mark and I generally entertain a great deal and there’s something wonderful about fresh greens/flowers throughout our home and office,” he says. “Though it’s more expensive and a little more work to maintain the scent and texture of fresh pine, flowers and magnolia leaves, they definitely complete our holiday decorating. We lean towards mostly green and red flowers (like these amaryllis) during the holidays — being traditionalists at heart.”

For more on amaryllis holiday flowers, watch this video. Plus, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Group holiday collectibles for impact.

“We display nutcrackers that Mark started collecting a number of years ago — gifts from friends and family and others we have purchased on trips abroad,” says Toronto designer Philip Mitchell. “It’s always nice to be able to enjoy this display and the sentiment attached to it during the holidays.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Adorn exterior windows.

"We like to add fresh wreaths to all of our exterior windows," says Mitchell. "It has an enormous impact on passersby, as well as any holiday guests we have."

Plant holly in your garden for fresh greenery come Christmas.

Toronto designer Philip Mitchell keeps it local by growing his own festive greenery: “We have always planted an abundance of holly bushes in our gardens so that we have plenty to cut from when the holiday season rolls around as well as having some lovely red accents with those berries in our garden,” he says.

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Stock up your woodpile this season.

“There is almost always a wood burning fire going in our house throughout the month of December,” says Toronto designer Philip Mitchell. “It’s so wonderfully inviting and brings such a sense of warmth to our living room for us and our guests. It cuts down on the heating bills as well.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Experiment with staircase decorating.

A stunning green garland, dotted with feathery white birds, is wired to the base of the railing so that the top remains free for use. A marble table topped with presents and a vintage candle holder add another festive note without being overly ornamental.

Find more inspiration in our photo galleries of Christmas Decorations, Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips and Gorgeous Garlands.

Create festive tablescapes.

A French-Canadian chest of drawers is paired with a glamorous beveled mirror in this principal bedroom. Reflection is one of designer Colleen McGill’s favourite tricks for adding elegance and expanding a Victorian house’s skinny proportions.

See more photos in our Christmas decorations gallery. Enjoy more shots of McGill’s space, also, or view her entire house in our November 2008 issue.

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips gallery, our Holiday Wreaths gallery, plus learn tips for decorating a door with small wreaths and crafting a DIY boxwood wreath.

Impress neighbours with log reindeer.

“When we bought and renovated our house on Vancouver’s Trinity Street in the summer/fall of 2003, we had no idea about Trinity’s reputation for amazing Christmas lights and displays,” says designer Shelley Penner. “It only dawned on me when I was putting up our lights outside the first year. I noticed one of the strings of lights I had was no longer working, and within minutes, our neighbour across the street (a.k.a. the Trinity Street Christmas lights organizer) kindly offered a string she was not using to ensure our display was balanced. For the first few years I took on the task of tastefully decorating the outside of our house. I believe it was the second year that I purchased three very cute reindeer made out of tree limbs and branches. Our next-door neighbour, who is always building something, took it upon himself to help the reindeer multiply. So we ended up with about 20 reindeer between our front yards. We then came up with the “deer in the headlights” concept, which this photo doesn’t illustrate well. It snowed in Vancouver that year and didn’t melt right away. So at night we would turn on what looked like headlights on the deer and they would cast the most wonderful shadows.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Look to fashion trends for gift wrapping.

Toronto designers Christine Ralphs and Michelle Lloyd of Lloyd Ralphs Design swap the usual red and green for unexpected colour and pattern combinations: “The holidays are a great time to indulge in personal projects, and gift wrapping is the perfect outlet for creative expression!” Ralphs says. “I’m always inspired by fashion, so incorporating the season’s trends in my gift wrapping is my favourite theme. This year, leopard is key. Leopard paper with black ribbon is classic, but for the real news of the season, pair leopard-print wrapping paper with Hermès orange and hot pink ribbon, or leopard-print paper with Yves Klein blue and kelly green. Python print is another hot trend, whether it’s a neutral python print with flesh-coloured ribbon or a python print in red or kelly green. Look no further than the runways for holiday inspiration!”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Don't be too matchy-matchy.

Instead of going for an overly coordinated tree, mix and match new and vintage decorations in a variety of shapes, sizes and saturated hues to achieve a playful feel — the more colour, the merrier! Use a graphic patterned giftwrap — here, it’s stripes and polka dots — to amp up the drama of the tree.

Find more inspiration in our photo galleries of Christmas Decorations, 3 Holiday Decorating Styles, Bold Holiday Colour Combinations and Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips.

Bring the outdoors in.

"This year my focus is going to be on natural elements — cedar boughs, berries, pine cones, pomegranates; anything in nature. They smell and look great!" says Reid.

Embrace mix-and-match dining when hosting large groups.

It’s Christmas tradition in many families to cram dozens of people into a space that normally seats four. This year, embrace the chaos and set a charming, mix-and-match table. Toronto designer Sarah Richardson remembers a year the dining table featured a mix of silver cutlery from her mother-in-law, antique Limogoes plates from her own mother, dinner plates from her grandmother, and placemats made from an Irish linen runner. “I think what’s important is not getting too caught up in having a perfectly matched setting for 12 people,” says Richardson. “I can’t imagine anything looking tickety-boo because then it has no reflection of history.”

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery.

Spruce up an entryway with urns.

This classic house already has all the elements of a welcoming entry: wide flagstone stairs, a gorgeous arched doorway and pair of glowing lanterns. But it’s the matching evergreen-filled planters and simple boxwood wreath — with their lush green tones — that make this red brick exterior really sing. 

For more ideas, see our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips photo gallery. Plus, see more wreaths in our photo gallery, and learn tips for decorating a door with small wreaths. Or browse through more festive exterior decorating photos in our Outdoor Holiday Decorations gallery.

Secure a tall tree to walls with fishing line.

All-white decorations give this pre-lit tree a dreamy quality, bringing a snowy winter wonderland indoors. White-wrapped presents are trimmed with metallic gold and silver ribbon for sparkle. A gilt-framed mirror, candelabra and the glossy dark floor exude luxury and refinement.

See more holiday decorating ideas in our Christmas Decorating gallery and our Designers’ Holiday Decorating Tips gallery.

Set aside small hostess gifts for last-minute parties.

Shimmery golds mix with organic browns in the Woodland Splendour collection. Varying ornament sizes and shapes give the tree sophistication, while the large bow atop completes the look. Use striped gift wrapping paper with solid ribbons, and pair kraft paper with any ribbon suiting your colour scheme.

See more of Debbie Travis’s holiday décor in our photo gallery. Find everything you need to get the Woodland Splendour look at Canadian Tire.