Christmas trees may get the lion’s share of attention when it comes to decorating for the holidays, but they’re not the only place to spread yuletide cheer come December. The spot that boasts the biggest potential for a festive upgrade? Your fireplace mantel.
Here’s the best part: All of these mantel decorating ideas are simple—no panicked runs to the holiday aisle at the craft store here—so you can spend more time on all the best parts of the season (holiday movie marathons and sugar cookie baking sessions, here we come).
Winter Forest Mantel Decor
A Beautiful Mess
A Beautiful Mess designed this sweet and simple holiday mantel, with wooden garland, bottle brush trees, and gold deer that are a perfect match for the rustic mantel.
Candy Land Holiday Mantel
Melissa Ross/Getty Images
Add a sweet touch to your mantel. Just pull out pretty jars and fill them with colorful candies. (Make sure you stash some extra in case people sneak away some of your mantel decor!) A frosted wreath tops it off for a festive look.
Peaceful Mantel Color Scheme
A Beautiful Mess
Think outside the traditional holiday colors. A Beautiful Mess designed this mantel to coordinate with the year-round mantel artwork in hues of peach and pink. Soft white stockings, garlands, and miniature houses are the perfect accompaniment (and won’t look out of place beyond the new year).
Au Naturel Holiday Mantel
Anjelika Gretskaia/Getty Images
You may have everything you need for this festive mantel in your home and yard. Fresh evergreen and pinecones add a touch of winter beauty when mixed in with gold candlesticks and white candles.
Village Mantel Decorations
Tatertots and Jello
Create a simple holiday village for your mantel, with white houses and vibrant bottlebrush trees. Tatertots and Jello finished this tableau with a swag of colorful garland and vintage wooden toys.
Off the Chain Mantel Decor
Inspired By Charm
Kids can help dress up the mantel with handmade paper chains. (Go ahead and use magazine pages for a pretty, patterned design.) Inspired By Charm added the paper chain to a lush garland of greenery, lights, and ornaments to create the centerpiece of this fireplace decor, topped off with an array of tree-shaped ornaments and vintage deer figurines.
Layered Mantel Garlands
A Beautiful Mess
Layer together several different garlands to create an intricate mantelscape. A Beautiful Mess offers a quick tutorial for a DIY swan garland that you can add to festive wool ball garlands and an array of mantel decor.
Gift-Filled Mantel
Cultura RM Exclusive/BRETT STEVENS/Getty Images
Beautifully wrapped gifts and a few sparkly ornaments are all you need for a pretty mantel look. Keep everything in a similar color scheme to make it look more cohesive.
Candy-Colored Forest
Forgo the ever-popular red and green color combo for a rainbow of celebratory hues, as inspired by Kelly Mindell of Studio DIY. The crafty influencer turned to a forest’s worth of vibrant bottle brush trees to enliven her Christmas mantel decor. The finishing touch? Classic red and white felted stockings, which Kelly actually made herself—you can find the full DIY here.
Seasonal Swag
For a modern twist on Christmas mantel garland, consider decorating your hearth with an asymmetrical swath of greenery, like Erin Francois of Francois et Moi did at her friend’s 1920s Minneapolis home. To achieve this dynamic look, she mixed fresh cedar and pine greenery with faux steams of magnolia and evergreen for a garland that is hearty, full, and fragrant. Dried orange slices and a slew of brass candlesticks finish off the simple yet stunning look.
Snowy Scenery
When it came to decking the halls at her house, blogger Rebecca Lopez of The Crafted Sparrow gave her mantel a genius seasonal update, swapping in snowy artwork to help bring the chill (especially necessary, since she calls sunny Arizona home). She paired the prints, found on Etsy, with whimsical twinkle lights and a touch of greenery for a modern and cozy scene worthy of the North Pole.
Retro Revival Mantel
If your preferred holiday vibe is bright, bold, and colorful, then you’ll love this next Christmas mantel decor scene from Sugar and Cloth. There is nary a sprig of greenery in sight—instead, Ashley turned to a retro-inspired palette and quirky accents (faux reindeer taxidermy, anyone?) to enliven a non-working fireplace. For a similar look, shop for a colorful holiday sign to string atop your mantel, then accent it with unexpected pops of color using ribbon, fabric, ornaments, and more.
Simple Elegance Fireplace Mantel
Subtle can be just as seasonal, as proven by this cozy scene courtesy of Anastasia Casey of IDCO Studio. Using a refined palette of cream, green, and golden mustard, she transformed her living room into a sophisticated holiday retreat anyone would be lucky to score an invitation to. Her classic mantel decor draws the eye immediately, thanks to the addition of fresh greenery, velvet ribbon, and an arrangement of muted pillar candles.
Blue Christmas Mantel
Cool blue accents can make for a frosty and fantastical twist on the traditional holiday palette. Case in point: This elegant Christmas mantel decor from Finding Lovely, which gives an icy baby blue top billing for the season. Blogger Jackie accented the chic scene with crisp neutrals and a simple arrangement of ceramic trees for a holiday scene that is a breath of (frosty) fresh air.
Pretty in Pink Mantel Decor
Photographer Stephanie Elliott allowed her charming collectibles to take center stage on her holiday mantel, pairing the vintage ceramic reindeer figurines with equally charming bottle brush trees and greenery. A grouping of knit stockings completes the look, hanging all off to one side for a playful twist on tradition.
