How to Decorate Your Entryway for an Informal Christmas

An entryway with informal Christmas decor imparts a sense of fun, almost a free-for-all. Here are some quick, easy ways to achieve a casual look. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Create a floor display that will instantly set a fun mood for arriving guests. This could be a plump molded-plastic Santa, a pitiful Charlie Brown-type Christmas tree, or an appliance-size box wrapped in white butcher paper plus a large bow and crayons (so visitors can write a personal greeting on the paper).

2

String twine from corner to corner across one or more walls, and pin on holiday cards as you receive them.

3

Decorate the interior side of the front door. You or the kids could make a funky wreath by gluing bottle caps or uncooked small pasta shapes onto a circular cardboard cutout and spray-painting it; or craft a collage of your kids' Christmas art, past and present, on the door.

4

Arrange a simple conversation piece for the top of an entryway table, chest or console. Using toothpicks, build a "tree" sculpture of satin-wrapped plastic-foam Christmas ornaments, or simply seat a Santa, angel or snowman in a shallow basket full of colorful outdoor-type Christmas lightbulbs.

5

Suspend paper cutout snowflake or homemade dough ornaments from the handrail if a staircase is visible from the entryway. Let the kids help.

6

Post family members' and pets' handwritten Christmas wish lists on the walls or in windows. Encourage everyone to be as creative as possible, or ghost-write imaginatively: a new Jaguar for dad, 50 pounds of liver treats for Fido (signed with a faux pawprint signature), eternally dry diapers for baby, $1,000 worth of CDs for the teenager.

7

Hang a whimsical Christmas decoration from the center of the ceiling or a light fixture. Consider a plastic Rudolph reindeer, a smiling elf or a small stocking suspended from monofilament (fishing) line.