Deck Your Halls: Beautiful Christmas Color Schemes for a Classic Holiday

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the Christmas decorating possibilities? Choosing a color scheme or theme can make the process so much easier and more fun!

With so many beautiful color options and styles out there, it can be hard to know where to start. A specific theme will help pull your look together and create a festive and beautiful space you’ll love all season long.

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I’ll let you in on a little secret: I love decorating for Christmas. All the colors, the textures, the endless possibilities…it’s pure joy! But it can also be a bit overwhelming, right?

I could spend hours roaming the aisles of Hobby Lobby, or Michael’s, or TJ Maxx, or some of my favorite local boutiques thinking about all the amazing things I could make or decorate for Christmas.

If you’re feel a bit overwhelmed by all the Christmas decorating choices and need some help narrowing down your decorating choices, you’re in the right place!”

Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite tips to kick-start your holiday decorating—pick a Christmas theme! Having a theme makes everything easier and pulls your decor together in such a fun way. Here are some of my favorite theme ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

So, how do you pick the perfect Christmas theme for your decor?

Start by thinking about the overall feel you want for the season. Do you want your home to be cozy and classic? Bright and festive? Or maybe a little bit vintage?

The key to your Christmas theme is all in the colors you choose! Pick a color scheme that you love, and let it guide you as you select decorations for your tree and other holiday touches around your home.

Trust me, starting with a fun color palette that you’re excited about makes decorating feel way more fun and cohesive!

You can choose to coordinate with the “year-round” color scheme of your home, and choose Christmas decor in those colors. Our home is decorated in neutrals with a lot of blue and white throughout the year, so a blue and white Christmas color palette, particularly in the living room, is a beautiful way to decorate for the season.

If you decorate with mostly neutrals throughout the year, then you’ll probably enjoy sticking with a neutral holiday color scheme. This can be an elegant look using a lot of pretty metals. Or you can opt for a more casual, cozy neutral look adding in lots of texture and natural materials.

Maybe you’re like me, and really enjoy traditional Christmas red. The color red just feels like Christmas to me, so I use it in some way in my home most years during the holiday season. I especially like to use a lot of red in our kitchen, but it often makes its way into our living room and dining room as well!

Once you decide on the colors you want to stick with for this holiday season, combine them with the decorating style or feel you’re going for, and you have a perfect decorating plan and Christmas theme that reflects your style!

This Year’s Classic Christmas Theme: Deep Red and Rich Green

This year, I’m going classic and a little vintage with deep reds, rich greens, and touches of antique gold. I’m veering away a little from brighter Christmas reds toward deeper burgundies and hunter greens, and it’s feeling a little nostalgic.

Last year, we used a flocked tree in our living room, but this year the traditional green tree will return, along with lots of lush greenery and velvety ribbon.

These deep, rich shades of red and green are certainly popular this year. I guess it’s true what they say — everything old is new again. I remember using these colors 25 or 30 years ago, but they feel fresh and new again this year.

Shop the Look for a Classic Deep Red and Green Color Scheme

More Christmas Theme Inspiration

Still need more Christmas color inspiration? Here are a few more Christmas theme ideas to spark your creativity.

Pinecones and Red Velvet Theme

Create a little contrast of textures with this pretty theme. Combine the natural rustic element of pinecones with the more luxurious texture of red velvet with this theme. This “high-low” decor style creates a nice juxtaposition of casual and formal, natural and elegant. 

Add pinecones of all shapes and sizes around your home — on your Christmas tree, your mantel, and in centerpieces around the house. 

Contrast the rustic, natural element of pinecones with rich red velvet ribbon. Adding in other natural wood elements such as these wooden trees adds even more rustic contrast with the velvet ribbon.

Read all about this pretty Pinecones and Velvet Christmas theme in this post.

Shop the Look for A Pinecones and Velvet Christmas Theme

Blue and White with Gold Christmas Decor Ideas 

A blue and white color scheme is a gorgeous look at Christmas. If your home’s year-round color palette is blue and white, decorating in these colors, with a little gold for an accent color mixed in for good measure is a great classic look.

If you love blue and white Chinoiserie style with pretty ginger jars, this color scheme is perfect for you. 

It’s such an elegant look.

You can read more about creating a blue and white Christmas color scheme here.

Add blue and white Chinoiserie ornaments to your tree, along with shimmery gold ornaments. Rich velvet ribbon in shades of blue paired with gold ribbon makes a very regal Christmas tree.

Carry the look into the dining room with navy velvet ribbon and blue Christmas ornaments scattered along the table.

Blue and white bottle brush trees paired with ginger jars on the buffet carry the theme into the kitchen.

If you love to decorate with bottle brush trees, this post is full of bottle brush tree inspiration.

Shop the Look for Favorite Blue and White Christmas Decor

Classic Red and White Christmas Theme

A traditional red and white color scheme is such a charming look. It’s such a classic look paired with vintage finds for a nostalgic feel in your home.

I like to use red and white in the kitchen for a cottage charm look.

Santa mugs and a hot chocolate bar are perfect all decked out in red and white.

Shop the Look for Favorite Red and White Christmas Decor

Traditional Tartan Plaid Christmas Theme

You can never go wrong with tartan plaid at Christmas. It’s such a classic traditional look. It’s perfect with a formal look or a more casual look.

This tree is all decked out in tartan plaids from top to bottom for a burst of classic color and traditional holiday decor.

In the dining room, tartan plaid ribbon adds classic charm to a centerpiece.

A red tartan plaid bow on a boxwood wreath is the quintessential Christmas look.

I share lots more tartan plaid and Chinoiserie style decor in this post!

Shop the Look for Tartan Plaid Christmas Decor

Preppy Blue and Red Theme with a Flocked Tree

One of my all-time favorite Christmas looks combines classic Christmas plaid with velvety blue! This traditional blue and red plaid look is so pretty on a flocked Christmas tree!

The vibrant blue and red plaid ribbon pops against the snowy white branches! You can see this Christmas tree featured in this post.

This color scheme pulls from a preppy Chinoiserie look and is perfect if you want to combine traditional Christmas colors with blues. It works well if you love Christmas reds but want them to coordinate with a blue year-round color palette in your home.

Shop the Look for Preppy Chinoiserie Christmas Decor

Neutral Christmas Theme

A neutral Christmas theme is such a soft and peaceful look. Sticking with a color palette of creamy whites and warm neutrals is a very cozy look for throughout the winter season.

Even if you like to inject color into your home during the holidays, a nice neutral base for your Christmas decor makes it easy to switch out color schemes year after year.

Our Christmas tree has a nice neutral base of ornaments and florals. Mercury glass and gold or silver ornaments are perfect for this look, and really for any of the color schemes.

Adding natural elements and lots of texture makes a neutral color palette a beautiful option for Christmas.

Nothing is more lovely that a neutral palette paired with lovely greenery. It’s such simple but beautiful look.

Shop the Look for Tartan Plaid Christmas Decor

Pink and Gold Christmas Theme for a Girl’s Room

This is a fun feminine look! Soft pink or blush is a lovely color to pair with gold for Christmas in your home, but especially in a girl’s bedroom or home office for Mom.

These gold and white Cheetah print ornaments are the perfect touch and are so pretty with the soft pink bottle brush trees.

It’s a fun alternative look to original Christmas colors in a girl’s room.

Shop the Look for Pink and Gold Christmas Decor

Now, what will your Christmas decor theme be this year? Do you have a favorite look for Christmas, or do you like to change things up year after year.

I hope these color scheme and Christmas theme ideas for decorating your home spark a little creativity in you and help to cut down on some of your decorating overwhelm!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Decorating!