The mantel over your fireplace is a prime location for Christmas decor, and if you’ve never done so before, it can be truly amazing how a few basic decorations can make the whole scene light up with the magic of Christmas.
If you need some basic ideas or inspiration for how to decorate a mantelpiece for Christmas, you’re in the perfect place! Here’s how to do it.
Setting the Scene: Christmas Greenery
No mantelpiece would be complete without a little Christmas greenery, and there is no wrong way to decorate, but one of the most effective ways is to lay a garland, like a Norfolk pine garland, across the length of the mantel. The garland you choose should either be the length of the mantel, or else a little bit longer. Arrange it so that the ends hang over the ends of the mantel, creating a pleasing cascading effect.
If you don’t want to cover the whole mantel, you can use swags or teardrops to create a small centerpiece for the middle of the mantel. Trimmed with lights, ribbons, and ornaments, they can produce a slightly more subtle effect.
And, if you have a little spare space on the sides, you can easily fill this up with supporting Christmas decorations, such as candelabras, nutcrackers, Santa figurines or other Christmas resin, or even Christmas snowglobes.
Decorating the Greenery
Once you’ve gotten some lovely Christmas greenery like a Norfolk pine garland over your mantel, it’s time to liven it up. Here are some of the top ways to do that.
- Christmas Lights: A Christmas garland is a perfect blank canvas for some lights. Cluster or twinkle lights can look particularly beautiful when properly worked into a garland, but you can also use mini lights and if you’re going for a retro light, C7 and C9 Christmas lights are great too. For a short tutorial, see our previous post, How to Add Cluster or Twinkle Lights to Your Christmas Garlands.
- Christmas Ribbon: Whether or not you light the garland, Christmas ribbon is an excellent addition to most greenery as it will add color and movement, and can help fill in areas that are a little light. Pick two or three different types of ribbon, make some bows, and use it to embellish your greenery.
Supporting Christmas Decorations for the Mantelpiece
Now that you know how to decorate a Christmas mantelpiece with a garland, lights and decorations for the greenery, here are some nice Christmas accents you can place behind or on the sides of the mantelpiece, or even on the hearth around the fireplace.
- Nutcrackers: One nutcracker (or a few) can really round out the scene on your mantelpiece if you have the space. Take a look through our collection for some inspiration, and if you don’t have space on the mantel itself, consider adding a larger one on the hearth at the side of the fireplace.
- Elf on the Shelf: We’ve offered tons of creative ideas to parents for Elf on the Shelf in the past, and the mantel can be a great playground for your Scout Elf. Place the elf in the garland, suspend the elf from the mantel, or couch the elf in a decorative sleigh and nestle it behind the garland.
- Santa Figurines: Santa figurines and mantelpiece decorating go hand-in-hand, and we carry a wide variety of Santas here on our website.
- Mark Roberts Collectibles: Mark Roberts collectibles, particularly Mark Roberts Santas, are popular and timeless, sporting luxury fabric construction, capturing exquisite detail, and featuring posable wired limbs. They offer exceptional quality and attention to detail and are versatile for all your Christmas decorating, not just for use on the mantel. If you get familiar with our collection of Mark Roberts collectibles, don’t miss a chance to see his elves, nutcrackers, fairies, ornaments and accents in addition to Santa figurines.
- Karen Didion Santas: Karen Didion Santas, like Mark Roberts collectibles, are beloved for their unique character and hand-painted details. Her collections contain a wide variety of themed Santa figurines, meaning there’s a Santa figurine in her collection for nearly any setting.
- Nativity Ornaments and Nativity Scenes: If you have space on the mantel, that might be the perfect opportunity to create a nativity scene, if not just to include a few nativity ornaments to add an inspiring, faith-based accent. If there’s no room on the mantel, consider creating a nativity scene on the hearth underneath, if you have the room, as this will represent an excellent use of space.
Your BEST Christmas EVER Starts NOW!
Pick and choose some of the inspiration from this guide as you see fit, then shop our collections and get ready to create your most stunning Christmas mantelpiece display yet. And, when you’re done, post it to your socials and tag us with #dwchristmas for a chance to be featured!