Christmas window decorating ideas to inspire your home this season
Look beyond the interior for this year’s decorations. Christmas window decorating ideas are set to be more popular than ever this year, as homeowners look for ways to add maximum impact to seasonal decorating.
While wreaths on doors and lights illuminating front porches gain a lot of attention, window decorations can add even more wow factor to any Christmas ideas. From on-trend chalk painting and stickers to festive bunting, sprucing up your windows for Christmas will make your home look and feel cosy and inviting from the outside in.
Christmas window decorating ideas
Our windows are our homes connection with the outside world, which has never been more needed than in recent years. Pinterest reported a 50 per cent increase in searches for ‘Christmas window decorations’ last year, set to be even higher this year as the trend really takes off.
1. Welcome Christmas characters with stickers
Image credit: Stickers4walls.co.uk
Welcome the most popular Christmas characters into your home with these reusable stickers. The Christmas gnome, or Christmas gonk as they are also called, is a must-have for festive decorating right now – as they become the most favoured character in recent years.
Ideal to delight children and adults alike, this set of Scandinavian Gnome stickers are made from soft PVC static cling vinyl. The easy to peel and apply stickers are just the tonic to dress windows without making a mess by leaving any residue. They are reposition-able and reusable, so they can be used year after year.
Buy now: Reusable Gnome Trio Window Decorations, £36.99, Sticker4walls.co.uk
2. Set the scene with large silhouettes on doors
Image credit: Future/ Jo Henderson
As the trend for sliding or opening French doors on the back of home extensions soars, there’s all the more window to decorate. Embrace this blank canvas of glass as a way to set the scene with an array of sticks depicting a seasonal winter wonderland story.
Advice for using window stickers. Wash your chosen window first to remove any dirt and grease. With the backing paper still in place play around with compositions by laying your stickers out on a flat surface. Once you’re happy with the design remove the backing paper and smooth onto the window. Use a credit card or squeegee to remove any bubbles.
3. Illuminate windows with twinkling lights
Image credit: Lights4Fun/ Oliver Perrott
Who doesn’t love a set of twinkling fairy lights, whatever the season! Lights hanging in the windows offers a beautiful way to welcome warmth to your decorating scheme – for both inside and out. This delicate light display by Lights4fun is specially designed to frame the window perfectly to cascade floating star lights down the window pane.
Buy now: Osby Star Christmas Window Light, £32.99, Light4fun.co.uk
4. Send season’s greetings
Image credit: Cox & Cox
Keep it simple but to the point with a window sticker which offers the message to wish all a ‘Merry Christmas’. Window stickers are ideal for an easy way to add decoration, without leaving a mess or residue on windows – like snow spray can.
Stickers make it far easier to get a perfect finish, and in no time at all.
Buy now: Merry Christmas Window Sticker, £6.50, Cox & Cox
5. Hang homemade garlands inside the window frame
Image credit: Future
Make your own decorative garlands to hang inside window frames to add a decorative touch – whether you choose colour, foliage or sparkle, make your garlands fit with the scheme that suits your home.
Tie light weight decorations and sprigs of real foliage to a thin wire to secure to the top and bottom of wooden window frames with a small drawing pin. If you have UPCV windows use a sticky tape that can be easily peeled off, to avoid marking the frames.
6. Frame the front door with window decorations
Image credit: Future/ Dominic Blackmore
Set the scene at the front door by decorating the window panes either side. Simple snowflake stickers or stencilled snow spray patterns are ideal to add a magical touch to the overall look of your outdoor Christmas decor ideas.
7. Create a blanket of stars
Image credit: Lights4fun.co.uk
Make your windows shine bright with a curtain of lit up stars. Ideal for upstairs and downstairs windows these charming stars add a warm white sparkle to your home. The simple light up star curtain has discreet white hooks that sit at the top of each of the 5 strings of stars, making it super easy to hang in any window.
For indoor use only each string features 8 stars and measure 1m in length, the stars measure 6cm in diameter – with approximately 10cm between each star. The design entirely covers the window with a soft glow when illuminated. Mains powered.
Buy now: 40 Warm White LED Star Curtain Lights, £19.99, lights4fun.co.uk
8. Decorate with snowflakes
Image credit: Future/ David Brittain
You can buy simple stickers, designed specifically for the job – meaning they shouldn’t leave a sticky residue behind once taken down. From snowflakes to forest scenes there’s a captivating sticker to do the job for your window display. Try Etsy or Hobbycraft for stylish seasonal designs.
9. Cascade glowing fairy lights
Image credit: Future/ Jon Day
Fairy lights never fail to do the job of creating ambience. Suspend strings of simple fairy lights by windows to benefit from the effect both inside and out. They can help to act as outdoor lights to do your bit for the street, without having to hang them out in the cold. From indoor they help to enhance the view, meaning whatever the whether your home will feel festive and cosy.
10. String up seasonal bunting
Image credit: Ginger Ray
If you’re a big fan of a paired back decor then Christmas decorations might feel overwhelming. But fear not because they can be spectacular and subtle in equal measure. A simple string of bunting is enough to welcome a seasonal touch of added style, without adding colour and bling. Placing the bunting infant of a window goes a long way to extend Christmas cheer to the world beyond.
Traditional hessian bunting is perfect in a cosy country cottage or paired with neutral interiors and an elegantly-styled Christmas tree. Adding an adorable dog into the mix is never a bad idea either.
11. Cut out paper silhouettes
Image credit: Future/ Brent Darby
Like childhood crafts, make your own simple but stylish paper cutouts to adorn the windows. Stick with simple White Tack, so the paper cutouts are easy to remove and stuck ‘magically’, unobviously to the eye.
12. Fill window sills with colour
Image credit: Future/ Rachel Whiting
Create a curated festive display on the window sill, that can be enjoyed both inside and out. From coloured tealight votives to mini decorated trees, set the scene with colour that will cast a warm glow.
13. Get creative with cacti
Image credit: Future/ Catherine Gratwicke
As the plant of the year, it’s only right that some form of succulent play a pressing role in festive decorating this year. This playful display sees mini cacti arrangements suspended on wires with a window frame, to float above the festive floral arrangements on the window sill. These simple plants are perfect, because they won’t require watering in the time they are up over Christmas.
14. Make a garland of crackers
Image credit: Future/ Emma Lee
This idea is a little crackers perhaps…but doesn’t it look fabulous! Simply string together two sets of crackers, tying a thread around each send of one cracker to the next. Hang the handmade creation across the window as your would a garland. Using shiny metallic crackers is a good way to catch the light and get them noticed from the outside too.
To save waste you could simply take these down on the big day to use around the table.
15. Invest in a festive blind
Image credit: 247 Blinds
Looking for a more inclusive way to dress your windows this Christmas? Invest in a festive blind to create the perfect cosy scene for Christmas festivities.
‘A seasonal patterned print with subtle hints of Christmas is perfect if you’re looking to add a low maintenance festive touch to your window’ explains Jason Peterkin, director at 247 Blinds. ‘Opt for a pattern that won’t look out of place throughout the whole winter period to create an ideal backdrop for your window display.’
Buy now: Mistletoe Berries Roller Blind, from £16.37, 247 Blinds
16. Stage festive accessories at the window
Image credit: Future/ Brent Darby
It’s amazing how far a simple decoration in the window can go to lift your Christmas living room decorating idea. Because it’s to be enjoyed both inside and out, it’s a great way to get more from your seasonal decorations.
Whether a reindeer placed on the window frame or a willow heart or star shaped decoration hanging from the window catch, it’s enough to signify that Christmas has arrived in your home.
How do you dress windows for Christmas?
Dressing windows for Christmas has become the latest decorating trend to captivate the nation, from reusable stickers offering season’s greetings to curtains of twinkling lights – windows are where it’s at for festive decorating.
Pinterest reported a 50 per cent increase in searches for ‘Christmas window decorations’. With an increase in searches specifically for ‘Christmas window painting’ up three times that of last year. While painting windows is an effective method to add decoration it can prove messy and time consuming – stickers are the easy alternative.
If painting or spraying with snow take care not to damage the surrounding walls. If hanging decorative trimmings first, consider how you’re going to do so. Seasonal decor will be taken down after a month or so and the last thing you want to do is make any permanent damage to your windows.
How do you hang ornaments on windows?
On how to hang ornaments on windows Adam Pawson, Head of Digital at Safestyle, offers his advice: ‘Clear self-adhesive hooks work well and can be removed without damage. For best results, clean and dry the window first, this will remove any unwanted residue and ensure the hooks stick properly.’
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