Decorating your table for Christmas can be as simple or as elaborate as you want to make it. But, there is one primary secret to Christmas table decorations you should always follow.

By adhering to this simple secret it will make your table décor far more appealing while at the same time making your job easier. By ignoring this concept your table-decorating plan can completely fall apart.

So what’s the secret? Well it’s simple. All you have to do is decide upon a specific color theme and design theme, then stick to it.

Let me explain…

Do you want a particular color or colors? People, who especially love Christmas, still rely on the old stand-bys. I will admit that red, green, white, gold and silver are still my favorites and probably always will be.

Perhaps you’re in the mood for a wintery look. Simple. Just use white, blue, light shades of purple and you’re on your way. Along with candles you can add ornamental snowflakes, little snowmen, or strands of clear beads or snowy white garlands.

If you have a color scheme in your home that you would like to play off of, then that can make it even simpler. You can always find candles, ribbons, napkins, beads, etc. online or at the store. Add touches of winter greenery or tiny Christmas trees to solidify the look.

A Christmas wreath laid in the center of the table can be the beginning of a perfect centerpiece. It can be decorated with any object you may want to use as a theme. If you have no theme in mind other than something special, then ribbons and bows can always come to the rescue. Inside the wreath, place a large candle or several tapers. The tapers can be the same height or differing heights. The choice is yours. Just make certain that the flames or hot wax do not come in contact with anything that could cause a fire. I was at a dinner party once where that happened. We certainly had a lively Christmas party that night!

Hurricane lanterns placed in a row down the center of the table can take the place of a traditional centerpiece. Stemware filled with beads, nuts, berries, glass marbles, or any small festive objects can be used as well. You can use themed pieces to decorate in between. We’ll use Christmas bells as our example of a theme. Bells can be purchased in packages or they can be purchased already strung on wire. If they are on wire, they can be wrapped around the base of the hurricane lanterns, or you can attach them to ribbon and wrap the ribbon around the lanterns. Long strands of ribbon and beads can flow around the decorations.

Continue to carry out your theme with your table napkins. Use two napkins of different colors for each place setting. Place one napkin on top of the other. You can roll them separately or roll them together, but the important thing is to tie them together. Tie them with a beautiful wired ribbon with the bell attached to the ribbon. Because wired ribbon can be shaped, it is easy to make the perfect size napkin holder. With your napkins inside your ribbon napkin holder, artfully arrange them and place them in the center of each plate. You now have bells on your napkin holders and bells on your table decorations. You can continue the theme with bells tied to the backs of chairs, hanging from the chandelier or attached to your stemware.

The idea is to repeat your color or decoration. By using a theme, your Christmas table decorations will go from ho-hum to spectacular! Happy decorating.