Decorating For Winter After Christmas

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In this post: Decorating for the Holidays is wonderfully cozy. But what happens after that? Before spring arrives? How do you decorate for winter after Christmas? This post includes several ideas!

Christmas is hands down my favorite time of the year. Which is kind of humorous as I don't really like winter at all. What I do love is the decorations (and the excuse to stay inside by my fireplace). But what happens when Christmas is over? How do you carry holiday decor over to New Year's Eve and beyond? How do you decorate for winter after Christmas? Here is our cozy winter living room tour and several ideas for decorations that can bridge the decorating gap between Christmas and Spring.

winter decorating ideas

Our Cozy Winter Living Room

winter living room with black shiplap wall and neutral decor

Because of the hassle of moving all the decor totes every year, in the past I've always pretty much put all the decor away the week after Christmas. Every last bit of it. But I always found I was sad and the house felt too empty for the rest of winter. Especially since we live in Canada and winter can potentially last into April. You know, when we put away our dog sleds and all the igloos melt. 😉

I'm kidding, of course. But some years, it doesn't feel too far from the truth!

So, last week as we were packing up the Christmas decor, I decided to keep out some of the less Christmas-y winter decor. Things like greenery, twinkle lights and plenty of candles.

Need ideas for storing that Holiday decor you're taking down? Here are 5 budget-friendly hacks for storing holiday decor you can use right now!

Shiplap and barn beam fireplace

cozy shiplap fireplace tufted chair

And I'm LOVING the cozy, Hygge feeling that it's giving the house!

Video Tour of Our Cozy Winter Living Room

If you follow us on Instagram, you may have heard me mention in stories that we're doing more video this year. Woohoo! One of the first videos we shot this year, is this living room tour:

Be sure to subscribe to our channel on Youtube so you don't miss any of our new videos this year!

Staples You Can Use to Decorate for Winter After Christmas

If you want to cozy up your space this winter while you wait for Spring, here are several ideas for how to add that Hygge factor and decorate for winter after Christmas:

1. Pine Cones and Greenery

Pine cones and greenery can carry over from late fall right into early spring because they appear during this time in nature anyway. You can use real and faux greenery, large and small pine cones, indoors and out of doors.

antiques sign greenery white metal trees twinkle lights sofa table

To decorate for winter after Christmas this year, I kept two faux evergreen garlands out and put away the ones that were flocked. I love the flocked ones, but after Christmas I was tired of cleaning up their "droppings" every day! Ha! One of the garlands has pine cones on it already, but I may add a basket of pine cones later in the winter to bring more of the outdoors in – you know if it keeps snowing and everything is only white outside!

2. Blankets and Pillows

Pile them on! Blankets and pillows have a way of making a space feel cozy when it's cold outside even if you're not snuggled up in them. On New Year's Eve and after, guests will feel welcome to sit and stay awhile with a cozy collection of throw pillows and blankets adorning your couch.

Our blanket ladder with my chunky knit blanket collection is my favorite to look at, but I don't like using those blankets too much, mainly because Jackson likes to dig around in blankets and would ruin them with his claws. Instead they are on display and we use the blankets that are neatly tucked into a basket behind the couch.

chunky knit blankets on blanket ladder black shiplap wall

Since we kept our specifically Christmas throw pillows to a minimum this year, I just put away the three or four red ones and kept the neutral textured ones out for winter.

beige slipcovered sofa wood coffee table

3. Area Rugs

Much like pillows and throws, large and small area rugs can add warmth though the winter season too. Heavily textured materials like wool, sheepskin and natural fiber feel and look great all the way from fall to spring as well. And they feel great underfoot too!

This year I didn't have to do anything with the area rug because we'd just bought a new one in 2019. But if your rug is looking a little shabby, perhaps consider a shag or super cozy rug for your space. (Just keep in mind proper area rug sizing using this as a guideline.)

tufted chair knit pouf fur pillow

I also totally meant to bring my little faux sheepskin rug from Ikea down from my room to put on the coffee table under the tray. But I forgot to do it before I took photos to show you. Oops!

4. Twinkle Lights and Candles

I'm pretty sure you love the cozy glow of the Christmas tree lights as much as I do. There's just something so warm and inviting about them. And when the tree comes down, I really miss that soft, warm glow. But do you know what? I finally realized that just because there's no tree, doesn't mean there can't be any lights!

On our main floor, I mentioned that I kept a couple of greenery garlands with lights, one on the sofa table in the living room and one on the side table in the dining room. I also added a string of lights to the faux eucalyptus garland I put together on the fireplace. Most are battery powered, but I did find a couple of plug-in, electric strands too.

faux eucalyptus garland on barn beam mantel

To create the fireplace garland: spread two faux eucalyptus garlands across the mantel, tuck 5-6 faux eucalyptus stems into the garland, and add string lights. Easy-peasy!

I also added several candles to the living room too. Some are battery powered with timers, and I've got them set to come on when it starts to get dark outside, which is lovely. Others I light and keep an eye on since I'm a bit forgetful and have to consciously remember to blow them out. (#facepalm) You just can't beat the glow of candlelight!

thrifted candlesticks on cake stand with twinkle lights and greenery

tray on coffee table with old books antler candle and faux tree

So that's how I decorate for winter after Christmas to keep things all Hygge and cozy while it's stark and cold outside. Pretty simple really. Which is my favorite kind of decor!

Living Room Source List:

Wall Color – Sherwin Williams Eider White
Black Shiplap – DIY here, Paint Color Sherwin Williams Black Magic
Sectional – Ikea Ektorp with Nordvalla Grey Covers
Rug – Amazon
Tufted Chairs – Wayfair
White Dresser – thrifted and painted – DIY here
Shiplap and Barn Beam Fireplace – DIY here
Olive Topiaries – Wayfair
Curtains – DIY here
Bamboo Blinds – Amazon
Chunky Knit Blankets – similar here
Pouf Ottomans – Amazon
Neutral Throw Pillows – here
Coffee Table – DIY here
Nested Side Tables – Bouclair
Floor Lamp – Wayfair
Sofa Table Lamps – Birch Lane, no longer available
Sofa Table – DIY, no tutorial
Blanket Ladder – DIY here
Wall Sconces – Lamps Plus
Bookcase – Wayfair
Tray – similar here
Wooden Horse – Homesense
Crock – antique find
Rae Dunn Candle – Homesense
Old Books – antique/thrifted
Candlesticks – antique/thrifted/Micheals
Mini Evergreen Tree – Real Canadian Superstore
White Metal Trees – Ikea
DemiJohn Style Vase – Walmart Canada
Faux Eucalyptus Stems – Amazon
Cake Stand – Antique Farmhouse, not currently available

easy ways to decorate for winter after the holidays

So how to you decorate for winter after Christmas and cozy up during the cold, dark months of the year?