How to transition from Christmas to winter decor (simple ideas)

I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year’s. Removing all the magic of Christmas always puts me in a sad mood, and I definitely mentally struggled more this winter than I ever have before. There is so much going on right now that worries me, and even wishing a Happy New Year feels off. My home is where I need to feel cozy and safe, even though it is becoming increasingly more difficult. It was extra important to me to transition from Christmas to winter decor without removing all the magic and sparkle this year, so my family can feel cozy and safe throughout the remaining cold winter months.

What inspired my winter decor

As some of you may know, I work at the local ski resort here in Pennsylvania, which always sets a timeline for me for when winter starts and ends.

For work, we have to park at the water retention pond that is used for making the snow. In the image below, you can see the ice formations on the hill surrounding the pond. When this ice usually melts around late March, and we have our last day on the mountain, I know winter is over, and time to remove the annual winter decor.

That ice formation, in combination with the bare trees, inspired me to keep the icicle ornaments on my potted branches this year. Those branches are still lit with fairy lights after Christmas. While that photo above doesn’t look cozy at all, and you can feel the cold through the photo, I promise you my decor does feel cozy. It is also unique and not just the standard piles of cozy throw blankets and candles.

We also have beautiful sunsets that inspired me for my winter decor.

Room by room explanations and photos

Let me show you all my downstairs rooms of our house and how I transitioned my Christmas decor into winter decor. The upstairs stays mostly the same. I don’t have much room since all the plants live upstairs in our bedrooms during the winter until they get moved outside again in late spring. The plants help keep the air clean and make our bedrooms cozy in a different way.

In the living room: Icicle branches, disco balls, oranges, fairy lights, and salt lamps with cozy layers

As I mentioned, this year, I planned ahead by keeping my fairy light lit tree branches instead of removing them after fall decor to make room for a small Christmas tree. I knew I could turn those tree branches into winter decor. For Halloween and fall, I added my DIY paper leaves, DIY paper moths, and corn husk bats. For Christmas, I added my foldable paper stars and icicles. If you want something that you can use to transition between seasons, the tree branches are definitely it; they can even be used for Easter after winter. Below you can see them with my white foldable paper stars.

My goal was to keep a warm glow and layers, but remove the Christmas greenery and ornaments. I’ve seen others remove the lights and Christmas ornaments, but leave the greenery, but to me, that doesn’t really feel like winter, and more like Christmas still. All year long, cozy lighting and light reflection are the most important things to me.

These lit icicle branches are perfect for winter decor, don’t you think so? And they look cozy even though they represent ice formations.

That means I kept my disco balls and disco ball pillows because they aren’t Christmas-specific. I actually always have them out on my coffee table.

You can easily make those lit branches, too. Simply get some branches outside, stick them into a flower pot filled with floral foam, and wrap them in fairy lights. (You can see me do this in my blog post video about how to make a paper leaf that I mentioned earlier.

Walter is still looking handsome in his bowtie.

Why I keep cutie oranges out all winter

I kept the cutie oranges on my tray. While some might see that as summer decor, I see it as winter decor.

In Germany, we always received oranges as gifts. They are cherished for St. Nicholas, Christmas, and all winter. There were times when fresh fruit was hard to find. Plus, we all need vitamin C during winter, don’t we?
During the Victorian era, orange decorations represented prosperity and the sun’s return during the darkest days. That makes them extra special to me during winter.

The warm glow strategy: Fairy lights, salt lamps, and candles

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that during the winter months, we have amazing sunsets here in Pennsylvania. They have a warm orange glow all over the sky. When I was little, my mom used to tell me that the glow comes from the angels baking cookies, which still makes me smile.

Here is a view from our dining room window of another magical sunset.

I’ve found that keeping fairy lights, salt lamps, and candles replicates that cozy winter glow indoors after Christmas. The warm light reflection is what makes my spaces feel inviting and cozy during the dark winter months.

I keep as many fairy lights and salt lamps as I can for the warm glow that I love so much. They are all connected to Alexa plugs and timers, so they automatically turn on in the early mornings and evenings.

The candles are a no-brainer, aren’t they? But not as easy and safe to handle as my lights on timers.

The warm orange color combined with my burnt orange pillows and other orange-tinted accents, like the cozy salt lamps look great together.

You might also like my blog post about the benefits of decorating with Himalayan salt lamps

I also left the bows that I made from torn fabric on the tray and mirror. I kept that bow in the mirror since last winter, and I actually love it all season.

Fireplace area: Cozy textures and layers

One of my favorite spots in winter is the fireplace area, and it didn’t need much after Christmas to still feel cozy since we can easily light it with a switch and get that warm, cozy glow. The whole seating area around it is always the coziest corner of the house.

I have the battery-operated candles on the fireplace mantel that give a soft glow without the worry of real flames, and I kept all the cozy throws on my leather swivel chairs which look beautiful with the warm-toned, velvet ottoman.

And I added some more sparkle with three melted disco balls on my fireplace shelf. Check out my DIY meted disco ball tutorial.

Kitchen: White ceramic houses as a winter village

The white ceramic houses look like they are winter homes covered in snow and aren’t Christmas-specific in my book.

As I mentioned in my textured Christmas home tour post, I light my white ceramic houses with fairy lights, which is so much easier and less dangerous than having numerous tea light candles everywhere. They also use fewer batteries than tea light candles.

The only one with a candle is the house on the stove.

You might also like to check out how I made the DIY kitchen utensil rack behind the stove. My DIY stove makeover to color it green using car vinyl is one of my all-time favorite projects.

Dining room: Cozy fur and extended large dining table

I removed the Christmas decor from the dining room, but kept the faux fur on the settee and also kept the table leaf. The bigger table is needed since my kids are still home. In the spring and summer, we barely use this table since we always eat outside. Then I keep the table in the smaller round size without the leaf. The larger table definitely represents winter and family time to me.

Yes, Willy also wears his bow all year long now. He looks so handsome.

My tips for decorating after Christmas

Winter decor ideas don’t have to be complicated! I surround myself with things that inspire me outside. So, if you’re trying to figure out how to decorate for winter after Christmas, here’s what works for me:

Ask: Does this feel like winter or Christmas?

The icicles feel like winter because they represent ice and cold. The paper stars felt too holiday-specific, so they went back in storage. If you’re unsure, ask yourself: Could this work in January, February, or March? If not, pack it away.

Prioritize lighting over color

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve found that keeping fairy lights, salt lamps, and candles creates that cozy winter glow without needing too much decor. The warm light reflection is what makes a space feel inviting and cozy during the dark winter months.

Keep your cozy textures

I think this is a no-brainer, and we all keep our throws. I even have two heating blankets. I think they are winter essentials for all of us, am I right?

I hope this post inspired you to create a cozy winter home after Christmas. Trust your own rhythm. When you’re ready for spring, whether that’s February or April. The goal is the same: keeping your home warm and safe during the cold months. Let me know in the comments what you do in your home!