Simple Holiday Decorating – Using Stuff You Already Have!

Looking for simple ways to add some holiday spirit to your Fort Myers apartment? It doesn’t have to cost a lot – or take much time – to deck your halls and give your home that festive feel. Here are some quick decorating ideas that call for items you probably already have on hand!

Make Your Own Colorful Holiday Votive Holders

If you have red, green or other brightly colored drinking glasses, use them to hold votive candles – we recommend battery-operated flameless candles (they’re the safest choice). If all you have in your cupboards are clear glasses, buy a can or two of glass paint (available at your hardware store) and get creative: cover them with candy cane stripes, dot ‘em with “snowflakes,” or paint with a herd of reindeer.

Arrange the votive holders in the center of the dining table or coffee table and surround with greens. Add a couple bows, sprigs of holly, some artificial snow, miniature ornaments, or glitter for an even more elaborate holiday decoration.

Use Ornaments All Over Your Apartment

A tree is not the only place you can showcase bright, shiny holiday ornaments. Take a tall clear vase, large glass salad bowl, or several wine glasses and fill with red, green, silver and/or gold balls (if you’ve got kids in your home you might want to use shatterproof ornaments). Tie a bright ribbon around the stems if you’re using wine glasses to enhance the look. The larger the container the more dramatic this easy, no-fuss decoration will be.

Create a Skating Rink 

Use a large mirror (framed or unframed) to create a miniature winter scene. Place the mirror on your table and sprinkle artificial snow all around the edges, leaving enough bare in the center to create an ice rink. Now place some skating figurines (available at a craft store) on the mirror and dot the edges of the rink with some miniature trees. This is a charming winter scene not many of us in Fort Meyer get to see in real life!

Bring a Little Light into Every Corner

Mini LED light strings are a relatively new way to add sparkle to artificial trees – pine, fig…any kind, really. These lights don’t get hot and come battery-operated, making it possible to decorate safely and without relying on extension cords. You can also buy cork-shaped rechargeable LED bottle lights (here’s just one of many brands available on amazon.com) to turn colored beverage bottles into a bright holiday display.

Wrap a Stack of Boxes

Nothing says holiday like brightly wrapped gift boxes topped with shiny bows! Create a stack that has the largest box on the bottom, topped with a series of smaller and smaller boxes, until you’ve created a sort of pyramid. Use the stack of gifts as a centerpiece or just to add some color and shine to a drab corner of your apartment.

We’d like to hear your ideas – what are you doing to dress up your apartment this holiday? We’ll post those we think our readers would enjoy!