BRINGING 2025 TO A CLOSE IN STYLE: Celebrating with Flair

Sprinkle some holiday magic into your home, whether you’re snuggling with your favorite loved one, serving a family dinner or hosting a big, twinkling bash. Let me suggest some warm, stylish, and thoughtful touches that make your space reflect your unique energy to celebrate the holidays and usher in a new year. And if you’re hosting little ones or have four-legged friends, there are many beautiful, child- and pet-safe ways to adapt!

1. Real (or Real-Looking) Greenery with Lights

Nothing says holiday mood like softly glowing greenery. Drape over mantels, banisters, windows, and tabletops for instant festive charm. Traditionalists can stick with pine and fir boughs to beautiful effect. However, a touch of the unexpected, with leafier out-of-season choices, can really make a statement against a contemporary backdrop.

2. Colored Wine Glasses and Glass Mugs

Raise a glass to style! Colored glassware adds personality to your table no matter what goes inside them. But with festive pours like sparkling rosé, winter reds, mulled cider or hot cocoa, fun-toned and uniquely shaped glasses amp up your bar game.

3. Baby, It’s Cold Outside! Create an Outdoor Warming Nook

Keep the party cozy and romantic outside when winter winds blow. Set up a deck, porch or patio gathering area with comfy seating, blankets, lanterns, hand warmers and hot drinks. Layer the pillows and blankets, string up lots of lights, light the fire pit, fire up the heat lamps, and ladle out the warm drinks in insulated thermoses.

4. Heirlooms That Tell a Story

Pull out treasures from years past and mix them with new pieces that reflect this year’s vibe or what you’re manifesting for the year to come. Highlight that slightly broken nutcracker from childhood, use a special cookie plate that brings back childhood memories or introduce something really funky that speaks to you. Integrate old memories with new traditions.

5. Beyond Pine & Cinnamon: Candles Build Mood

Candles build ambience. Mix differing shapes (long and thin, multi-wick, votives and pillars), complementary scents (bourbon vanilla, cedar, and citrus spice) and colors (sky’s the limit) to achieve the look you aspire to.

6. Soft Pillows + Luxe Throws

Pile on plush pillows and cozy throws in rich fabrics like velvet, satin, knit, faux-fur, or wool. These instantly transform your living rooms from ho-hum to “ho-ho-ho.” Think deep greens, warm reds, muted golds, or jewel tones that tie into your overall palette.

7. Lighting Your Way to the Holiday Mood

Another route to an elevated holiday feel? Multiple light sources. Dimmers, string lights, candles, lanterns, and even fairy lights in vases add depth and warmth. Again, variety and layers help establish the mood you’re aiming for whether it’s an old-fashioned Dickensian charm or a mod New Year’s Eve energy.

8. Play with Unexpected Color

Tried and true holiday colors never disappoint, but pinks, teals, deep browns, purples and metallics inject a fresh, modern twist or a different kind of retro feel. If you don’t want to go all in, add little touches in your ornaments, bows, dishware, pillow and table linens.

9. Festive Table Styling

Keep your home party-ready before the food or guests even arrive. Mix creative chargers and placemats, layered dish shapes and colors, favorite napkin rings, linens, and the coolest or prettiest drinkware you have. Add greenery, runners, flowers, candles, vases, pinecones, ornaments, candies — whatever makes you happy!

10. A Holiday Playlist + Warm Beverages

Don’t neglect the tunes! Ranging from classic carols to jazz instrumentals to modern holiday jams, a great playlist sets the mood without overpowering conversation. Bluetooth speaker sets are affordable and let you pipe the melodies into all your entertaining spaces right from your phone.

Need inspiration? Check out these links! (Note: I am not affiliated with any of these companies and receive no commission for sharing them.)