In December the mantel is the focal point of the living room: everyone's eyes go there, and whatever stands on it ends up in the Christmas photos. Here are 8 ways to decorate it, layer by layer, from a big velvet bow to a word in lights, with the lengths and the power to check before you buy. No fireplace? Every idea works just as well on a sideboard or a wall shelf.
1. Drape a velvet bow across the middle
Start with one big bow in the centre of the mantel and let the long streamers fall down both sides, or loop them along the garland. It gives the whole display a centre, as if the room had been wrapped as a present. The loops are wired and hold their shape, so a quick fluff brings the bow back every year.
Shown: velvet Christmas bow, about 40 cm wide with 160–180 cm streamers, in five colours.
2. Run a ribbon of light along the edge
Ribbon lights are a sheer gold or silver ribbon with the fairy lights built in. Lay it along the front of the mantel, twist it through a garland or let it hang in soft loops below the shelf. The battery box hides behind a candle or a vase, so you don't need a socket next to the fireplace.
Shown: Christmas ribbon lights, 5 m or 10 m, warm white, cool white or multicolor.
3. Weave fairy lights through the garland
A plain green garland comes alive with firecracker lights tucked between the branches: little bursts of warm-white LEDs on a fine silver wire that stays where you bend it. The 6 m string covers a long garland; the 1.5 m one fills a glass jar or a lantern at one end. They run from a USB adapter or a power bank, and the remote sets the mode and the brightness.
Shown: firecracker fairy lights, 1.5 m with 50 LEDs or 6 m with 200 LEDs.
4. Add height with a lighted birch
A mantel looks best when one end is taller than the other. A white birch tree with warm lights on every branch gives you that height, and its branches bend, so you can shape it around a mirror or a picture above. It runs on USB or batteries.
Shown: lighted birch tree, about 60 cm with 24 LEDs or 63.5 cm with 144 LEDs.
5. Group candles in three heights
Three pillar candles of different heights, grouped together at the other end, balance the birch and add a soft, flickering glow. They have no flame, so no wax drips onto the mantel, and one remote dims all three and sets a daily timer that switches them on every evening.
Shown: flameless candles with remote, set of 3 in white, ivory or smoke gray.
6. Line up a little village street
Tiny light-up houses in a row turn the mantel into a snowy village street: a chapel, a timber cottage, a brick townhouse and a stone cottage, each with snow on the roof and glowing windows. Set them in front of the garland with a sprinkle of fake snow, and the scene lights up on its own: the button batteries come in the box.
Shown: light-up Christmas village houses, 6–9 cm tall, four houses to collect. More ideas: 8 Christmas village display ideas.
7. Hang the Christmas cards above it
The wall above the mantel is the natural place for the cards that arrive in December. Run a string of photo clip lights in two or three rows, clip the cards on as they come in, and they glow every evening. The battery box means no cable trailing down to a socket.
Shown: photo clip string lights, 2 m with 20 LEDs, 5 m with 50 or 10 m with 100.
8. Spell a word in lights
Finish with a word that sums up the season, standing on the shelf: JOY, NOEL or the family name. Marquee letters are sold one at a time, so you can spell anything, and each 22 cm letter has its own switch. After Christmas, swap them for marquee numbers that spell 2027 and the mantel is ready for New Year's Eve.
Shown: light-up marquee letters, 22 cm tall, A to Z plus a red heart and an “&”.
Before you start: measuring, power and safety
- Measure the shelf before you order: the ribbon lights come in 5 or 10 m, the firecracker lights in 1.5 or 6 m and the photo clip lights in 2, 5 or 10 m. Add the length you want hanging down at each end.
- Power: there's rarely a socket next to a mantel, so almost everything here runs on batteries. The ribbon lights take AA batteries in their battery box, the photo clip lights 3 × AA, each marquee letter 2 × AA and each candle 3 × AAA; these are not included. The village houses come with their 3 × AG13 button batteries; keep button batteries away from small children. The firecracker lights run on USB (adapter not included), the birch on USB or batteries.
- If you light the fire, keep the bow, the ribbon, the garland and the cards well away from the opening and the heat, and switch the lights off when you go to bed or leave the house.
- Delivery: free tracked shipping, dispatched in 1 to 3 business days and delivered in 7 to 12. Order by 1 December for Christmas.
- Returns: unused items in their original packaging can be returned within 30 days of delivery.
More ideas
- Decorating the rest of the room? See 8 Christmas living room decor ideas and 8 Christmas table ideas.
- Doing the tree as well? Here are 8 Christmas tree decorating ideas.
- Browse all our Christmas decorations or our 12 Christmas gift ideas under $30.
Decorating the hallway too? Here are 8 Christmas staircase decor ideas.