What if you could feel the merry holiday sprit, all year round? Pretty cool, uh? Besides helping you keep those warm and lit feelings through the year, it could also help you deal with the rollercoaster of emotions that come along with the season. Find ways to keep the holiday sprit alive all year round, with unique, holiday decor.
For many, christmas is one of the most beautiful times of the year. If you are one of those who feel fuelled by the energy of the season, enjoy! While you're celebrating, you may also be extending your life. According to a review of 35 studies on the relationship of emotional well-being to longevity, such feelings as positive mood, joy, happiness, vigor, and energy are associated with lower death rates, not just in healthy people but also in people with chronic disease.
However, for some, holidays intensify emotional feelings as anxiety, depression, and family disagreements that sometimes make holiday gatherings hard. For this reason, we should all acknowledge that the increased tendency to gift, to gather, to decor during this time of the year, takes toll, for better and for worse, on the overall pressure we put onto ourselves.
With this understanding, we propose you in this article, a way to keep your feelings regarding holiday decor in balance - as it is our specialty! (plus get some tips to cope with your emotions here) Below, we list a few all-year round alternatives to christmas decoration. These options will not only look beautiful during a short period of the year, but will keep bringing warmth to your spaces year after year, after year.
Find out in this article:
- Effects of holiday celebrations on our wellbeing.
- Main Elements of All Year Round Holiday Decor
- Unique Garland Lights
- Trees & Nature
- Special Holiday Ornaments
1. Effects of holiday celebrations on our wellbeing
Seasonal celebrations can take you to new heights or put you in the dumps. While there is ample evidence that companionship, connectivity, and overall contentment reduce disease risk and extend life, this is not necessarily the case for everyone. In fact, according to Dr. Ann Epstein, clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, "The holidays intensify feelings across the spectrum. On one hand, they magnify the feelings of anxiety, depression, and family discord that make holiday gatherings hard. On the other hand, for people who thrive on family contact and love to connect, they can be really fun," she says.
It's true that the pressure surrounding the holidays can be overwhelming. In fact, a growing body of research indicates that holidays rarely match people's expectations for them—either for better or worse. In numerous similarly designed studies, researchers interviewed people both before and after a holiday. In the first interview they generally asked people how they expected to feel during an upcoming holiday; in the second, they asked how they had actually felt. In study after study, those who expected to feel great reported that their mood wasn't quite as high as they had anticipated. Similarly, people who expected to feel miserable hadn't felt that bad.
Being aware of this surrounding increased pressure during this time of the year, it's a step towards adjusting our expectations and keeping our balance during the season. And being strong advocates of balance, we propose you ways to decrease the decorating pressure off your shoulders, and also, maintain a more stable, all year long present, holiday spirit.
2. Main Elements of All Year Round Holiday Decorations
In terms of decoration and overall ambiance, christmas is one of the most beautiful times of the year. The sound of bells chiming, carols playing and twinkling lights everywhere lend a sort of magic to the air.
Could you replicate these feelings in your spaces? Yes, you absolutely can! When it’s so beautiful outside, you can indeed make your spaces filled with light and warmth.
Let's have a look at the different elements that you could keep as holiday decorations all year round.
1. Garland / String Lights
String lights are a beautiful and unexpected way to light up your holidays and just about any event, whether small or large. Besides, lighting up the classic christmas tree, You could use these lights to:
- Light up centrepieces
- Hang on your porch / garden
- Hang in the back or top of your bed
- Wrap a banister or column
- Create a string light picture display
- Put into Terrariums or Mason jars
- Create a lighted mirror
- Design wall accents
- Light up words / phrases
- Light up shelves
- Light up your staircase
- Create ceiling constellations
- And so much more!
Decorating with these gleaming lights always makes any look appear more memorable. These lights are not just perfect for decorating for holidays, they can also be used at events, weddings, or just about any celebration. Here at Forest Homes we have a great selection of string lights that will create unique, beautiful and amazing look to your home. Let's have a look at some of our different types of garland lights.
Option #1: Wald Outdoor String Lights
The Wald Bulb String can be used with confidence in your outdoor settings to build memorable looks.These garland lights are well insulated so they can stay outside all year long. These heavy duty waterproof string lights are strong enough to withstand the wear and tear cause by rain, wind, snow and sun, year after year. Perfect for open air spaces, terrace, rooftops, events, garden gatherings, relaxing or party areas, weddings, Christmas occasions; and also for indoor use to compliment a tapestry look, wall art decor, photography, events, floral displays, or any other home decor project. See them here.
Option #2: Golden Spiral String Lights
These are modern string lights that smooth the ambiance of any space. Their lighting style provides beautiful decorating effects that can be used in a multitude of ways to fit various needs. Use them to compliment a tapestry look, wall art decor, photography, events, floral displays, or any other home decor project. Create strikingly beautiful decor sets, and polish any room look with these gorgeous string lights. See them here.
Option #3: White Starling String Lights
The light tone of the White Starling String Lights, allow them to blend with a very wide range of decor styles. They have a small discreet bulb that radiates lots of light, giving a beautiful lighting effect. See them here.
Option #4: Glow Copper String Lights
These garland lights are delicately shaped as thin copper strings. Setting up the Glow Copper string lighting immediately creates an inviting atmosphere full of warmth, comfort, and mystery. These lights are perfect for any day or occasion. They can even be used as wedding string lights as an added touch to your wedding day decorations. See them here.
Option #5: Copper Thin String Lights
These modern geometrical shapes in garlands give incredible lighting and decorating effects. They are battery operated, which means you're able to use them wherever desired. See them here.
Option #6: Silver Bulb String Lights
The Silver Bulb String Lights are the ultimate favourite set to create unforgettable decor sets. These bulb lights are an alternative to small fairy lights, and they give a retro, industrial feel to your space. See them here.
Option #7: Mini Bottle String Lights
These mini bottle lights have an incredibly evident beauty. These unique string lights are especially great for cozy, whimsical, or festive spaces. Their unique shapes, allow them to adapt to various types of aesthetic, depending on your preference. See them here.
2. Trees and Nature: Alternatives to the Christmas tree.
Before exploring how to use trees or their symbols to decor our spaces, let's have a look at how this tradition started.
Long before the emergence of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens symbolised protection from evil spirits, illness... Also, the tree was also a representation of life, rebirth, and stamina needed to endure the winter months. These evergreens were alight with candles, the idea here was to “light up” the darkest, coldest conditions and thereby keep away unwanted spirits. After some time, Christianity created the bright, cheery symbolism of the Christmas tree.
In modern times, if we think about trees symbolism we can recall life and light. So how can we bring these symbols to our spaces through all the months of the year? We have curated a few alternatives to the nature and trees present during the holidays in our decor.
Option # 1: Tree Wall Murals
Find an alternative to the classic christmas tree, by choosing mural wallpapers symbolising trees. This can be a great solution for any space, specially if yours is small, allowing to fit into your home and lifestyle throughout the year—and creating a very unique and impressive space for all your home visitors.
At Forest Homes, we have some beautiful trees for walls as the Sun Climb Mural Wallpaper, and the Tree of Life Mural Wallpaper. These murals are of a high quality non-woven material that makes them extremely durable. Similarly, their awesome technology makes them very easy to hang and remove. This is a great idea if you also like to renew your spaces often. And worry less about the impact for the environment as they are environmental friendly. See them here.
Option # 2: Preserved Plants for Walls
With our nordic and reindeer moss, you could create your own design, whether symbolic or abstract, of the classic Christmas tree, or christmas wreaths. Our nordic moss panels are an excellent way to build these representations on your walls, but you could also create special designs with our wide range of moss frames. See them here.
3. Special Holiday Ornaments
This season holiday ornaments, generally represent life and nature present during the winter months. You could choose to keep these symbols present in your home with decor that adapts to your style. For example, if your decor is mostly rustic, you could experiment with wood decor, animal ornaments, and wild nature. You could also choose from ornaments handcrafted from a variety of materials like glass, natural fibre, knit and wood. Another choice of style is adorning with white, silver and gold metallic ornaments. In addition, using pinecones and reindeer moss decorations can bring the bright essence of the holidays into your home and not just when the snow falls outside.
Let's have a look at some different alternatives for holiday ornaments that are still pretty and look valid after December and January has passed.
Option #1: Terrariums
Terrariums are a beautiful way to bring a slice of the outdoors into your home. You can make your own terrarium with just a few simple ingredients. (Learn here how to make your own terrarium here). No matter the style you choose, You can use your terrarium as a centrepiece or place it by your front door. See more options here.
Option #2: Preserved Flowers
Red roses, or simply roses of any colour are excellent highlights of your decor around the holidays, especially considering that red is one of the most common colours in the holiday colour palette. How about adding some preserved flowers to your all year round decor? Try our range of preserved flowers and step outside the traditional cycle of flowers that don't last, but instead that will be fresh for many decades. See them here.
With all this information, it's now your turn to tell us How you decorate your space for all year round holiday spirit! Tell us more about your ideas, your style and favourite décor tips and if there's something else you would like to see here, we would be more than happy to hear about it!
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