Your front door says a lot about you.  Is yours a hugger of a door or more of a formal handshake? Is it cool and aloof or is it a booming hello?

And how does it change at this time of year?  Is your otherwise dull door decorated to within an inch of its life over Yule? Do you cover it in snowflakes or hang an orange peel and spice sticks ring on the knocker?  Is it musically enhanced with a bell or a Christmas themed chime? Or are you a traditionalist with a simple ring of evergreen and berries?

And what of the façade? Do the icicles appear from the gutters with a Father Christmas clambering up the roof or do such decorations seem a little vulgar to your stylish sensibilities?  Do you roll your eyes at the houses clad from pitch to porch in twinkling lights or do you join in the fun and have a collection of reindeer on your front lawn?

One year, my children and I made a nativity scene using the characters from Lazy Town.  Because 1) I like to encourage my children to have some say in the decoration of their home – throughout the year, not just for Christmas – but 2) I don’t let them have complete free rein.  I like to keep on eye on how far their ‘style’ spreads!  As a result, I do the main Christmas tree but they have a variety of trees or branches around the house to decorate as they see fit.   It is with great restraint that I do not help them coordinate or rebalance their colourful efforts because I want to encourage their creativity.  In truth, it can also keep them busy for hours, which is useful when you have other things to do namely cooking and wrapping.

And speaking of cooking – do you have a tree in your kitchen? If you are blessed with space in this room then a small tree decked with biscuits or treats to eat can be wonderful – have cupcake ‘presents’ underneath and a bone or two for the dog.

Are you someone who has a colour theme for Christmas or do you abandon style in favour of handmade goodies and nostalgic baubles from Christmases past?  For the record, complementary colours work well together – purple and gold, green and red, blue and orange (or teal and bronze).  Display them not equally (50:50) but in a ratio of 70:30.  Harmonious colours also work well, try a range of metallics gold, bronze and brown for example or silver, glass and icy blue.

What are your favourites? Do you come back to the same theme every year or do you venture into new territories? It can be a wonderful way to explore how brave you are with colour in your home.  Try plums, red and aubergines for a rich and sultry look, add velvet cushions or tartan throws into the mix and see how they fit into the room. Are they worth keeping once the tree comes down?

To tinsel or not to tinsel, is this not the question? I was quite sad to see the arrival of the anti tinsel squad. If Christmas isn’t a time for bling, then when is I ask you? Of course the odd year to try out a minimalist scheme is all very well but it’s more than likely that it won’t last into the next.

If you’re not into the shiny and the glitter then just stick with the natural and bring the outdoors inside.  Holly, mistletoe, pine, Poinsettias… you really can’t go wrong with the old favourites.

Have a wonderful Christmas and if you’re still shopping for stocking fillers for friends and mums or even yourself, then I can highly recommend a little book called Creating Space that I wrote earlier this year.  And it might just mean you have a new home for next Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!