Decorating this Christmas

Christmas decorations 

There is nothing better than a house proudly lit up with festive cheer but how do you make sure you don't cause damage to your property - here are some handy tips .......

1. Make use of existing fixtures
Hanging baubles and other decorations overhead is a lovely way to make the house feel more festive, but when you take them down, the last thing you want is to have to give your blemished ceiling a repaint. You can avoid this by using existing fixtures, such as light fittings and curtain rails, to hang your decorations. Suspending glittery baubles and ornaments from the light fixtures will catch the light and give the home some extra sparkle.

2. Anchor the tree
Once you have lovingly decorated your tree, carefully spacing out the baubles, the last thing you want is it falling over and undoing all your hard work. Not only that, if it falls it poses a fire risk. In department stores and hotels, the trees are anchored to the walls using invisible wire, or weighted with concrete stands, but this isn’t really an option in the home.

The tree can be kept steady with a weighted base that covers the largest possible surface area. The best way to anchor it is to use filled sandbags, placed over the legs of the stand. This will keep it in place and stop any wobbles!

3. Attach Christmas cards to ribbons

There are many great ways to display your cards, but most of them involve sticking them to wall in some way. Why not make use of the staircase? Simply glue cards vertically down the length of a ribbon, and then tie the ends around the banister. Not only can you display your cards, it serves as an added decoration!

4. Use a Command Hook to hang your wreath

Nothing marks Christmas quite like hanging a festive wreath on your front door, but while this might be traditional, your door may not be. Many of us now have uPVC doors, so hanging a wreath with a nail isn’t an option. The answer here is to use a Command Hook. These heavy duty adhesive hooks will hold your wreath in place for the entire festive season and can be removed, without leaving a mark, as soon as it’s time to pack the wreath away again.

5. Hang outdoor lights with brick clips

Nothing feels more festive than coming home after a long day to see fairy lights illuminating our house, but hanging them can prove difficult. Not only do you have to battle with the ladder, you then have to figure out how to attach them. Since drilling into the brickwork will cause lasting damage, if you have exposed bricks you can use brick clips to secure your lights. These attach snugly around the bricks, so you can place one at each end and slip the wire between the hooks.

Source – goodhousekeeping.com