Last-Minute Holiday Decorating Ideas For the Truly Uninspired & Lazy

By the time Thanksgiving dinner is over, I’m already spent. Which makes the quick pivot into Christmas a particularly tiresome prospect —especially because that holiday is, in turn, followed closely by New Year’s Eve and our huge annual party. Being wedged in between those two other major holidays means that poor Christmas gets a little neglected in our household — which is why these quick, easy decorating ideas are really appealing. If you can’t pull it off this year, or just want to be a little bit of a Scrooge, these are for you.

Pile something Christmas-y in a bowl or compote. The Makerista used ornaments, but pinecones or nuts are also nice festive objects that work for the season.

Holiday cards are like little Christmas decorations that arrive at your doorstep. When they start pouring in this time of year, just tape them to the wall, or clip them into some pants hangers. Do it in the shape of a wreath or tree, and that’s yet one more decoration you don’t have to deal with.

Clip a branch or sprig from your neighbor’s pine tree, and stick it in a vase or jar. You can add some ornaments and organic elements at the base, but simple greenery on its own is timeless and beautiful. And easy. Did I mention easy?

It doesn’t get much easier than adding lights and some greenery to a basket, bucket or crate.

Stick a poinsettia on a table and you’ve got some holiday decoration for a couple of weeks. And, if you get a burst of energy and good intentions, you can also keep growing these “Christmas plants” all year.

It only takes a few seconds to hang some jingle bells on your doorknob. You can get fancy by making a cute ornament, or adding some sprigs of pine or a ribbon like Home Depot (above), but even bells alone make a merry sound.

– Re-edited from a post originally run on 12/7/2016 – DF