Make Your Home Sparkle for the Holidays

We went to Cheryll Gillespie, the vivacious host of Let's Shop TV, to share some quick Christmas decorating tips -- everything from ambient lighting to Christmas tree and fireplace mantel decorating. Seasons greetings!

Just found out that friends are dropping by for some holiday cheer? How does a modern diva decorate for Christmas? Due to a packed social calendar (or hectic schedule), the holiday season always finds a diva short of time. Yet, she must have the ability to host a glamorous cocktail party within a festively decorated home at a moment's notice.

The glitz, glamour and sparkle of holiday décor is irresistible to most home decorators, but a lack of time and money may be holding you back from achieving the holiday style you really deserve. To achieve diva-style holiday décor, without breaking a nail, read on . . . .

Light Up Your Home

Any well-schooled modern diva knows that the best way to make her home sparkle is with lighting. Thousands of twinkling lights will instantly create ambience and add glamour to rooms.

Start with the Front Porch

• Take your flowerpots and fill them with evergreen boughs (most tree lots will give you the boughs for free). Among the boughs, lay three or four strands of twinkling lights.
• Keep in mind, a true design diva turns her nose up at using multi-coloured lights for this purpose. Instead, she'll opt for the understated and classy look of white or amber-colored lights.
• You can also wrap mini-lights around an evergreen wreath and hang it on the door using an oversized (and very glitzy) silver or gold láme ribbon.

Candles Create Ambience

• When guest arrive inside, greet visitors with candlelight and a "field" (eight or nine pots) of white poinsettias, grouped together at the base of the foyer table or in front of the fireplace.
• Dim the lights and place lit candles in every room, from the powder room to the living room.
• Candles always add glamour to a room and should be considered a major aspect of the decorating landscape. Remember: Christmas is a time of abundance, so indulge your home with an abundance of candlelight.

Oh, Christmas Tree . . . how Lovely are your Branches!

The Christmas tree is the focal point of the living room or great room during the holiday season. A well-decorated tree is always the focal point of the living room, is as large as possible, and is saturated with light.

• Mini-lights in white or amber are more sophisticated than large, multi-coloured lights.
• String your lights from top to bottom, carefully tucking the strands amongst the branches in order to illuminate the tree's interior. A seven-foot Tannenbaum requires a minimum of 800 lights.
• To cover the base, use yards of luxurious fabrics such as velvet, silk, faux-mink, or taffeta (no sewing required).
• Amongst the boughs, weave yards of pearlized mesh, silver or gold ribbon, and oversized white silk flowers.
• Hang hand-blown glass ornaments, silver or gold balls, and crystals from a chandelier (you can purchase these from an architectural clearing center for a few dollars each). These hangings make beautiful ornaments and remind me of movie star earrings!

Create a Marvelous Mantel

• For festive drama, arrange 20 to 30 white pillar candles, all of varying heights, on the fireplace mantel.
• Add a few drops of your favorite scented essential oil to the base of the wick (for real "scentsational" style, choose cinnamon or white pine).
• A diva always hangs her sexy stocking - not the traditional, red velvet stocking, but rather a stocking sewn from white mink fur, or a fishnet stocking laid over white silk and trimmed with black mink and crystal beads.

Take your holiday decorating cues from everyday, amp them up to diva-style, and mix a plethora of glitz, a little sparkle and some creativity to create a look that is says "pure divine." Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may your holiday décor be simply diva sensational!

This article was made possible with the help of casaGURU. casaGURU is an everyday, everywhere, anytime homeowner website built on the premise that every home deserves a house expert.