Cottage Christmas Decorating Ideas

Post Summary: A room-by-room guide to all your cottage Christmas decorating ideas, from bathrooms to bedrooms. We’ve even got some tips for decorating Christmas trees.

A cottage style home is cozy and inviting. It can be a mix of hygge, traditional and eclectic, with thrifted and vintage decor. It’s unique from other interior design styles because cottages are all about indulging in the cozy joys of indoor living and creating a welcoming vibe. Which makes it perfect for Christmas decorating.

I’m always asked when the best time to decorate for Christmas is. And my answer is whenever you want! A lot of people I know like to decorate sometime between Thanksgiving and December. While others like myself will start pulling out the Holiday decor the day after Halloween!

Looking for cottage Christmas decor on Pinterest is one of my favorite things to do before I decorate. But I want you to know that Christmas decorating doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. There are plenty of easy ideas that you can incorporate into making your cottage-style home more festive and ready for the Christmas season.

Keep reading to find out how to decorate a cottage for Christmas, style cottage Christmas decor and so much more!

12 Christmas Decorating Ideas for Cottage Style Homes

Last week we shared our Christmas home tour on the blog, and this week I wanted to share some of the Christmas cottage decor ideas we used. So to make it easy I’ve shared each room of our home (and the home of other cottage lovers) whose decor I absolutely love. We also walk you through each look to give you some ideas on how to decorate yours without spending a ton of money.

Decorating Ideas for the Entryway

Let’s start at the entryway since it is the first place people see when they enter your home. It’s also one of the first places we decorate each year.

For a cottage Christmas feel in your entryway, consider placing a small vintage table or bench adorned with a quaint holiday vignette, like a rustic lantern, a bowl of pine cones, and a few handcrafted wooden ornaments.

Drape a lush evergreen garland around the doorway or along the stair railing, intertwined with white fairy lights, and maybe hang some cheerful stockings or a couple of rustic wreaths to warmly welcome the festive spirit right at your doorstep.

Decorating ideas for the Front Door and Porch

When it comes to decorating the front door and porch we like to keep things simple. I also like to embrace nature and use real pine or cedar clippings (if possible). Paired with some thrifted finds, it can make decorating your front door and porch completely budget-friendly.

To create a cozy cottage Christmas ambiance on your front porch, begin with a welcoming wreath on the door, perhaps one made of fresh evergreens, holly, and a nice red bow.

You could line the porch with potted poinsettias or small spruce trees adorned with simple outdoor lights and rustic ornaments.

Lastly, consider placing a vintage wooden sleigh or a few lanterns with candles by the entrance, and maybe a cozy bench with some plaid or knitted throw pillows for a warm, inviting look that beckons holiday cheer!

How to Hang Garland Over Your Door

• To make a garland that hangs over your door, you can use wire from the craft store to secure each of the branches together.
• Once you have enough branches to fill the garland, you can think about how you will hang the garland over the door.
• The two options are to use nails (which can be hidden under the wood) or removable adhesive hooks. (these are the best hooks to use)
• Place 12 inches apart giving the garland enough support to stay up. Then use more wire to secure it to the nails or the hooks.

After you finish hanging the garland, it’s time to add bells. They are always great to decorate your cottage-style home with. Not to mention I love the way it sounds when you open or close the door.

To complete the look, add some chopped wood, a lantern, a doormat, and even a stool to finish the look.

Decorating ideas for the Mantel

We recently did a DIY on our white mantel and painted it black. It’s made decorating this year even more fun, especially when we use bright colors that contrast the black. But regardless of the color of your fireplace or your style, you can still have fun decorating it for Christmas.

For a cottage Christmas-themed mantel, start with a lush evergreen garland draped gracefully along its length, maybe intertwined with some white fairy lights for that soft glow.

Add a variety of rustic elements like candle holders or vintage lanterns with white or red candles, and perhaps a few small wooden or ceramic Christmas trees or reindeer figures.

For a personal touch, hang a few stockings or display a quaint cottage-style sign with a heartwarming holiday message. Mixing these elements will help create a cozy, nostalgic focal point in your living space, perfect for celebrating the season!

Some ways I love adding Christmas Decor to the Mantel:

• Bottle brush trees
• A Christmas print, or artwork on the tv.
• We also drape a garland
• Hang stockings
• Another tip is to use dried oranges and ribbon just like Liz did on her mantel in her cottage Christmas below.

I love the idea of using what you already have to decorate with. I prefer to build my Christmas decor over time.

How to Decorate for Cozy Christmas Kids Rooms

My favorite room to decorate for Christmas is our kid’s bedroom. I love filling their room with some Christmas spirit, and I hope it’s something they remember when they’re older.

To sprinkle some cottage Christmas magic in a kid’s room, consider hanging fabric or felt stockings along their bedpost or on a cute little wooden ladder propped against a wall. You could also create a whimsical display on a shelf or windowsill with miniature wooden houses, soft plush reindeer, and maybe a little faux snow.

Stringing some fairy lights around their room, along with hanging homemade paper snowflakes or little wooden stars, can add a touch of festive sparkle, making their space cozy and enchanting for the holiday season.

Christmas Cottage Decor Ideas for Kids’ Bedrooms

• We like adding a tin house with fairy lights to their play kitchen
• Some beaded garland over their frames
• Red Gingham Bedding
• Felt garlands on their bookcase

Decorating Ideas for the Dining Room

The dining room is a highlight of our home this year. We love hosting parties in our small home, and I find so much joy in seeing everyone we love having a great time together.

To get that cozy cottage Christmas vibe in your dining room, start with a charming centerpiece made from fresh evergreen branches. (we took a few from our trees out back), holly berries, and perhaps a few rustic ornaments or candles.

Spread a plaid or burlap table runner to add a touch of rustic charm, and consider tying a small wreath or a sprig of mistletoe to the back of each dining chair with a pretty ribbon.

Hanging a mix of fairy lights and vintage ornaments from a chandelier or along the mantelpiece can also add that warm, festive glow, making the room inviting and ready for joyful Christmas gatherings.

This is How to Decorate a Christmas Table:

• Laying a garland along the dining table
• Add some fruit like pomegranate or oranges that add some weight to the garland without overdoing it, which is a great Christmas cottage decor DIY you can easily do.
• Matching Plate Set for the Holidays
• Rattan Placemats
• Linen or High-Quality Napkins

We like to keep things simple by laying a garland on the dining table and even adding some fruit like pomegranates or oranges. It’s a great way to add some weight to the garland without overdoing it.

Like any others, I like to bring out a good matching plate set, placemats, and some pretty napkins. Those are the things I will usually splurge on because it’s something we can reuse again and again for dinner parties.

How to Decorate Living Area on Christmas

Incorporating Cottage Christmas Decor into your living room can easily blend coziness and festive charm. Start with a color scheme that embraces classic (English-style) cottage aesthetics—think whites, greens, reds, or even soft pastels.

We love to make the Christmas tree a focal point, with rustic, vintage, or handmade ornaments such as wooden stars, tin angels, or crocheted snowflakes.

Garlands like fresh evergreens (or faux), dried citrus, or cranberries can be elegantly draped over the fireplace mantel, along stair railings, or around door frames. Then complement these with twinkling fairy lights or vintage candle holders to add a gentle glow to the room.

Cottage-style textiles like plaid, burlap, or knitted throw pillows and blankets strewn across sofas and chairs enhance the snug and welcoming ambiance. Don’t forget to add accent pieces like antique sleighs, wooden Christmas signs, or a rustic nativity set on a tabletop or mantel that can tie in the theme.

Finish by hanging stockings by the fireplace and placing a few well-chosen wreaths or wooden snowflake decor on walls or doors, enveloping your living room in a nostalgic, cottage-inspired Christmas wonderland.

Modern Christmas Cottage Decor Ideas:

• Bottle Brush Trees
• Nutcrackers
• Twinkle Lights
• Tin House

Decorating Ideas for the Bedroom

The bedroom is another fun place to decorate, and I love Jillian’s country home and her Christmas decorations were so pretty. She used plaid sheets, fun Christmas pillows, and a fur throw on the bed.

Other decor ideas for the bedroom include:

• Hanging a wreath above the bed
• A Poinsettia on the nightstand
• Fun Christmas pillows
• Christmas scents to fill the room: you can find more information about Christmas scents here.

Decorating Ideas for the Bathroom

When it comes to the bathroom, there are so many ways you can decorate for Christmas. I enjoy having friends and family stop by and I want the bathroom to be decorated as well. I also focus more on the guest bathroom versus our own bathroom.

Some of my Favorite Ways to Decorate a Bathroom

• Mini Tree on the vanity
• Hang a Wreath over the toilet or even light over the mirror
• Use Christmas Hand Towels
• Christmas-smelling hand soap
• Festive bath mat

Christmas Tree Ideas for Cottage Style Homes

I couldn’t write a post about decorating a cottage-style home without sharing a few tree ideas.

Our tree this year is a faux tree from Amazon. It came pre-lit with flocking and I think for the price it looks great! I’ll leave the link here (the one in the picture is from a few years ago).

Decorating this year was a lot more relaxed than in previous years, mostly because Penelope is at the age where she wants to be involved in decorating the tree. So we just gathered our favorite ornaments and went to town placing them on the tree. Like I said cottage style to me is a collection of all the things that feel like home. It’s inviting and warm and I think your tree should reflect that.

Woodland-themed Christmas Tree Decorations

Last year we opted for a real tree, and I still wish we would have gotten a real one this year but we aren’t here for Christmas so I didn’t want to worry about taking it down.

But last year we went with a theme, that fit our cottage-style home perfectly. We collected woodland animal ornaments and I just love how it turned out. Instead of a typical cloth tree skirt, we went with this burlap style, but I really love how the pretty rattan tree collars look. You can read more of that post here.