40-Day Christmas Challenge | Day 19: Decorate for the Home You Actually Have • Everyday Cheapskate

Christmas decorating has an interesting way of beginning with a tree and ending with you standing on a chair wondering whether the top of the kitchen cabinets really needs garland.

Maybe yours does.

But here’s what I’ve finally figured out: the right amount of Christmas decorating is not determined by how many decorations you own. Or how somebody else’s house looks. Or how much you did last year.

It depends on the home you’re living in, the time you’ve got, the money you’re willing to spend and how much you actually enjoy doing it.

That’s what we’re decorating this year.

The home we actually have.

Today’s Challenge

Decide what Christmas decorating looks like for your home this year.

Maybe that’s a big tree and greenery everywhere because you love every minute of it. Maybe it’s a tabletop tree, stockings and a wreath. Maybe you’ve moved, downsized, rearranged the furniture, added a pet, welcomed a baby, injured a knee or simply reached the conclusion that you don’t want to spend two days decorating anymore.

Things change. Your Christmas decorating is allowed to change with them.

Do This Today

1. Decide what makes the biggest difference.

What would you genuinely miss if you didn’t put it up?

The tree? The stockings? The nativity? The wreath on the door? The ridiculous ornament your child made years ago that appears to be constructed from glue, glitter and one unidentified food product?

Start with the things that make your home feel like Christmas to you.

Those get first claim on your time and space.

2. Choose where Christmas actually fits.

Look at the rooms you use and the space you’ve got.

You don’t need to decorate every room. You don’t need a large tree if a smaller one fits better. And you certainly don’t need to rearrange half the house to accommodate a Christmas tree simply because that’s what you’ve always done.

Maybe the living room gets the tree. Maybe the mantel and front door do most of the work. Maybe one beautiful corner is enough.

Choose the places where decorations will give you the most pleasure without making the house harder to live in.

3. Stop when it feels like Christmas.

This may be the most useful decorating instruction I can give you.

At some point, step back and look around.

Does your home feel festive?

Good.

You are allowed to stop.

There is no Christmas decorating official arriving later to verify that all available surfaces have achieved the required percentage of greenery.

If decorating every inch of the house brings you enormous joy, carry on.

If the tree and a wreath make you perfectly happy, you’re done.

Quick Win

Don’t have time to decorate today?

Choose one thing that makes the biggest difference.

Put up the wreath. Set out the nativity. Hang the stockings. Put the tree where it’s going to go.

Ten minutes. One visible change.

Your Tree Does Not Need to Prove Anything

Last year’s Day 19 was built around the idea of using a smaller Christmas tree.

I still like a smaller tree. What I don’t like is the idea that everybody needs one. Your tree should fit your room, your budget and your willingness to deal with it. That’s all.

A tabletop tree can be wonderful in a small home or in a year when you want less work. A seven-foot tree can be wonderful if you’ve got the room and you look forward to decorating it.

Artificial. Fresh. Tiny. Enormous. No tree at all. I’m not handing out points.

The question is whether the tree works for your Christmas, rather than requiring your Christmas to work around the tree.

You Don’t Have to Match Last Christmas

Maybe last year you decorated three trees. Maybe this year you have the energy for one. Maybe you moved and half your decorations don’t make sense in the new house. Maybe the children who once cared deeply about putting ornaments on every available branch have grown up. Maybe this is the year you finally have the time and space to do more.

None of those is a decorating failure. Christmas isn’t a museum exhibit that has to be reconstructed exactly the same way every year. Use what fits the life you’re living now.

Why It Matters

Decorating is supposed to make your home feel festive and welcoming. It shouldn’t become another measure of whether you’re doing Christmas correctly.

And it certainly shouldn’t leave you exhausted by the time you’ve finished putting it up, knowing that eventually you’re going to have to take every bit of it back down.

The goal isn’t more decorations. It’s enjoying the home you’re decorating.

Your Turn

What’s the Christmas decoration that makes the biggest difference at your house? The tree? Stockings? A wreath? Nativity? One particular ornament? Tell us in the comments. I’m curious about the thing that can come out of a box and somehow make everybody say, “Okay. Now it feels like Christmas.”