Decorating Interior Doors For Christmas

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Decorating your front door is a relatively easy way to add some holiday cheer to your home. A well-decorated door can brighten your day and put you in the mood for Christmas. While there's nothing wrong with putting a simple wreath up on the door, you can make more creative or elaborate decorations to show your personal holiday spirit. Be sure to decorate both the interior and exterior of your door, so that you'll still have festive decorations to look at when you're inside your home.

1
Hang a wreath on your door for a traditional look. No Christmas decoration is complete without a wreath welcoming guests and visitors to your home.^[1] Visit your local home-supply store and peruse their selection. The options are numerous: you can opt for a natural-looking faux-evergreen wreath, or a stylized wreath with metallic spray paint. Some wreaths may also come accessorized.
- Also purchase a wreath hanger from the home-supply store. The wreath hanger will clip over the top of your door and allow you to hang the wreath without driving a nail into the door.
2
Make your own wreath from cedar or pine clippings. If you prefer to have a natural wreath, you can make your own in an hour or so. Purchase a Styrofoam or wire wreath frame from a hobby store or craft store. Wrap a strand of wire around the wreath frame. Then, weave the evergreen trimmings beneath the wire so that they intertwine and cover up the wreath frame.^[2]
- Be aware that, as opposed to artificial wreaths, natural evergreen wreaths will turn brittle and brown in 3 or 4 weeks.
- You can take your own clippings if you live near a forest. Or, purchase evergreen clippings from a local florist.
3
Hang 4 or 5 paper snowflakes on your front door. Paper snowflakes are cheap and easy to make, and can add a whimsical touch to your door. Make them by folding a sheet of paper into 8ths and cutting out sections of paper, then unfolding the sheet. Use red or green paper for a seasonal touch. You can use scotch tape to attach the snowflakes to your front door. If you'd like to spice up the decoration, pair the snowflakes with a wreath (or any other decoration).
- This is a great decoration if you have young children. Enlist the kids' help in making your decorative snowflakes. Making snowflakes can occupy the kids' attention for a couple hours.
4
Hang 6-8 pinecones on ribbons from a wreath hook. Visit a local craft-supply store (or a local pine forest!) and look for pinecones that are about 4–6 in (10–15 cm) in length. Also purchase silk ribbon, and cut 6-8 2 ft (61 cm) pieces of ribbon. Use a hot glue gun to attach one end of a ribbon to each pinecone. Then, tie the loose ends of all the ribbons together in a knot and hang the knot over a wreath hook hanging over your front door.^[3]
- You can purchase all of these items at a hobby shop or craft store.
5
Spell out a holiday phrase with large letters. Arrange the letters vertically on your front door to make a phrase like "JOY" or "NOEL." You can purchase large wooden or foam letters at a nearby hobby shop, and paint them red and green using acrylic paint. Then, attach the letters to a piece of string or a long strip of burlap, and tape or staple the material to the top of your door. The letters will hang down and the word will be easily legible.^[4]
- You can purchase acrylic paint, a paintbrush, and string at a hobby shop as well.
6
Wrap the door in ribbons to make it look like a gift. Buy about 8 feet (2.4 m) of wide red or green ribbon. The ribbon should be about 8 inches (20 cm) wide to be visible from a distance. Attach a single vertical strip to the center of your door. Then attach a second, horizontal strip about 1 foot (0.30 m) down from the top of the door. At the center where the ribbons cross, attach a smaller red, green, or white ribbon.^[5]
- Attach the ribbons to the door using scotch tape. Or, staple the ribbon to the door for a more weather-resistant approach.
- You can purchase ribbon of various sizes at a local craft, hobby, or quilting store.
7
Re-purpose an old frame by hanging ornaments inside of it. Find an old 8 in × 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm) picture frame (or buy one from a hobby store), and put a fresh coat of green or red paint on it. Then, take 3 or 4 round ornaments, complete with hanging ribbons, and staple the top of the ribbon to the back of the frame. You can hang these framed ornaments on your front door for a nontraditional Christmas decoration.^[6]
- Hang the frame by driving a small nail into your door and hanging the frame on the nail.
- Or, to avoid damaging your door, attach an adhesive hook to the door and then hang the frame off of the hook.
8
Use a swag. If you would like to be different, instead of putting a wreath outside your door, try a swag. Even though they are similar to wreaths, swags can become a real piece of art. The shape is taller than wider which makes it perfect for any door. There are plenty of colors and materials that you can choose from or you can make one of your own. You can select a swag made of evergreens, pinecones, a vibrant burlap ribbon, and bells, which will offer an easy and affordable yet impressive way to embellish any front door for the holiday season.
- Get some greenery and arrange it as you like. Remember that the shape should be taller than wider.
- Use a duct hot glue to stick them together.
- Create a ribbon tie bow.
- Add berries, ornaments, and pinecones in a pleasing pattern.

1
Hang a large ornament from the door knob. You'll see the ornament and be reminded of the season every time that you open the door. For a quick DIY, you can attach a piece of string on a small ornament (that you'd normally hang on your tree) and hang it on the knob. Or, purchase an ornament with a doorknob-sized hole in it that's been made deliberately to hang from a doorknob.
- For example, Christmas stores may sell Santa Claus or reindeer ornaments that are meant to be hung over a doorknob.
2
Tape 3 or 4 home-made snowflakes on the inside of your door. If you have a few snowflakes left over from attaching them to the outside of your door, you could use them to accessorize the inside of your door also. Attach them to your door using a couple pieces of scotch tape. Try spacing out the snowflakes by about 10 inches (25 cm).
- As an alternative option, make small snowflakes, each only about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across. Then you could arrange them in a pattern or use dozens of tiny snowflakes to spell out the words "Merry Christmas" "Seasons Greetings," or any other Christmas saying.
3
Hang an indoor holly wreath on your door. Indoor wreaths are typically made of synthetic materials, so they won't drop leaves on the floor. Holly leaves are always a very nice addition to any Christmas decoration. To hang the wreath, 2 in (5.1 cm) nail into your door near the top. Then loop a thick piece of ribbon through the wreath and tie the ribbon around the nail.^[7]
- You can purchase holly wreaths from a nearby craft or hobby store. They should be available in a variety of sizes ranging from 4–12 inches (10–30 cm).
4
Dress up an office door by attaching paper stockings. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut stocking shapes out of pieces of construction paper. You can cut out 1 stocking for each individual who works in your office. The stockings should each be about 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Then, cut out white strips of construction paper that are the same width as the stockings. Write each team member's name on this part of the stocking.^[8]
- Use craft glue to attach the white paper strips to the top of the red stockings. Then, tape the stockings to the office door.
- This style of decoration will help everyone feel included, and will serve as a fun morale-booster around Christmas.
5
Decorate your classroom door with cut-out snowman and snowflakes. Enlist your grade-school-age students to help you put together a fun, wintery classroom door. Cut 3 large circles out from a sheet of butcher paper. The first circle should be about 24 inches (61 cm) in diameter. The second can have a diameter of 18 inches (46 cm), and the third could be about 12 inches (30 cm). Tape the circles to the door so that they make a snowman shape.^[9]
- Then, let kids decorate the snowman. They can add an orange "carrot" nose, black buttons, and a black top hat all cut from butcher or construction paper.
- You can surround the snowman with paper snowflakes. Ask each student to make 1 snowflake and tape them to the door around the snowman.

1
Cover your door in wrapping paper for a gift-focused theme. Purchase 1 or 2 rolls of bright Christmas wrapping paper from a local supermarket. Tape the loose end of the paper to the top of your door, and unroll the paper until it's touching the ground. Cut the paper off of the roll, and use tape to secure the paper around the door.^[10]
- Then, once you have taped the wrapping paper in place, tape Christmas ribbons vertically and horizontally
2
Turn your door into a snowman to give it a kid-friendly theme. Cut out 9 circles from black construction paper. Each circle should be about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. Also cut out an 8 inches (20 cm) triangle from orange construction paper. Lastly, cut out 2 large black circles, each about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. Tape the 2 large circles to the door as eyes, the triangle below them as a nose. Use 5 small circles to create a smile, and arrange the other 4 small circles vertically as buttons.^[11]
- To complete the look, tape a horizontal piece of Christmas wrapping paper below the snowman's smile to resemble a scarf.
- If your young kids are at home over the holidays, ask them to help you decorate the door. Creating the snowman can be a fun afternoon activity.
3
Use burlap and mercury glass ornaments for a rustic door. Visit a local craft or hobby store and purchase 3 or 4 burlap squares, then cut each one into a stocking shape. Tie a piece of string to the top of each stocking, and attach them to your door using adhesive hooks or tape. Then, fill a wicker basket with rustic-looking mercury glass ornaments and set the basket on one side of your door.^[12]
- To complete the rustic look, set a second wicker basket on the ground on the other side of your front door. You could even set 2 or 3 pieces of firewood into the basket.
- Some craft stores may sell pre-cut (and lightly decorated) burlap stockings. Craft and hobby stores will also sell mercury glass ornaments.

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What should I hang on my front door?

Patricia Penker is an Interior Designer and the Owner of Exclusively To Design, one of the top residential design companies in South Florida. With over 25 years of experience, Patricia specializes in interior design, interior decorating, and home staging. Patricia holds a Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Master's Certificate in Digital Design and 3D Modeling from CADDTrain. Patricia's interior designs have been featured on HGTV's Rip and Renew and Save My Bath and in celebrity homes. Exclusively To Design has been recommended on Houzz, Expertise - Best Home Staging in Miami and Best Interior Designers in Miami, and Best of HomeGuide.

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When you're decorating the outside of your door, keep in mind that the decorations will be at the mercy of wind, rain, and snow. If, for example, you're decorating with ornaments, make sure to select ornaments that won't be broken if they're blown around in a wind storm.

Make sure that you'll be able to take off the decorations after you put them on. You don't want to attach your decorations too securely and find that they won't come off once the Christmas season has ended!

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