56 Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas That Bring the Holiday Magic Home

Embellishing your fireplace with festive Christmas mantel decor is a holiday tradition that is both fun and creative. You can style your mantel with anything from garlands to wreaths, candles, stockings, photos, snow globes, rustic pine cones, or handmade items. Coordinate your mantel decor with your tree decorations for a cohesive look.

Whether you're looking to create a traditional, modern, minimalist, maximalist, sustainable, colorful, kitschy, classic, rustic, vintage, or contemporary holiday display, these festive and wide-ranging Christmas mantel decor ideas will help inspire you.

Add DIY Cardboard Trees

Craftberry Bush decorated this neutral mantel with DIY cardboard Christmas tree ornaments to create a mini forest. Brass candlesticks, small white ornaments, and simple greens add dimension and volume.

Swap In a Holiday Painting

Inspired by Charm hung a holiday-themed painting above the fireplace to set the tone for this Christmas mantel display. A green garland is layered with strings of gold beads and stars and oversized pine cones. On the mantel surface, a family of vintage woodland ornaments, tree-shaped figurines in a mix of metals and woods, knit stockings in a bundle to one side add coziness. A golden Christmas gnome at on the hearth adds extra sparkle.

Trade Red for Pink

Blogger Monika Hibbs decked her mantel in classic greens and pale pink satin ribbons in honor of a recently born daughter's first Christmas, adding fluffy white filled stockings and a sheepskin throw in front of the fireplace.

Tip

Use quality ribbon in satin or velvet to add an elegant feel to your mantel display. You can choose any color you like to create a personalized Christmas color palette.

Try an Asymmetrical Garland

Modern Glam created a cozy, natural Christmas mantel design using an asymmetrical garland, an assortment of candlesticks, and some Christmas-themed framed art stacked against the vintage mirror over the fireplace.

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Keep It Simple and Serene

Fireplace mantels come in many shapes and sizes. Sugar and Charm painted the front of this bump-out fireplace in a minty green and hung a wreath, then decorated the small shelves that flank either side with a trio of white tree-shaped candles to decorate the split mantel.

Add French Country Flair

Maison de Cinq created a French country-inspired mantel with a simple wreath hung over an antique mirror, a pair of decorative urns, and neutral-toned stockings hung in a neat row.

Supersize the Garland

Mel Bean Interiors created a maximalist holiday mantel in this contemporary formal living room. The supersized garland spills down the top and both sides of the fireplace mantel, complementing the existing color palette and decor while creating a holiday-themed focal point. Delicate gold animal and tree figurines and golden Christmas lighting on the garland add warmth.

Hang Mantel Stockings

This homey Christmas mantel from Emily Henderson Design leans more on the side of wintry, making it appropriate for those who prefer a secular spin on the holiday. Layered mantel lighting in the form of an oversize star, and a mix of candlesticks and votive candles add warm light. Simple greens add a note of freshness and faux fur-trimmed stockings hung from the chunky wood mantel help create a cozy vibe.

Accent With Rose Gold

Blogger Ashley Luengo from Modern Glam created a maximalist Christmas living room decor scheme that was inspired by a shiny rose gold Merry Christmas garland tied together with black and white twine. She went all out with the color palette, carrying it onto the two trees that flank the mantel and are decorated in rose gold ornaments and black-and-white striped ribbons. The lyrics to Silent Night written in white on a black background creates a focal point.

Decorate With Odd Numbers

Monika Hibbs created a charming, cheerful, understated holiday mantel with a generous spread of fresh greens, gingerbread house ornaments, and an abundance of taper candlesticks of varying heights and styles in similar brass tones.

Tip

Use odd numbers of candles, ornaments, or other elements when decorating a mantel for the most aesthetically pleasing effect. The same rule works well for flower bouquets and shelf displays, too.

Add a Mini Tree

Maison de Cinq created a casual French country-inspired mantel display with a Merry Christmas garland, cozy cream-colored knit stockings, and a jumble of votive candles. Simple white Christmas lights on the garland and mini tree placed next to the hearth provides extra light and charm without stealing the show from the main tree elsewhere in the room.

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Add a Holiday Mantel Sign

Emily Henderson Design created a fun, modern Christmas mantel that matches the contemporary aesthetic of the marble and white wood fireplace and overall design of the room. Black-and-white stockings hung to one side, and bright red letters spelling out the word JOY sets the tone, and a simple cascading green garland adds a note of greenery next to the blingy modern gold tree.

Tips

If a real or faux fireplace mantel is not part of your home's existing architecture, you can create a virtual Christmas mantel on a bookshelf, floating shelf, sideboard, dresser, radiator cover, upright piano top, or any other long, flat surface that you can style like a virtual mantel display and use to create a festive focal point.

Try a Monochrome Mantel

My 100 Year Old Home decorated this Christmas bedroom fireplace mantel with a row of white house-shaped votives. A bunch of greens tied with a red ribbon hung casually off of a thrift store floor lamp on one side, a red throw pillow on an armchair, and a red-and-green quilt at the foot of the bed tie the simple decor scheme together.

Try a Mantel Alternative

There is no mantel on the floor-to-ceiling fireplace in this spacious Spanish-style living room from Emily Henderson Design. Instead, a simple lighted wreath encircling a faux trophy head above the fireplace fills in the empty space, and stockings hang from a built-in bookshelf just off to one side. The granny chic minty green velvet tasseled vintage chaise longue works anytime but looks more intentional during the holiday season.

Make a Mantel Marquee

This bright and shiny DIY marquee light Christmas mantel decoration from Laura Gummerman at A Beautiful Mess has enough bling to light up the whole room. She kept the rest of the mantel decoration simple with pompom and gold ball garlands filling the negative space between the firebox and the mantel, and adding some mini Christmas tree and pine cone table ornaments on either side of the marquee sign to tie it all together.

Pair Black and White

Blogger Annie Diamond of Most Lovely Things made her minimalist black-and-white Christmas mantel cozy and inviting with pairs of matching stockings, overstuffed throw pillows, simple greens, candles, and house-shaped votives.

Mix Colors and Metallics

This Christmas mantel from blogger Michael Wurm, Jr of Inspired by Charm includes an evergreen garland embellished with a string of gold beads and tied with blue ribbons on each end, a snow pine cone wreath hung from a vintage mirror above the fireplace, and a banner that reads “Merry & Bright.” The blue, green, white, and gold color scheme is carried throughout the holiday living room for a cohesive look.

Pair White and Gold

Craftberry Bush decorated this white-and-gold themed Christmas mantel with a generous asymmetrical garland and a coordinating wreath. Gold bells hanging from white stockings, candlesticks, and white-and-gold decorations on the bookshelves that flank the fireplace create a fresh, natural but polished holiday ambiance throughout the room.

Style a Multicolored Mantel

Emily Henderson Design chose a bold print in primary colors on the Frame TV over her family room fireplace that echoes the multicolored decorations on the tree, and coordinates with the blues and reds on throw pillows and upholstery.

Drape a Mantel Garland

Maison de Cinq created a soft, French country-inspired take on Christmas mantel decor in shades of green and white that harmonizes with the rest of the room. The garland is draped for a nonchalant feel, and the mantel is decorated with tapered candles and a simple ribbon-tied wreath on a vintage gilded mirror.

Choose a Few Mantel Pieces

Marlaina Teich Designs used a mix of black and white and bright gold metallic accessories to create an understated, sophisticated take on holiday mantel decor.

Display an Illuminated Sign

Laura Gummerman from A Beautiful Mess created a DIY white and gold holiday-themed ode to typography and kitsch with this cheerful sign mantel display.

Pair Art With Greenery

Blogger Leslie Saeta from My 100 Year Old Home used simple greens to decorate her living room mantel that don't fight with the painting above the fireplace and allow the rest of the room's traditional red and green Christmas decorations to shine.

Let Stockings Be the Star

Kara Whitten from A Beautiful Mess hung brightly colored stockings decorated in pompoms and candy cane stripes and decked the mantel with a forest of brightly colored bottle brush trees to create a happy, fun Christmas vibe.

Channel Scandi Style

This streamlined mantel from Lindye Galloway Studio blends harmoniously with the rest of the room's serene, Scandi style-inspired take on Christmas decor, with its soothing palette of sage green, cream, and natural tones. Wood bead garlands draped on the mantel and adjacent tree add a natural touch.

Hang a Giant Wreath

Not every fireplace has a traditional mantel. In this living room from Emily Henderson Design, an oversized wreath decorates the blank space above the firebox. Built-in bench seating is treated like a mantel and decorated with a tall vase full of red holiday berries, tree ornaments, and toys to delight the little ones.

Layer Your Mantel Decor

Blogger Michael Wurm, Jr of Inspired by Charm created a red-themed rustic Christmas mantel on his brick and wood fireplace. A green garland is layered with gold beads and festooned with oversized and frosted pine cones, red-and-white ornaments, and Christmas lights. Classic Nordic knit stockings trimmed with white faux fur complete the happy, homey look.

Choose a Nutcracker Theme

Craftberry Bush created a Nutcracker-themed mantel in shades of red, blue, and gold for this classic Christmas mantel display with timeless appeal.

Decorate With Faux Berries

My 100 Year Old Home dressed this rustic modern farmhouse living room mantel in greens and bright red faux berries, hung a wreath on top of distressed vintage tin tiles, and added Scandi-style black-and-white knit stockings with DIY nametags for a personal touch.

Personalize Your Mantel

Reinvent holiday traditions by following your own vision of what Christmas means to you. For Laura Gummerman at A Beautiful Mess, that meant this surprising, irreverent DIY marquee of a vintage Corvette Stingray carrying a pink tree on its roof.

Mix Real and Faux Greens

Craftberry Bush adds fresh additions to faux greenery that lasts from season to season on the Christmas mantel to cut down on the annual holiday decorating budget.

Pile on the Pillar Candles

Thistlewood Farms created a simple, timeless farmhouse style mantel with flickering LED pillar candles, natural greens, and pine cones that gets the job done with a minimum of fuss or expense.

Mix in Natural Elements

Blogger Michael Wurm, Jr from Inspired by Charm found a pair of elk antlers at a resale store and used them as a centerpiece for this nature-inspired Christmas mantel. He added fresh greens, copper ornaments, and large pine cones. A pair of lamps on either end add light and height, and a garland hung below the mantel adds a shot of classic Christmas red.

Try a Neutral Palette

Thistlewood Farms created a neutral-toned Christmas mantel with natural materials, large curled ribbons, touches of gold, and greenery that blends in with the white-on-white rustic modern farmhouse-style room.

Hang a Trophy Head

Australian travel photographer Kara Rosenlund created a focal point above the fireplace with a natural trophy head that adds dimension to the flat surround marble fireplace (feel free to swap in a faux trophy head made from textiles, wood, plaster, or other materials). Contemporary holiday signage hung on the wall adds a cheerful, modern Scandi-style feel. The neutral palette and DIY scavenged branch tree provides a perfect foil that allows natural greenery to shine.

Try a Minimalist Mantel

Most Lovely Things added a line of black house-shaped votives, black taper candles, and a small vase of red leaves to this painted white stone fireplace mantel for a minimalist take on holiday decor.

Hang Christmas-Themed Art

Blogger Michael Wurm, Jr from Inspired by Charm used bright red and crisp white to create a layered mantel design that features interwoven garlands, twinkly lights, tapered candles, house-shaped votives, Nordic stockings, and framed Christmas song lyrics.

Coordinate Multiple Mantels

If you're blessed with two mantels that are visible from across an open space or adjoining rooms, they don't need to match perfectly. But be sure visually link them using similar greens or variations on the same color scheme, like the twin mantels in this spacious home from interior designer Susan Spath of Kern & Co.

Use Low-Profile Decorations

Emily Henderson Design kept this holiday mantel decoration simple with a low-profile green garland decorated with a string of gold bells that doesn't block the TV when in use.

Add a Waterfall Garland

Mel Bean Interiors used a generous waterfall garland on the fireplace of this contemporary living room that spills down both sides and puddles at the base, creating a sense of abundance and celebration.

Stack Framed Mantel Art

Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona decorated her living room for Christmas with simple greens, a burnished gold garland, and layered framed art leaning on the mantel for a casual look.

Try a Blue and Green Mantel

Inspired by Charm used blue and green bottle brush trees, vintage brass deer ornaments, vintage-inspired DIY wood stockings, and simple greens surrounding a large mirror to brighten up this light and airy Christmas mantel.

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Hang a Gilded Mirror

Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona created a simple, budget-friendly Christmas mantel display that plays off the gilded mirror above the fireplace with an assortment of candles in glass and gold vessels, simple ribbon, and reusable faux garlands decorated with greens and white flowers.

Try a Maximalist Mantel

Craftberry Bush covered the Christmas mantel in a lush garland that flows seamlessly into the twin trees flanking either side of the fireplace. The color palette of greens and blues complement the dark wall paint to create the impression that a Christmas garden has been planted in the living room.

Display Traditional Decor

Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona hung red and gold stockings from a DIY hangar box filled with mini presents and greens. Traditional Christmas ornaments on either end lend the mantel a classic holiday feel.

Decorate with Glass Cloches

Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona created a simple mantel display by putting sparkly silver Christmas ornaments and fairy lights under decorative glass cloches. A faux fur stocking, mini pine cones, and wrapped small gifts decorate the rest of the mantel.

Blow Up a Family Photo

Blogger Annie Diamond from Most Lovely Things set her Frame TV with a blown up family photo from a previous year's Christmas card that adds a personal touch to her simple stone mantel holiday display.

Try an All-White Mantel

Interior designer Amy Leferink at Interior Impressions chose a minimalist approach to decorating the mantel in this neutral-toned formal living room. She hung a simple off-white wreath that adds a festive but minimal nod to the holidays, and complements the white flowers on the coffee table and touches of greenery scattered throughout the room.

Tie Your Mantel With a Bow

Interior designer Mary Maloney of Hopkinton, MA.-based Bee's Knees Interior Design has a holiday decorating motto that "Less is more and fresh is best." She enjoys sourcing as much of her decor as possible from the great outdoors.

"We are blessed to live in an environment where we can cut much of what we need right in our backyard," Maloney says. "Winterberry is lovely for a pop of red. Add in pine cones for texture. Evergreen clippings are long lasting and add such a lovely smell to your indoor environment. And embellish your displays with a ribbon accent."

Decorate a Mantel With Gold

Emma Chapman from A Beautiful Mess decorated this white living room with gold accents including a pair of gold Christmas trees decorated with gold ball ornaments. She carried the theme to the mantel, which she decorated sparingly with a double-draped a gold ball ornament garland and a mini gold tree.

Add Colorful Lights

Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona decorated her Christmas living room in shades of green and gold, adding a pair of DIY tree-shaped LED lights on either end of the mantel to tie it all together.

Accent With Red

Thistlewood Farms added some Christmas cheer to this blue-and-white living room with contrasting bright red and white stockings and advent calendar votive candles with red numbers that line the mantel covered in fresh greens.

Try a Wild Mantel Display

Decorate your Christmas mantel with a lively mix of greens, branches, berries, and other natural elements in shades of red and green. Create height to give the mantel decor a stylized but slightly wild feel that is chic without looking like it's trying too hard, like this holiday display from designer Annie Sloan.

Accent With Orange Slices

Accent your Christmas mantel with a dried orange slice garland that will energize any style interior from farmhouse to modern to traditional. Marie Flanigan Interiors layered an orange slice garland onto a green garland in this formal living room, then hung green velvet stockings from the mantel for an elegant feel.

Create a Whimsical Mantel

Create a maximalist Christmas mantel display with everything from garlands to berries and whimsical Santa hats and gnomes, like this playful display from Homestead City Dwelling.

Try Multicolored Candles

Don't feel you have to stick to red and green when decorating your Christmas mantel. Designer Annie Sloan modernized this traditional English fireplace mantel with a mix of multicolored taper candles and candlesticks for a stylish blend of old and new.

What do you put on a mantel to decorate it for Christmas?

You can decorate your mantel for Christmas with everything from stockings to garlands to wreaths to real or LED candles to a collection of holiday-themed figurines or Christmas-themed art. Decorate your mantel with real or faux greenery, flowers, pine cones, and branches for a natural look. Add gold, silver, or other metallic touches for a festive feel.

How do you decorate a mantel for Christmas when there's a TV above it?

Decorate a mantel with a TV above it for Christmas using decorations that won’t block the screen. A garland that runs the length of the mantel and drapes down one or both sides will make your mantel look holiday-ready without interfering with your ability to watch Christmas movies.

Depending on how much space there is between the mantel and the bottom of the TV, you may also display small ornaments or a collection of holiday figurines.

What can you use as a mantel for Christmas decor if you don't have a mantel?

If you don’t have a fireplace mantel to use for holiday decor, you can treat any linear surface as a mantel replacement. Think floating shelves, a console table, or the top of a bookcase or midcentury modern buffet. If you live in an apartment or smaller space, turn a windowsill or radiator cover into a makeshift mantel to create a focal point for festive Christmas decor.

Read the original article on The Spruce.