A Christmas Winter Wonderland At Home! Some Might Call It, The Perfect Christmas Scene!
Every year my mum decorates her sideboard with her own version of a winter wonderland. We’ve come to call it “Who Ate Santa?” She spreads out a large layer snow blanket or tree skirt over the top of the sideboard, arranges some twinkling LED battery operated fairy lights underneath the blanket so they’re not too intense and can easily be switched on and off. She arranges an assortment of miniature snow-flecked pine trees of varying heights all over the place to resemble a winter forest. She has a small battery-operated campfire which when switched on glows like a real campfire in the middle of the forest, complete with Santa’s sleigh and a pair of black boots! She adds several polar bears including a polar bear that is sat down with a rather round portly tummy! Over the years we have arranged the scene so that the slightly round overweight polar bear is sat by the campfire with Santa’s empty sleigh close by and Santa’s empty pair of black boots arranged rather suggestively next to the polar bear. I know it might flirt with the line a little, but my family have found it quite funny over the years.
What’s your idea of the perfect Christmas winter wonderland at home?
How many of you have ever created your own winter wonderland? The snowflakes, the glitter, the perfectly snow-tipped needles on the Christmas tree, the silver and white decorations, even the animals (yes you heard me say animals), the polar bears, the penguins, the white snow foxes and of course who could forget the most unforgettable of them all, the reindeers! This year, the Christmas gonk is also making its presence known like never before.
Do you like traditional Christmas colours, the reds, golds and greens? Or are you more for the whites, silvers and blues? Maybe you’re a combination of both? Does pink and gold get your bells ringing? Maybe you’re into more of a Scandi theme so creams and neutrals are your thing? Whatever your colour scheme, you can turn it into something spectacular with a few tips and tricks for a magical Christmas winter wonderland (minus a polar bear eating Santa!).
If you’ve never made a Christmas winter wonderland at home before, no matter the size, here are a few tips and tricks to help get you started.
Tip #1 Utilise fake snow! Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without snow and to a large degree, the whole basis of a winter wonderland is snow. You can get cans of fake snow that you spray onto your decorations, windows, trees etc or you can get snow blankets, snow tree skirts and lose fake snow. All of which can be used to create a snowy backdrop or flooring for your winter wonderland.
Tip #2 Don’t forget to add in white! White is the primary colour of a winter wonderland, be it white baubles, hanging snowflakes, hanging icicles, white polar bears and of course white snow on the tips on Christmas trees.
Tip #3 Add in your colour theme. No matter the colour you like or the colour you choose as your theme, add in small amounts of it at a time so as not to overpower the winter wonderland theme. Lots of people I know who have created their own winter wonderland have opted for neutrals such as cream, stone or beige in addition to lots of white and added in natural greens and red berries with lots of tiny fairy lights. This gives it more of a Scandi and Nordic feel. Others have added in various shades of blue and silver in place of red and green. Ice blue and silver are particularly stunning when creating a winter wonderland as the ice blue gives the illusion of ice in the snow. As with all colour, just remember not to add too much, less is more....
Tip #4 Glitter! When creating a winter wonderland, make sure to choose glitter that is not heavily pigmented as the colour often overpowers and the glitter loses its effect. Aim for lighter coloured glitter or glitter that matches the colour of the background it is being put on so for white snow, use white glitter, for a silver ornament, use silver glitter etc. Glitter is designed to enhance and add a mesmerising sparkle so use very fine glitter to catch the light.
Tip #5 Make sure it’s kid and pet proof! As you will be able to see at the side here, many years ago, my cat Gizmo decided to join in the fun and made quite a mess! Half of the trees were on the floor, Santa’s sleigh had toppled over somewhere, some of the snow blanket had fallen off and there was a rogue polar bear under the dinning room table! In addition to that, when I managed to get him off the sideboard, he proceeded to bring the rest of my mum’s little winter wonderland scene with him. So moral to this story, whatever the size of your winter wonderland, whether it’s the whole house, just a room or even just a sideboard, find a way to make it kid and pet proof……….
Tip #6 Christmas trees! Of course, a winter wonderland needs Christmas trees, trees of varying sizes. If you are opting to decorate your whole house as a winter wonderland or even a whole room or 2, who says you just have to have 1 Christmas tree. Not every tree has to be decorated by any means, in fact, I personally have found that having my main Christmas tree decorated for Christmas with all the presents under it, with a number of smaller and varying width Christmas tree in small clusters dotted around the house with snow flecked tips, snow blankets and snow tree skirts makes an incredible scene. Christmas trees can also be purchased in almost any colour, but for a true winter wonderland, the best colour trees are green pine and white. The green pine can also be sprayed with fake snow, so it looks like the tree has a fresh blanked of snow on it.
Tip #7 Wreaths, garlands and archways. Don’t forget to adorn your front door with a spectacular wreath that provides a snapshot of what is inside your house this Christmas. Garlands come in a variety of widths and lengths and can be used to create archway displays in the entrance to your home or in a spiral cascade down stairway spindles and bannisters. Small fairy lights can be interwoven into the garlands, or they can be purchased pre-lit. Pinecones and baubles can also be added in if you so wish. The pine fronds can be sprayed with fake snow to create the illusion that the garland has been snowed on, just like the Christmas trees.
Tip #8 Animals. What animals are generally associated with winter and in particular Christmas? Polar bears, reindeers, arctic foxes, penguins etc. Whatever your animal preference, add them in.
Tip #9 Light up decorations. Light up penguins, polar bears, stags, reindeers, Santa etc are synonymous with Christmas. These can look spectacular provided they are not too colourful. A nice penguin that lights up with a soft white glow from its chest and back can be quite warming. A reindeer pulling a sleigh that lights up in either warm white or bright white but is made from clear or frosted acrylic can look stunning in front of a beautifully dressed snow-capped or snow-dusted tree.
Tip #10 Think about how your arrangement will look when the lights go out. Have you provided enough lighting for all your decorations to sparkle brightly but not too much so that your house can be seen from outer space? It’s all about getting the balance right so check your arrangement in both daylight and when the sun has gone down with the Christmas lights switched on. Don’t forget to add tasteful lights outside, in trees and bushes and in any plants that are by your front door. These don’t necessarily need to be mains operated if you have small trees and bushes, battery operated with timers can look lovely and can be set to switch on and switch off for a specified 6-hour slot (for example between 5pm and 11pm).
Tip #11 The main event. This about whether you want to have Christmas Day also be part of your winter wonderland. If so, make sure your tableware carries the theme through. For example, if you decided to have a Scandi or Nordic theme featuring lots of whites, creams, frosted pine etc, perhaps your placemats and napkin rings could be made from snow-tipped pine to resemble smaller simpler wreaths? The centre piece for your table should be thought out too. Perhaps this could also be snow-tipped pine but this time a small garland running the length of the table with candle sticks interspaced between the waves?
Tip #12 Throws and blankets. White, light cream and beige fluffy throws and blankets can instantly add a touch of that winter wonderland feel to any room of the house.
Tip #13 White and silver hanging snowflakes and icicles. These can be hung from literally anything, plants, trees, picture frames, mirrors, ornaments etc. Don’t over-do it, but add them in, they make a difference.
I hope you have an array of fun creating your own winter wonderland, we certainly do. Disclaimer, no Santa’s were harmed in the making of my mum’s winter wonderland display, I promise! If you upload any pictures of your own winter wonderland on social media, please feel free to tag me @lauralou5586 so I can be nosey and take a sneaky peek at your festive creations.
As always, if you enjoy my blog posts please click the like button either on here or on my social media channels and if you have anything specific you wish me to write a blog post about then please feel free to either send me a quick email to lauralou5586@gmail.com or a message via social media. If you like the sound of somthing you have read above, please feel free to click on any of the blue hyperlinks as they will take you straight to the page where you can purchase the items from. Alternatively, if you click here you will be taken to the holiday season page of the main website where all of the products are listed. Love to you all 🎄🌨️☃️❄️
*Post contains affiliate links
What a lovely idea! Most of the items needed for this I already had in my existing decorations box. This made a lovely talking point on Christmas Day and the kids really enjoyed doing it. (We made sure our cat stayed out of the way although she really wanted to take part.) This is cheap to do and looks great when finished. The kids could put their own slant on this and it was something different for them to do. It kept them out of mischief for a couple of hours. I'll do this again next year.😀