“I still need to get my tree up. It’s too late. What should I do? Should I just skip it?”

This is what I heard from not one but several of my friends this weekend!

I couldn’t believe it, because if you’ve been following me, you know I’ve been decorating tons of trees. Okay, maybe not tons but at least 7 or 8

I will be honest with you. There have been many years when believe it or not, I just couldn’t get it all done, including putting up my tree.

One year, after we lost most everything on the first floor of our home. Like Harvey, the rain kept coming and coming. Our home was completely destroyed.

That year I didn’t want to put up a tree.

First, there was no place to put up a tree, and second, my heart was not in it.

It’s hard to go all out when things aren’t always on the cheerful side of life, or even when they are! My brother is about to have a baby any day now and they can’t squeeze it all in.

They have a million things going on getting ready for baby, including trying to figure out the perfect name!

So should you skip out on holiday decor all together?

Nope.

I have a couple of quick fixes for times like this, like my nightstand tree, ready-made trees that fit right on the counter, little Santas, nostalgic Christmas signs, and reindeer that I can pop into my decor at any time.

Just enough to give my family, friends, and myself a little holiday cheer.

My favorite place to go all out when I’m not putting all my decor out. My dining table.

Yup. I transition with a few things I used during Thanksgiving and move right into Christmas.

Wondering how?

Check out my latest TV Episode on Great Day Houston where I shared exactly how, with step-by-step instructions.

Instead of showing you just the end result, I put the whole tablescape together on live TV.

It’s that easy, I promise.

You’ll see Deborah finished half of the table with my instruction, backwards meaning we couldn’t see the front – so you can do it!

We started with the linen foundation I always use and then built on top and out.

This is one of my absolute favorite hacks, dropcloth!

You’ve got it in the garage so repurpose it! Just a quick iron and it’s ready to be used as a runner you can change up every season.

Rohan Verma, age 11

What color should you use?

This year’s red trends are a keeper.

To freshen it up, I created a gorgeous ombre style by adding a deeper red into my holiday florals to update my traditional red holiday decor.

I mixed this with gold, another trend that is here to stay for a long time (yay!) along with white.

Classic, fresh and a little sparkly – I think that could describe many of us.

In the past, I’ll admit I was falling a little out of love with red. The addition of this deeper red has been the perfect way to freshen up a classic holiday color scheme.

You can easily do so with the addition of florals or ribbon just like I did.

Available at Village Antiques

Now, I’m obsessed with red and love the new hue of red color in my decor!

I especially loved putting these deep red florals in these gorgeous etched gold and glass vases.

Set of 2 Available at Village Antiques

What kind of decor should you use?

I’m a huge fan of reusable items. So I started with leftover stems I had from Thanksgiving.

Available at Village Antiques

But it’s also fun to actually include holiday-specific items like I did on my table.

So I also added a few brilliant gold stems to my table. You might have used these in your Christmas tree but these also look beautiful on your dining table centerpiece!

Available at Village Antiques

To bring in the holiday season, I found these gorgeous lighted glass Christmas trees at Village Antiques and used them to create a little a charming Christmas village with my table decor.

Available at Village Antiques

Next, rethink hiding all of your stocking stuffers and gift cards and move them into your table decor like I did in the episode.

I simply wrapped these with craft paper and brought in my tablescape colors with ribbon.

Last but not least, don’t forget about lighting. You may have heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating – ambiance is a huge part of the decor, and lighting is the best way to achieve it!

These can be definitely be used all year long, so splurge on your favorite style!

Available at Village Antiques

Once again here it is all together:

So what do you think? I hope this inspires you to add a little bit or in some cases, even MORE to your holiday decor. Leave a comment and let us know your favorite part.

Creating joy is the best way to spread your cheer this season. So get to creating and send us a few photos of YOUR Christmas table!

With love,

Amitha

P.S. If you loved the addition of height on the table like in the episode, look for stunning white and gold pieces like these to add into your table.