35+ Fascinating Christmas decorating ideas for small spaces

Just because you have a lack of space in your home or apartment, doesn’t mean you still can’t get festive for the holidays and decorate your space with some creativity and a little imagination. There are plenty of smart solutions for holiday decor that can help you to save the space decorating for Christmas and not to clutter it. You can create a non-traditional Christmas tree that can be affixed to the wall or even a door, or just add some branches in a vase – decorate them with ornaments and voila! Hang string lights from the ceiling, frame a mirror, mantel, doorway or other objects. Hang ornaments from the ceiling, from real or faux plants or trees, or put them right into the lamp base instead of vases, which will save lots of space and make your home look festive. Use every inch of usable space for decor including sides of furniture, walls, ceilings, windows and window sills and your space won’t feel cluttered.

There’s no need to downsize your holiday expectations with a small space to decorate. Our space-saving ideas bring the merriment of Christmas into even the tiniest corners, thanks to simple accents like miniature Christmas trees, homemade garlands, and shiny decorative accents. Have a look below and you will see what we are talking about!

Need some more Christmas ideas? Have a look at some of our past articles such as, 50 Christmas decorating ideas to create a stylish home and 73 Brilliant Scandinavian Christmas decorating ideas.

Create a Hanging Window Display: Look out on something pretty — a basic painted frame strung with ribbon and hung with ornaments jazzes up a window and requires zero rearranging.

Use Space by the Stairs: A small table by the stairs is a prominent small-space spot to start your Christmas merriment. Add a little, lightly decorated tree and a modest display to the tabletop. To give the evergreen a bit of height, place in a tall silver vase.

Fill a Corner: Nooks, crannies, shelves, bookcases: All are great spots for diminutive seasonal decor. If there’s no space for a full tree, put a single dwarf version — with a few presents — on a midheight shelf. In place of lights, decorate with small-scale ornaments.

Put branches in a vase: Decorate with your favorite Christmas ornaments, a perfect way to create a small tree and have it tucked out of the way. This also would be perfect to place on a console table, end table or coffee table.

Wall Christmas Tree: Use chalk to trace an outline of a tree on your wall. Decorate with string lights, use tiny nails or push pins to hang ornaments. Wrap empty boxes with decorative paper to complete the effect.

Transform Table Space: Let side tables do their part by topping them with a forest of merry paper trees. Each one features colorful patterned paper and a festive star on top. Best of all, they hide small bags of candy for your holiday guests.

Spruce Up Doorways: Doorways do double duty when you drape natural or artificial swag over the frames. Hang ornaments and Christmas cards from the boughs to save space while adding a cozy, cottage-style look.

Use Wall Space: That lovely solid-color wall in your living room makes the perfect canvas for a holiday display. Here, miniature grapevine wreaths add texture to a green wall. We chose a variety of accents — faux birds, small ornaments, sprigs of berries — and glued them onto the wreaths before hanging the displays from lengths of ribbon.

Create a Beautiful Miniature Tree: Could anything be cuter than this tiny tree? It’s perfect for even your smallest spaces. Buy a tree top and adorn it with your favorite ornaments, garlands, and a little star on top. Add to the fun by arranging wrapped gifts around its base. Tip: Don’t have real gifts to put under the tree yet? Get the same look by wrapping empty shoeboxes.

Make an Advent Calendar: The calendar can be hung anywhere, on a piece of furniture or on a wall, both great assets when it comes to small-space holiday decorating. Here, small paper bags are clipped to a felt calendar. You can fill them with small holiday surprises such as chocolates, candies or other small finds.

Put Home Accents to Work: Have a pretty lamp with an open base? Fill it with ornaments. A kitchen bowl or a decorative vase could do the same work in a small space.

Wrap and Display Presents Early: Turn a holiday chore into a festive decoration by displaying your Christmas gifts early. Wrapped gifts make a big impact in little space — try adding decorative bows and using different wrapping papers to create variety.

Enliven an Entry: Bring the spirit of Christmas to your tight entryway with some seasonal accents. Line the mirror with a simple garland and add red pillows — they don’t even need to say “Christmas” to usher in the holiday hoopla.

Maximize Your Railings: Your railings can add to your holiday decor, too. Take a run-of-the-mill garland to new heights with a string of beautiful felted flowers, then hang the garland from your banister. Use a 2-inch scallop-edge paper punch to make the flowers, layering different colors for depth. Then, use a needle and clear plastic thread to string them together. Use twist ties to attach them to your garland.

Display Holiday Cards on the Wall Mixed with Pops of Greenery: Even if you have limited floor space, chances are you have a bare wall space to decorate. Find out how to make the little boughs here.

Make a DIY Tabletop Tree: Bring a natural touch to your holiday decor by making a unique tabletop tree. Hunt for some branches outside, then use gardening pebbles to stand them in a flowerpot. Drape your “tree” with translucent ribbons and hang ornaments from the branches. Best of all, you can make your tree as big (or small) as you want to fit your space.

Make the Most of Furniture: No wall space for a wreath? No problem. Hang an ornament-filled beauty from a display case, a side table, your mantel, or even interior windows for a quick pop of Christmas.

Make Room for Holiday Decorations: Save space by swapping out year-round photos, figurines, and knickknacks for your favorite holiday decorations. This bookshelf got a merry makeover from jolly snowmen, wrapped boxes, and a natural garland.

Make Miniature Rosemary Wreaths: They are surprisingly easy to make, the most important thing is finding some lush greens you can use. You can display them in so many different places, such as a front door, mantle, table or anywhere else that needs some sprucing.

Create a Beautiful Star of David: Wrap a strip of lights around sticks of wood, here is one idea that gives step-by-step directions on how to create a similar look.

Adorn Coat Hooks: You already have coat hooks, so why not dress them up? Hanging winter-theme items, like a warm wool scarf, sleigh bells, and a greenery wreath, from each hook takes them from functional to festive.

Decorate Dining Room Chairs: Let your dining room chairs join in the holiday fun. Tie painted pinecones to wide ribbons and drape them over the back of your chairs. Match the ribbon color to your home decor for a look that’s all your own.

Create a Tiny Village Display: Tiny wrapped boxes provide a base to a few glittering paper houses that take up very little space. To make “trees,” wrap squares of scrapbook paper into cones and glue the edges; cut off the bottoms to make them level. For extra sparkle, place the grouping on a silver tray.

Wooden Christmas Tree: Find varying sizes of wood to craft a Christmas tree on your wall. Decorate with found objects such as pinecones and small ornaments. Tip: Spray paint pine cones to have that mercury glass look to them. Use Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint on pinecones. Or try brushing pinecones with white paint and let them dry. Brush tips with white glue and dip in Epsom salt

Christmas Tree Alternative for the Space Challenged: If you are really tight on space, why not decorate a door? Make sure it is a door that is always open, this way ornaments won’t fall off and get broken.

Add a Throw Pillow: Merry up your living room couch with the addition of this little fellow. You can find the free download here, making him not only space-conscious but considerate of your budget, too!

Dress Up a Book: A coffee table book becomes a work of art with an easy felt cover. Open the book, then cut felt longer than the book’s length. Wrap the ends around front and back covers; bond the edges and glue. Trace and cut out holiday-theme silhouettes like our reindeer. Glue felt cutouts onto the felt cover for an easy and fun decoration.

Make an Impactful Wall Display: Old photos are great conversation starters, particularly during the holidays, and this display takes up minimal wall space. Start with baby photographs, then cut them in a circle, mount on foam core, and arrange in a tree shape. Little space, big impact. Tip: For a great together-time activity, have family members guess who is who in each photo.

Decorate your Bedroom: Add presents and a faux-Christmas tree with string lights. Hang a few light ornaments that won’t pull too heavily on the wire. The green wire really pops off the white wall, creating a great sense of Christmas. Add a tree topper affixed to the wall to really finish things off.

Decorate a Chalkboard Paint Wall: Ikea’s fairy lights decorate this chalkboard wall, creating a Christmas tree shape, using chalk to draw in the outline and draw Christmas presents.

Hang Ornaments on Walls: Make clever use of wall space to ensure your small-space holiday schemes leave an impression. To boost the seasonal spirits of small stretches of wall space, try this simple trick: Use a length of ribbon and hang ornaments to spell a message (tie the ribbon around each to keep in place). Secure with thumbtacks and disguise the ends with evergreen.

Decorate with Small Wreaths: Large and impactful are typical design credos for wreaths, but small can be equally as mighty. Hang a mini wreath with a velvet or satin ribbon from shelves or drawer pulls.

Use Window Space: Simplicity is key for small-space decorating. White pillar candles, placed on a silver tray, add elegance to a windowsill. Two faux dwarf evergreens, wrapped in burlap, add a bit of color to the wintry scene.

Hang Festive Plates: Dish up cheer with this simple holiday plate display. Cut letters from red paper or purchase stick-on vinyl letters to adhere to white plates. Removable mounting strips or plate hangers make this stunning seasonal sentiment easy to dismantle.

Shining Star: The poster of the fir tree can be made yourself by blowing up a high res image at a copy shop, or you can find a similar image for purchase here, along with ideas for decorating. Next, you can have some family fun time together decorating your poster tree with glitter pens, fuzzy felt shapes, sticky stars and press on gems, decorative items you can find at any craft supplier.

Creative Wall Christmas Tree: If you have a challenging space dilemma, try creating a Christmas tree like the one above with a string of lights. Add Christmas presents below, they can be empty boxes wrapped with decorative paper for an early display.

Make Dishes Do Double Duty: Let your favorite holiday dishes do the decorating for you: Display them in a glass cabinet for a merry and oh-so-easy accent. If you don’t have holiday dishes, try pairing plain white china with red mugs or dessert plates.

Swap Out Curtains: Think outside the box when it comes to your small-space decorating. In place of everyday kitchen curtains, hang a few spray-starched Christmas aprons and add a trio of faux trees.

Hang Ornaments from Bookshelves: Dress your furniture for the holidays with glittering glass balls. Choose ribbon that matches the room’s color scheme (we chose light green), then use removable adhesive hooks to hang the ornaments from your bookshelf, cupboard, or mantel. Tip: Adhere the hooks to the top of the furniture so they’re hidden from view.

Make Over a Mirror: Many small spaces use mirrors to make a room appear bigger. During the holidays, repurpose any mirror as space for decoration. Hang a wreath or series of ornaments along the top of the mirror to reflect holiday spirit into the room.

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