Creative Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas

Want to up the Christmas cheer? 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.

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.

Creative Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas

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.

More posts with how to decorate for Christmas

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.

If you need a few more Christmas decorating ideas, try one of these:

• Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas
• How To Create a Cozy Christmas Aesthetic
• Creative DIY Gingerbread Decor Ideas
• Vintage Christmas Decor
• How I Plan My Christmas Decor

Now, join me as I show off some inspiring and festive Christmas mantel decor ideas. I hope they help you create some fresh new ideas for your home too.

1. A snowy pines-inspired 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.

2. Cozy and colorful 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.

3. 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.

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.

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.

4. DIY wood stockings

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.

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.

5. 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 will teach you how to make them here. 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.

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.

6. Inspired by nature

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.

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.

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.

More Christmas mantel decor ideas:

7. 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. (You can find the full tutorial here.)

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.

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

I love DIY because you can customize things to suit your personal style and space.

9. 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.

9. Add a garland

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.

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.

10. 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!

11. 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.

9. Go Handmade

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.

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.

That’s a wrap on Christmas mantel decor ideas!

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!

Enjoy these festive displays and want more?

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