17 Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas to Light up Your Home

Decorating for Christmas is half the fun of this special occasion. Everyone enjoys putting together the assortments to bring about the vibrant Christmas spirit that makes your celebrations even more memorable. You can also follow special themes and DIY projects to make your mantel look perfect for the festivity around the house. Here are Christmas mantel decorating ideas that you can try out when you decorate for Christmas:

1. Red for Christmas

17 Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas to Light up Your Home
Source: DIY Projects

Red is the color of celebration. One of the Christmas mantel decorations that especially represent your mood for celebration is using red ornaments around the mantel. For this decoration idea, you can use socks with each family member’s name on it. In addition, add red and metallic ornaments to make the mantel look more fascinating.

Besides that, using heavy string of green leaves that accompany the hanging socks is another way for making the mantel look festive for this special occasion. You can also add letters to spell out words like “JOY” to showcase your excitement for the Christmas.

2. Warming Festivity


Source: Traditional Home

Christmas comes during winter yet is a warming time for everyone. If you want to create a cozy environment during Christmas, you can use tree-designs and strings of leaves that can be hung around the mantel. This is one of the Christmas mantel decorations that will lift up the spirits of joy and warmth in the house. The fireplace is already one of the favorite corners for everyone and even more so when it is time for Christmas.

You can also a touch of fruit to the mantel to add in a pinch of color to the decoration. This is a Christmas mantel decorating idea which embodies enthusiasm of spring and festivity. You can also add fresh-cut flowers in the garland to make the room smell and look fresh and heartening.

3. Starry Night


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This subtle combination of green and white is among the elegant yet fancy Christmas mantel decorations. If you have a white fireplace, you can decorate it with leaves that are sprawled all over the mantel shelf to make it look like a tiny garden. You can put frames with family photos and other decorations that will beautifully stand in among the leaves décor.

Adding mini Christmas trees on both sides encompassing a mirror or a frame will give you more space to hang stars. You can get string stars to hang from the mantel and the trees to complete the starry night theme. Instead of adding wood to the fireplace, use white candles on bed of leave strings to maintain the white and green theme for Christmas.

4. Light Up


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This detailed decoration is both intricate and alluring. Adding string lights to heavy garlands that will hang from the mantel to light up the fireplace is the first step to execute it. You will also need a heavy and lustrous wreath with fairy lights that can be hung above the mantel shelf. The fairy lights will and green garlands will easily make this decoration look stylish and luxurious.

To take it a step further, you can add other decorations such as plants in contrasting shades that can be decorated on the middle of the mantel. This Christmas mantel decorating idea works really well for large mantels and fireplaces with classical details.

5. Colorful Mantel


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Christmas mantel decorations can be cheered up with colorful things around the mantel. For instance, tiny colorful trees and ornaments on the mantel with dominating red and green colors of the festival will make the mantel look perfect for Christmas. You can add framed picture of Christmas tree above the mantel shelf for added colors as well.

For the garland, you should add ornamental balls and charms to green string of faux leaves. Adding a single string of fairy lights spiraled around the garland will make the colors stand out as well. This idea will give you a combination of traditional colors of Christmas along with a hint of gold.

6. Christmas Band


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One of the interesting Christmas mantel decorating ideas is adding a band of musicians to the shelf. You can get Nutcracker figurines that will complete the band and make your shelf look ready for the Christmas festival. In order to further enhance the mantel, you can add garlands and tinsel in red. You can get garlands with faux red flowers with large petals that will dominate the shelf.

Above the mantel shelf, add a traditional wreath with candy printed ribbons to display your excitement for the festival. Adding ornamental balls in gold, red and green that hang from garlands is a fun way of adding vibrant colors to this décor.

7. Reindeers at Home


Source: Christmas.365greetings.com

This is a romantic and elegant idea among decorations for the mantel. For this setting, you will need minimal lanterns with check printed ribbons that you can purchase online. Adding a wreath above the mantle shelf that also has the matching ribbon as lanterns will make the theme look organized and beautiful.

To make this theme look even more beautiful, you can add candle holders in antique that have white candles so you can light them during the time of celebrations. However, the attraction of this Christmas mantel decorating idea is the reindeer decorations that you can place around fireplace. They will add charm to the decoration while your mantel has a minimal and affectionate décor.

8. Christmas Extravaganza


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If you love decorating for Christmas, you can opt for an extravagant Christmas mantel decorations on a budget. For this idea, you will need garlands for mantel shelf that will be decorated with ornaments such as balls, snowflakes, lights and other tiny objects that you can hang. Add two or three socks to the mantel shelf in white color.

For wreath and Christmas tree, you can add matching string lights in blue and orange shades to complete the theme. The mantel shelf can be decorated with Christmas decorations including little sculptures, toys, frames and candles. These little things make the setting look more thoughtful and heartwarming for the entire family.

9. Stone Age


Source: TheDIYMommy.com

This is an easy DIY decoration idea for the mantel during the Christmas celebrations. If you have a stone panel behind the mantel, you just need decorations to complete this theme. All that you need for this idea include socks that can be filled with plants or faux plants to make them look closer to nature. Similarly, adding simple tree structure decorations and candles on the mantel shelf is a great way for making things festive and joyous.

You can add a chalk board which reads “Let It snow” or “Joy” to embody the Christmas spirit around the fireplace. Plus, incorporating wooden decorations around the fireplace will look rustic and complement the stone panel too.

10. The Renaissance


Source: Betweennapsontheporch.net

Start this setting by placing a beautiful painting of a landscape on the mantel shelf that will set tone for rest of décor for Christmas mantel. Using magnolia leaves, cypress plant leaves to create a DIY green and red garland will be perfect to create a vintage theme. You can also add faux berries and plants in the garland to make it look more lustrous and luscious. This is a simple setting, yet with the Christmas tree, it will look quite fancy and elegant once you decorate the mantle.

11. Vintage Mantel Shelf


Source: The Frugal Homemaker

This is one of the Christmas mantel decorations that you will definitely love if you enjoy vintage themes. Add “JOY” letters in red to hang from the mantel which is decorated with a simple green garland. You can add string lights with alternating lights in red and orange to make the garland look conventional and vintage.

Add in a mirror above the mantel shelf with a rustic frame and crown it with festive quotes on ribbons or washi tape. You can further decorate the mantel with white, green and red tiny Christmas trees along with candles with vintage candleholders.

12. Elegant Silver


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Silver is not the most conventional color when it comes to Christmas mantel decorations. However, when it is used for décor, it looks fascinating and stylish. This is the perfect setting for people who want a modern mantel for Christmas. You can add a silver “Merry Christmas” garland to hang from the mantel as they will stand out against any color of backdrop.

Adding silver candles and white string lights on the mantle will further give the cooling metallic look to the shelf. Besides that, use faux leaves and tiny Christmas trees to decorate the shelf. To add more pinch of silver, you can add snowflakes with glitter to place between the leaves on the mantel as well.

13. Traditional Christmas


Source: Lilacsandlonghorns.com

Traditional Christmas decorations never go out of fashion. To incorporate the timeless look for Christmas, add green and red socks to the mantel. Add a chalkboard after drawing an image of wreath and place it on the shelf. Decorate the chalkboard by using leaves and garland to add vibrant touch to the setting.

This simple vintage look will be complete when you add wooden candleholders and candles on the mantel shelf as well. You can either DIY letters to spell out “JOY” or purchase the letters made from metal to set along the garland on the shelf.

14. Rustic Joy


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If you are going for farmhouse Christmas mantel decorations, you can get socks that share the same color as sacks. Topped with a furry lining, they will look like they are covered in snow. Add leaves and garlands on the mantel shelf in dark green shade decorated with golden star ornaments arranged in a row.

Above the mantel shelf, add LED letters that spell the word “JOY” to make the decorations look festive. In order to stick with the rustic theme, you should get a wreath that is plain with rustic band in the middle. Most of them come with quotes and scribbles that lift the joyful spirit for Christmas. This theme is suitable for people who like beiges and rustic shades around the house.

15. Pure White


Source: Centsational Style

The color white looks stunning when it is textured and patterned for decorations. If the dominant theme of your fireplace is white, you can use the same color for your decorations too. Add three white socks with golden decorations on the mantel. Add a golden candleholder with white candles on one corner of mantel that you can light up during time of celebration.

You can also get striking white Christmas trees that can be placed on each side of the mantel. Instead of a traditional wreath, use the ones with gold, rose gold and silver shades. Golden shades make white settings look spectacular and luxurious. For a fancy mantel, white decorations with muted golden details will be perfect.

16. Christmas for Kids


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If you have children around the house, it’s hard to miss their excitement for Christmas. You can make it more special by adding colorful socks for each child. Hanging Christmas themed socks will go with the theme of colorful decorations for the occasion as well. Add a wreath in the middle above the mantle shelf with colorful balls. You can add the letters “J” and “Y” while the wreath would make the “O” to spell out “JOY”.

For this Christmas mantel decorating theme, using colorful snowflake decoration pieces, candy cones and other colorful pieces on the shelf will make decorations look vibrant and lively.

17. Stardust


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This is one of the simpler yet extremely striking Christmas mantel decorations that you can follow. Take a wreath and spray it with golden paint subtly to make it look like stardust is sitting on the leaves. Add the tiniest size of string lights around the wreath that will look like fireflies in the grass.

On the mantel shelf, you can put glass decorations that are sprayed with golden paint and contain fairy lights. This golden theme will look magical and charming for Christmas. Moreover, it is easy yet elegant DIY Christmas mantel decorating idea that you will have fun executing for the festive day.