Festive Window Treatments

Although your kids may like smothering your windows in artificial snow it’s a good idea to keep that for the less formal rooms in your home such as their bedrooms. You can still add a festive touch to your main windows however without breaking the bank. Here are a few ideas

Add a Bauble Trimming
If you have plain window valances hang normal Christmas tree baubles along the whole length of your valance, spacing them out every couple of inches or so. This is most effective if you have different lengths of invisible thread for each bauble. The easiest way to attach the thread loops is by pinning them. They are high up enough not to see the pins and the kids can’t get at them. You can do this without even taking the valance down. Or just stitch the thread loops on with a couple of stitches. You can generally pick up Christmas tree baubles very cheaply in discount stores.

Add a Garland
Another way of decorating a plain valance is with a swag garland. You can buy a long section of artificial greenery without additional adornment (to keep costs down) and add your own festive touches with baubles and holly berries and so on. Attach the garland to the edges of the valance and in the middle too letting it hang down a little in a kind of swag and tail arrangement

Use natural materials
If you are clever with pine branches, holly and ivy you gather from your back yard or local area you can create your own garlands by joining pieces of greenery with thin florists’ wire. Attach a piece of mistletoe to the center of your garland to create a focal point for your window treatments.

Decorate Your Tiebacks
If you don’t have valances on your curtains, decorate your tie backs with sprigs of holly and berries (fake or real) or make whole tie backs with pieces of real or artificial garland just for the festive season.

Decorative Window Film
For small windows you can buy decorative film which will give the window a stained glass effect. You will find many options with a Christmas theme online. You could also add some of the beautiful decals of silver snowflakes you can buy for a classy touch to a few windows. These will peel off after Christmas and can be used year after year.

Don’t Forget Your Kitchen Window
There’s no reason why you can’t decorate your kitchen curtains and windows along with the other windows in the house. If you are going to be spending a lot of time cooking up a storm for the rest of the family then add a few festive touches to these too. One idea I saw was to create a few gingerbread men (snowmen make this even more festive) which you then carefully pierce to create a hole at the top. Add a coat of varnish then hang these in a string along the top of your window using silver, gold or brightly colored ribbon.