The mornings have a slight chill and fall has finally arrived. While you bask in all your pumpkin spice things, turn your attention to the mantel over the fireplace. It’s time to start dressing it up for the upcoming holiday season.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza will each be upon us before we know it and your mantel is the prime space to start those celebrations. If you play your cards right, you can find a way to reuse many of your mantel decor elements throughout the entire holiday season.
Here’s a few holiday mantel decoration ideas to get you started.
Halloween Mantel Decor
Candles and holders of various sizes and heights are a simple way to get the right ambiance for Halloween. Select colors that evoke a mysterious feel but that you could also repurpose for Thanksgiving and into the December holidays. Gold, silver, dark green, navy, or deep red are excellent options.
A deer head is a decoration that can easily shift from spooky to rustic for a look that can shift with each holiday. Add cobwebs to the antlers for Halloween and tilt it to one side for a careless look. Place cut-out paper bats here and there for a fun and mood enhancing addition.
Pumpkins are a must for Halloween. Get them in different sizes and colors and place them on the mantel (mini or sugar pumpkins), hearth, and floor (larger pumpkins). Try out some warty varieties and squat Cinderella pumpkins for a more stylized look. You can paint pumpkins any color to coordinate with your everyday decor as well.
Dried leaves and flowers add a nice touch to a Halloween or fall mantel. A few cobwebs and plastic spiders increase the spooky factor if you like that vibe.
Mantel Decor Pro Tip
Your mantel is not a flat surface and your decor shouldn’t be two-dimensional either. Place items at different depths and heights layering in the magic for a full, well-proportioned scheme.
Thanksgiving Mantel Decor
Before you throw all that Halloween mantel decor out, or into a box, think about how you can repurpose it. Dried leaves and flowers, pumpkins, candles, and of course, the deer head can be restyled for Thanksgiving.
Adding color should be your first step. Rich colors like deep reds, mustard-y yellows, and golden oranges are excellent accents for your Thanksgiving decor. Browns also add a grounding sensation to your scheme.
All Thanksgiving decor has one thing in common: messages of gratitude and hope. That’s why word art will play an important role in your mantel decor. Framed word art, chalkboards, bunting with a letter on each flag, wood blocks, and word encrusted throw pillows are all wonderful ways to bring a pleasant message to your decor.
The garland is a powerful tool that can do everything from filling in gaps to becoming the center of attention. Greenery garlands tucked in among pumpkins on the top of the mantel or fall leaf garland winding its way between candles and word art is a filler that completes the look. A pom pom garland or bunting draped from one corner of the mantel to the other draws attention as the main focus of your decor.
Mantel Decor Pro Tip
Contrast in your mantel decor is necessary to ensure each element pops off the mantel instead of blending into one mass. Contrasting colors and textures next to each other help you achieve this. Red, orange, and yellow all fall into a similar color family, so offset that with blue or a cool metallic like silver. Dried wheat or flowers next to smooth pumpkins offer textural contrast that help each item stand out.
Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa Mantel Decor
Though very different holidays, each of the December celebrations center around light. Those candles you got back in October? Make sure they are a part of your December mantel decor. You can also add some twinkle lights and wind them around the other elements on the mantel, which brings more depth to the layers of decor.
Metallics are a great way to add some extra bling and amplify your lighting. Add baubles to your garland and silver or gold toned candle holders to your mantel top. Metallic ribbons and knicknacks are a hallmark of the December holidays too.
Greenery is another staple of the holidays, especially greenery that smells nice. Pine, eucalyptus, bay, and rosemary are all excellent options that bring a scent that sets this season off with something special. Other natural elements like orange pomanders studded with cloves offer a lovely scent too.
Another approach to the holiday mantel is to go winter wonderland white. It’s a look you can carry into January seamlessly to enjoy your mantel decor a little longer. Flocked greenery, silver accents, white tassel garlands, etc. are an excellent foundation to build your holiday mantel decor around.
Mantel Decor Pro Tip
Instead of evenly spreading your decor across the mantel, opt instead for groupings and non-symmetrical arrangements. This adds interest to your mantel decor and makes it look like a pro designer put it together. Pull your garland further over to one side then place the Christmas stockings at the other end, scoot the menorah over to one side and accent the other side with smaller twinkle lights.
Need more mantel decor ideas? Check out these.