5 Easy Ways to Make Your Home Feel Festive for the Holidays

The holidays are a magical time of year. The winter air smells crisp and clean, colorful string lights brighten houses at dusk, and there’s a feeling of anticipation as we look forward to the coming festivities. No matter which holiday you celebrate, the season is all about joy, family togetherness, and gratitude. Part of what makes this time of year feel so nostalgic for so many of us are the happy childhood memories and cherished holiday traditions we grew up with. Now, it’s time to recreate that magic for your own children, so bring that festive holiday spirit into your home with these five simple ways to make the house feel merry and bright.

Have a holiday movie night

Everyone has a favorite holiday movie, and whether your family picks the same one or a new one to watch every year, it’s a great tradition to have. Family movie nights are a great way to bring the whole family together and connect while doing something enjoyable! Vote on a film to watch, like Elf or The Polar Express, and make an occasion of it by transforming the living room into a super cozy space that makes a movie theater look downright boring. Spread a picnic blanket on the floor, use ultra comfy bean bags for seating, and pop the popcorn or pick a toddler-friendly snack for everyone to share. You can provide plenty of nutritious foods, like fruit, cheese, and crackers, for everyone to enjoy on the floor—picnic style—instead of dinner at the table. The kids will love it, you might even avoid typical mealtime battles, and everyone can enjoy a feel-good movie for family fun.

DIY the decorations

Elegant, monochromatic holiday decorations are beautiful to look at, but there’s something so irresistibly charming about colorful, kindergarten-arts-and-crafts decorations that just have them beat. In the spirit of hot glued popsicle stick ornaments, enlist your little ones in making some DIY holiday decor for a family bonding activity that results in the sweetest handmade decorations. You can use supplies you already have, like cutting up paper grocery bags, painting them red and green, and taping them together to make paper chains. Make a sentimental paper wreath for your door by tracing your kids’ hands on green construction paper, cutting out the handprints, and gluing them together in a circular shape. Make miniature Christmas trees to place along the mantle by gathering pine cones, painting them green, and gluing colorful pom poms along their scales. The ideas are endless, and the results will add so much festive charm to your home!

Make a holiday-themed book nook

Reading is important for brain development at any age, so whether your kids are babies, toddlers, or older, exposing them to more books is always a good move. Create a cozy book nook with soft seating, using bean bags or a play couch, and fill the bookshelf with holiday-themed books. Instead of buying new books, visit your local library and check out classics like Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express. The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s 8 Nights of Chanukah by Eric Carle and You’re My Little Latke by Natalie Marshall are two sweet picks for babies and young toddlers to help them learn about Hanukkah. 

Decorate their play tent

Decorating your home for the holidays can feel overwhelming because of the amount of work it takes to figure out how to achieve a cohesive look that’s affordable, works with your existing decor, and is kid-friendly. Instead, think smaller. Use your play tent as a blank canvas and get creative once you nail down your theme! To make it look like a Christmas tree, wrap an artificial pine garland around the top to make the tent and decorate it with ornaments. For a gingerbread house theme, cut and drape white cloth on the top to look like an icing-covered roof, then stick on colorful jumbo pom poms as gumdrop decorations. If you want to keep things really simple, put a standard size Toki mat inside the tent for a perfect, comfy fit, and add holiday-themed throw pillows to make it extra cozy and festive.

Make the whole house smell like the holidays

It’s hard to think of the holidays without thinking of classic scents, like cinnamon, peppermint, cloves, and pine. Smell has a stronger link to our memories and emotions than any other sense, and part of what makes the holidays feel so holiday-ish is the smell of just-baked cookies coming out of the oven, the fresh scent emanating from a newly cut Christmas tree, or the cinnamon spice of holiday-themed drinks. You don’t have to bake cookies every day to make your house smell like the holidays—although we’re sure your kids wouldn’t protest. Simply keep cinnamon sticks stocked in your pantry, and simmer a few in a saucepan with water to fill the house with its fragrance. If you want to get really fancy, add other ingredients like star anise, cardamom, ginger, fresh apple, and dried orange peel to get the irresistible scent of mulled cider going throughout the home.