The major similarity between Diwali and Christmas, besides the fact that both the festivals spread joy, is their association with lights. While you gear up for Yuletide by placing wreaths and ribbons at many corners in the house, hanging Santa caps and socks on the windows and doors, installing reindeer cutouts and decorating the Christmas tree, all this decoration will be complete only when you incorporate interesting lighting too. It adds to the festive fervour.
Whether it is the humble rice lights, fairy lights, modest lamps or eye-catching chandeliers, lights can do wonders if you get a little creative with them.
“Lights are an integral part of Christmas. They boost your holiday mood. They are easily available at stores and are easy on the pocket. If you do not want to invest a lot in lights, simply go for fairy lights which you can hang around a tree in your backyard, or deck up the windows with. You can even add them to the Christmas tree decoration and you are all set to get into the party mood. These humble lights let your guests experience a warm and cosy environment the moment they enter your house,” says Aarti Winget, a city-based homemaker for whom fairy lights are a staple Christmas décor item.
Talking about the different ways to use lights, Winget suggests that one must not limit oneself to decorating the Christmas tree with lights but look at other ways to use them too. Suggests she, “Do not undermine the walls of your house when it comes to getting creative. Whether it is a blank wall in your living room or a long stretch in the entryway, get creative and use strings of lights to infuse some life in them. Moreover, with the trend of cage lights catching up, your walls can now get a makeover. You can go for cage lights in different colours, sizes and heights along the length of your wall to add more drama to them. You can even combine two different types of light strings — big and small.
Another idea is to paste your family photos or Christmas greeting cards on the wall and surround them with fairy lights.”
Saving up money in Christmas decoration is something that makes interior designer Swagata Sen happy. For her, the most inexpensive way to use lights is putting them in a mason jar. “You can fill the mason jar or a number of jars with light strings and deck up your tables, ledges, windows, porches etc. They look mysterious and mesmerising and are absolutely pocket-friendly. Many of us who do not have a Christmas tree at home, can form a structure of a Christmas tree with wires and just add lights to it for a make-believe Christmas tree,” she adds.
Wreaths, another important part of Christmas décor can be given a twist too. Simply wrap some lights around them and you can get a whole new décor item at your disposal.
“Never stick to only small lights. Go for big chandeliers, lamps, bottle lights, to add more light and happiness to Christmas,”
suggests Sen.
