Christmas Decor for Holiday 2026: What's New at Indaba Home

Christmas Decor for Holiday 2026: What's New at Indaba Home

The holiday collection is now in, and the easiest way to shop this year's Christmas decor is as four themes rather than a pile of products. Each theme has its own colours, textures and job in the house. Pick one that suits how you live, add a second as an accent, and the rest sorts itself out.

If you decorate in layers, with a little on the mantel, a little on the table and something small on nearly every shelf, this approach keeps the house from feeling crowded. Here's how we'd go about it.

How to choose your holiday look

Start with one theme and let it carry about two thirds of what you put out. Add a second theme as an accent, the way you'd add a single bold pillow to a sofa. A third theme is fine in a large home, but two is where most rooms look their best.

This year's four themes are Woodland Hearth, Hosts and Toasts, Felt Friends and Winter Lights. They pair easily:

• Woodland Hearth with Winter Lights suits a living room with a fireplace or a wide mantel.
• Hosts and Toasts with Felt Friends suits a dining room and kitchen where people gather.
• Woodland Hearth with Felt Friends suits a family home that wants warmth without fuss.

Then limit your colours. Two or three is plenty: say brown, white and a deep green, with ivory as the quiet one that ties them together. When every piece draws from the same short list, you can mix textures freely and nothing will clash. A rough, carved surface beside a smooth glazed one looks deliberate when the colours agree.

Look at what's already in the room before you buy anything. A rust-coloured rug or a grey sofa will tell you which colours belong. Christmas home decor works best when it sits comfortably with the furniture it's living beside for six weeks.

Woodland Hearth: trees, swags and greenery

Woodland Hearth is the most natural of the four themes, and it's the one to choose if you want your house to feel like a cabin even when the snow hasn't arrived. It leans on texture and a muted palette: bark brown, snow white, and the grey-green of evergreen branches. If you're after woodland Christmas decor for a mantel, entry table or windowsill, begin here.

Carved paper mache trees

The Carved Paper Mache Tree L in brown and the Carved Paper Mache Tree S in white are the anchors of this theme. Both have a carved, layered look, almost like trees cut from a block, with a finish that catches light along the grooves. The brown one reads warm and earthy. The white one reads like fresh snow.

Use them as a pair of different heights. Set the large brown tree on a sideboard or the end of a mantel, and tuck the small white one a hand's width away so the two look like they've grown up together. Odd numbers also work if you add a third piece, such as a candle or a sprig of greenery, at a different height. Leave a few centimetres of breathing room around each tree so the carved detail stays visible.

Swags and sprigs

The Woodland Pine Swag and the Highland Cedar Swag are faux greenery with a natural, slightly uneven look, which matters more than you'd think. A swag that's too perfect looks like plastic from across the room. These two have the soft irregularity of real branches, and the pine and cedar read as two distinct shades of green.

Drape one swag along the front edge of a mantel, letting the ends fall a little past each side. Hang the other over a doorway, along a banister or across a window frame. If you use both in one room, keep them at different heights so they don't compete.

The Norway Spruce Sprig is the small, versatile piece. Tuck it into a bowl, lay it across a stack of books, or slip a few into a jug on the hall table. A single sprig on a napkin is a lovely touch at a place setting, too.

The angel candle holder

For the mantel, add the Angel Candle Holder, which has an ivory glazed finish and a quiet, old-fashioned look. Ivory is a good choice beside brown and white because it warms the white and softens the brown. Place it off-centre, not in the middle, and let the greenery lean toward it.

When you're ready to dress the whole mantel, our Christmas mantel decor woodland guide walks through layering from the back row to the front. The tabletop tree ideas in our post on small Christmas trees are also worth a look if you're short on floor space.

Hosts and Toasts: for the table and the host

Hosts and Toasts is the theme for people who set a proper table and enjoy a bit of play while they do it. It's built around linens with embroidery, small ornaments that double as table pieces, and a green-and-white palette that feels festive without being loud.

The Bon Appetit Embroidered Placemats S/4 in green set the tone. Lay them under plain white plates and the embroidered detail becomes the decoration, so you can keep the centrepiece low. The Holiday Toast Embroidered Napkins S/4 follow the same spirit. Fold one in thirds and rest it on the plate, or roll it and tie with a length of twine and a spruce sprig.

The Alpine Dove Flour Sack Tea Towels S/2 are the quiet workers of the set. Hang one from the oven handle, line a bread basket with another, or fold one over your arm when you carry a dish to the table. They look as good in a busy kitchen as on a buffet.

Then the ornaments. The Merry Martini Holiday Ornament and the Champagne Bottle Beaded Holiday Ornament are small enough to use anywhere you'd normally put a place card. Hang one from a wine glass stem with a bit of ribbon, set one beside each plate, or group a few on a small tray in the middle of the table. They also hang well on a tree in the bar corner, where a few playful pieces are welcome.

A few table-setting habits worth keeping:

• Keep the centrepiece low enough that guests can see each other across the table, ideally under 25 cm.
• Repeat one colour from your placemats in the napkins or the ornaments, not all three at once.
• Leave at least 60 cm of elbow room per person if the table allows it.

Our guide to Christmas table decor and settings covers table layouts in more detail. If you're hosting, our post on Canadian stocking stuffers and small gifts has ideas for the little extras that tuck beside a plate.

Felt Friends: the mice

Every holiday collection benefits from one thing that makes people smile, and this year it's the mice. They're felt mouse ornaments with a soft, stitched look, small enough to tuck in almost anywhere. The Comfortable Cooper Mouse Holiday Ornament has a relaxed, settled-in expression. The Tiny Mouse Felt Ornament in Pink Stitch is, as the name suggests, smaller, with a pink stitched detail that adds a soft note to a mostly neutral scheme.

They don't need to hang on a tree to be enjoyed. Here are a few places they look good:

• On a branch. Loop the hanging cord around a bare branch in a vase, or tie a mouse to a sprig of spruce so it looks like it's out foraging.

• On a shelf. Sit one on a book stack or lean it against a candle holder. Two together look like a conversation.

• On a wreath. Tie a mouse to the lower third of a wreath rather than the top, where it's easier to notice and feels more like a surprise.

Keep them at eye level or close to it. Felt details are small, and they get lost on high branches. If you have young children, place them on shelves rather than low branches, since small ornaments tend to wander. For more ideas on styling and gifting them, see our felt ornaments styling and gifting guide.

Winter Lights: a soft glow

Winter Lights is the quietest theme and the one people tend to add last, but it changes a room more than any other. Candlelight in December, when it's dark by half past four, makes a house feel like a refuge.

The Winterlight Tree Tealight Holder in green has a tree shape with cut-outs, so the light flickers through the shape and throws small patterns on the wall. The Midnight Ceramic Tealight House L is a larger, darker piece with a glowing window effect. Use the house as the centre of a group and surround it with smaller things.

Group tealight holders in odd numbers: three or five pieces in a cluster look natural, while pairs and fours tend to look like a display. Vary the heights, set a tree holder beside the house, and add one small sprig or ornament to soften the edges.

A few safety notes, because they matter:

• Place tealights on a flat, heat-safe surface, never directly on a wood finish you care about.
• Keep flames at least 30 cm away from swags, garlands, paper and curtains, even if the greenery is faux.
• Never leave a lit tealight unattended, and blow them out before bed.
• Keep them out of reach of children and pets.

Flameless tealights work in these holders and are a sensible choice for a house with a cat or a toddler. Choose a warm white rather than a cool one so the glow looks like a real flame.

Adding a holiday pillow

One holiday pillow is enough. It's the easiest way to bring the season to a sofa or chair without swapping out your everyday cushions.

The Snowflake Velvet Bolster is a long, cylindrical pillow with a snowflake motif, and it's the type of shape that adds interest next to ordinary square pillows. Set it at one end of the sofa or across the front of an armchair. Pair it with two or three of your regular pillows in plain colours, and keep one of those close to the bolster's shade so it feels connected to the room.

If your sofa is already full of pillows, take one out. A bolster does better with some space around it.

A simple plan for decorating in layers

Work from the largest pieces to the smallest. The order matters because each layer tells you what the next one needs.

1. Tree. Put up the tree first, whether that's a full-size one or a carved tabletop tree, and place any lights before ornaments. Everything else takes its colours from here.

2. Mantel. Lay the swag first, then the taller pieces at the ends, then candles and small pieces in the middle. Step back after each addition.

3. Table. Set the placemats and napkins, then add one low centrepiece. Put the ornaments last so you can see what the table still needs.

4. Small touches. Add the felt mice, tealight groups, a spruce sprig and the holiday pillow. Tuck them in last, in the spots that still look bare.

Leave a day between layers if you can. The room often looks finished sooner than you expect, and you'll buy less if you let each layer settle.

If you'd like to browse by room, the holiday decor collection is the best place to start, and the wreaths, garlands and trees collection is useful for the Woodland Hearth theme. Whatever you choose, pick pieces that suit the whole long Canadian winter, not just one day in December.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I put up Christmas decor?

There's no rule, so go by how you like to live. Many Canadian households start the weekend after Remembrance Day or at the beginning of December. If you decorate in layers, spread the work over a couple of weekends so it never feels like a chore.

How do I mix holiday decor with everyday decor?

Keep a few of your everyday pieces in place and let the holiday decor sit beside them. A swag draped over your usual mantel mirror, or a bolster beside your regular cushions, makes the house feel decorated rather than replaced. Match one colour from your room to one colour in your holiday pieces so the two feel related.

How do I decorate a small space?

Choose one theme and work in height instead of width. A small carved tree on a shelf, a swag over a doorway and a cluster of three tealights can fill an apartment without taking up floor space. Leave clear surfaces on purpose, since empty space makes the decorated parts look better.

How do I keep a neutral palette festive?

Use texture to carry the season. Carved trees, greenery, ivory glazed pieces and embroidered linens all add depth without adding colour. One accent, like green placemats or a pink-stitched mouse, is enough to make a neutral scheme feel like Christmas.

How many decorations is too many?

If you can't see each piece clearly, there are too many. Aim for groupings of three or five with space around them, and remove one item from any surface that feels crowded.