Creative Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas

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Dreaming of the perfect Christmas mantel? Dive into these effortless, stunning decor ideas that blend tradition with modern twists. Whether you’re a first-timer or a decor aficionado, you’ll find inspiration to make your fireplace the heart of your festive celebrations.

Layer on lovely and creative Christmas mantel decor to make your entire home feel jolly and festive! These simple mantel decorations ideas will effortlessly transform your space.

four fireplace mantels decorated for Christmas.

The most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us. If you’re anything like me, as much as you love the holiday season, there’s also a stressful push to get everything done on time.

I hope these Christmas mantel decor ideas will inspire your holiday spirit and get you in the mood to decorate when the time is right for you to start.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and definitely my favorite season to decorate for. I’ve been sharing my Christmas decor ideas for years, and my mantel is always part of the holiday home tour. This year, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite Christmas mantel decor ideas that I’ve shared over the years.

christmas mantel decor and garland.

Is your Christmas mantel one of those places that stumps you? Or have you got into a rut with your fireplace mantel, dressing it the same way every year?

No matter the reason, if you need some fresh Christmas mantel decor ideas, this is the place to be! I always have a good time turning my fireplace into the center of attention.

The best thing about these ideas is that many of them will use the same pieces but in fresh and different ways. For example, you might see the geometric Christmas trees or the evergreen garland reused in different themes.

Why You’ll Love These Decor Ideas

  • Fresh Take on Traditions: While I’m all about embracing timeless holiday traditions, I also love bringing a fresh twist to them. These ideas will give your mantel that traditional Christmas feel with a sprinkle of modern magic.
  • Perfect for All Skill Levels: Whether you’re a seasoned decor pro or this is your first time decking out your mantel, these ideas cater to everyone. I’ve made sure of it!
  • Inspiration Galore: Even if you don’t replicate an idea exactly, I’m confident these will spark some creativity. Maybe you’ll come up with a hybrid of two of my suggestions or add your unique flair to one of them.
  • It’s All About the Memories: Beyond just aesthetics, setting up your mantel can be a cherished family activity. It’s about the laughter, the shared moments, and the stories that come alive when you’re decorating together.
Putz House Christmas Mantel decorated with garland and vintage putz houses.

These Christmas mantel decor ideas are easy to follow and fun to carry throughout your home. Within this list, I’m sure you’ll find a few new ways to jazz up your mantel during the holidays.

More Christmas Decor Ideas

So, roll up those sleeves, get your favorite holiday playlist on, and let’s make some Christmas magic! Trust me, by the end of it, you’ll be sipping homemade hot cocoa (or a festive Christmas cocktail), admiring your mantel, and feeling all sorts of cozy and accomplished.

Winter Wonderland Mantel Decor

Snowy Pines Christmas Mantel

I took inspiration from bold artwork to create this festive holiday mantel decor. I used overside pine cones, unique stockings, vintage crocheted star garland, and other festive trimmings to create this look.

a white fireplace mantel with simple green and white decor
small deer figurines lining a Christmas mantel

Bottle Brush Trees

A couple of years ago (for my 2015 Holiday Home Tour), I splurged and bought an array of green and blue bottle brush trees. They ended up being the feature of my mantel. For variety, I added a pair of vintage brass deer.

Modern Aqua Creative Christmas Mantel Decor

To bring in a little warmth and twinkle, I wrapped a strand of white lights with a white wire. It’s unassuming during the day but makes the space magical and cozy when lit in the evening.

white and gray christmas mantel with colorful bottle brush trees.

Bottlebrush trees are still popular, so they are readily available for purchase. You could get a similar look with glass/mercury glass trees which seem to be everywhere these days. I found the “Merry & Bright” banner on Etsy.

DIY Wood Stockings

I’ll shared some more handmade mantel decor below, but it make sense to share these there. You might have noticed something else that’s special in the image above – these DIY wood stockings! I created these back in 2015 after seeing vintage ones online.

Not wanting to pay the price for vintage, I cut my own out of lumber and stained them to work with my decor. They were actually quite easy to make.

Antique Wood Stockings for a Christmas Fireplace Mantel

While they aren’t functional, they sure are pretty. I think any decor can benefit from a touch of vintage (real or faux).

These wood stockings were the perfect addition to this space. They also work with a more traditional red and green Christmas decor; I’ll show you that below.

Winter Wonderland Mantel Decor

Gold and silver geometric Christmas trees adorn your mantel when you make it look like a blissful winter wonderland! Fill up the evergreen garland with paper snowflakes of various shapes and sizes, along with silver Christmas bulbs. This is a design that will never go out of style.

Winter Wonderland Christmas Mantel with snowflakes and garland.
large paper snowflake on christmas mantel garland decor.

Red and Nostalgic Decorating Ideas

Cozy Red and White Mantel Decor

Red, white, and Nordic were the inspiration for this bold and colorful holiday mantel. I love how cheerful this decor looks. It always puts a smile on my face and a twinkle in my holiday heart.

red and white canvas decor hung above a fireplace mantel
close up of beautiful Christmas garland with red and white beads, ribbon, and greenery
red and white Nordic Christmas mantel decor

Vintage Putz House Decor

Another one of my favorite ideas is to fill your mantel with a collection of Putz houses. Little houses fill up the mantel, sandwiched between Christmas trees and an evergreen garland with oversized pine cones.

It’s a really easy way to add some vintage charm to your mantel. In fact, I’m such a strong believer in nostalgia that I wrote an entire post about my favorite vintage Christmas decor and where to find it!

Putz House Christmas Mantel
putz houses as creative Christmas mantel decor

Nature Inspired Decor Ideas

Inspired by Antlers

During my Holiday Home Tour in 2016, I looked to nature to inspire my Christmas mantel. While shopping at a local resale store, I stumbled across this set of elk antlers.

To display them, I removed them from their mount and set them on the mantel, surrounding them with fresh greenery, a string of copper ornaments, and large pinecones.

Styling a Christmas Mantel with Modern Farmhouse Style with elk antlers.

I also brought back a pair of my wood stockings. Two did the trick in adding a little warmth, texture, and a touch of vintage.

Rustic Modern Farmhouse Christmas Mantel Decor with wood stockings and festive garland.

I added a few strands of this bright red felt ball garland to soften the look and heighten the Christmas feel. I thought it was the perfect finishing touch.

Simplistic Christmas Style

A Less is More Approach

My first year in my new home I went with a more simplistic approach for my mantel decor. A pair of metal wreaths, matching candlestick holders, a pine garland, and a mix of stocking complete the look. I was even able to bring back my DIY wood stockings for this display.

Christmas at Bayberry House with simple Mantel Decor
Christmas at Bayberry House with simple mantle decor garland and stockings.

Cozy Nordic Style

This is one of my favorite holiday mantels I’ve done in Bayberry House. And, as you’ll see below, it’s festive without being totally over the top.

a classically decorated holiday mantle

Sometimes Christmas decor can be as simple as adding a pine garland and filling it with ornaments, garland, and pinecones. A few festive stockings finish things off and add some soft, cozy texture to the space.

rustic fireplace Christmas garland with red and white stockings hung beneath

Handmade Mantel Decor Ideas

DIY Colorful Wood Bead Garland

In case you haven’t noticed, wood bead garlands have become popular again in recent years. I love a plain wood bead garland, so I decided to craft my own. (Check out the full tutorial for supply and crafting instructions.)

Traditional Modern Christmas Decor with handmade wood bead garland.
Wood Garland for Holiday Christmas Mantel

Here I opted to use wood beads in various shapes and sizes to create a unique garland. To make it even more special, I painted some of the beads in shades of reds, whites, and greens. 

As you can imagine, this garland coordinated beautifully with my “inspired by nature” mantel.

DIY Christmas Wood Bead Garland for a mantel.
Wood Bead Garland for Christmas on a mantel.

And, because I was feeling especially ambitious, I created another garland in a different color scheme to suit my decor after the holiday.

A Handmade Holiday Mantel

This Christmas mantel decor was Inspired by a handmade paper chain, DIY star anise wreaths, vintage elements, and decor from Christmases past.

The overall theme for my Christmas decor this particular year was “the same, but different with a touch of handmade”. Therefore, my mantel may look a bit similar to years past. While I typically pressure myself to do something different, I decided to turn off the stress and repeat the elements that I love.

christmas with garland and decorative trees.
close up of paper chain for Christmas.

This mantel decor is also budget friendly as I didn’t need to buy anything new, plus I made the feature of this mantel decor, the paper chain garland, with leftover wallpaper. I LOVE the results.

mantel decor for christmas with fireplace surround.

DIY Wood Forest

Okay, technically, this set-up is not on a mantel, but it’s still one of my favorite holiday crafts, and I think it would be well suited to a mantel. I’m talking about this colorful DIY wood forest.

Yes, I made these trees. I have a full post on how to make them. Personally, I would recommend creating a collection of 12-15 trees. I chose vibrant colors, but you can paint the trees to fit your holiday/home decor.

A Colorful DIY Forest for Christmas Decorating on a shelf.
Colorful Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas

You could make a dynamic mantle scape simply by filling it with these. Anchor each corner of your mantel with a hurricane candle for a little twinkle. An alternative would be to mix in some simple houses that match the trees in scale.

That’s a Wrap!

And that’s a wrap, my friends. I hope you found these creative Christmas mantel decor ideas helpful and inspiring as you plan and start creating your own holiday displays.

Happy Decorating!

More Christmas Decor Ideas You’ll Love

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22 Comments

  1. I love love love the wreath made of all colors of ball ornaments that you can see reflected in the mirror in some of the shots. Are there instructions on how to make it? That is the one thing I am absolutely going to make this holiday season!

  2. This is my favorite post for the entire year. So many fantastic and beautiful ideas. Love the whimsy, the classic and the down right stunning looks.

  3. Hello Michael, I am fairly new to your blog, but you have quickly become one of my favorites! Your ideas and creativity are endless! Whenever, I see a new email from you, I have to sit down and browse.😊 Your pictures are beautiful! Thank you for all the time and effort you put into providing us with detailed instructions and for your kindness. So enjoy your blog!! Happy Holidays to you!!

  4. You always do such a nice job.
    Question: how are you attaching your ornaments and things to your garland? I use wire (or picks, if it’s more of an installation), but I’d love to hear about a better way! Wiring things in is so tedious and it’s a pain to take apart.

  5. Michael, your Christmas decorating is always beautiful and inspiring! May I ask how/where do you store your decorations so you know what you have and can reuse another time? By the time I figure out what I have and what box or where, it is exhausting & I end up not doing anything special. Do you think of a plan months ahead? You totally amaze me. And, I love your recipes! Thank you!!

  6. I had my son cut out about 10 of the triangle wood trees. Painted them some fun colors, pistachio green, lavender, blue, red, coral. Then I painted white dots on them. Put them on my window sill and decided that I wanted some bling, so bought some of the sticky clear gem dots and stuck them over the white dots. Love them. The next ones that I painted, I didn’t add painted dots just stuck on the clear sticky gems. These are my most favorite Christmas decoration. Thanks for a super fun idea.

  7. I love your mirror over your mantelpiece and have been driving my husband crazy looking for something similar! Can you tell me where you found it? Love all your décor ideas. Thanks

  8. Congratulations on the BHG Christmas cover!! You do such a beautiful job and presentation with all of your decorating. You should be proud of yourself! Good Job