7 Wonderful Winter Mantel Decorating Ideas

When do you take down your Christmas decorations? When do you transition from Christmas to winter decor? One of the first places to transition your home from Christmas to winter is your fireplace area. I have 7 wonderful winter mantel decorating ideas for you.

After all the emphasis on color during Christmas, I love the calmer approach to winter decor. These seven wonderful winter mantel decorating ideas will give you a process to help you create a softer, natural look.

Where do we begin decorating for a winter mantel? With our Christmas decorations. Let me show you how to create a wonderful winter mantel.

Since I am not a cold-weather girl, I love creating a warm, cozy feel for our home during winter. Any room with a fireplace creates a focal point that is a natural place to decorate.

I want to give you plenty of winter ideas early.

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7 Mantel Decorating Ideas for Winter

When you are ready to take down your Christmas decorations, you should follow these suggestions for packing them away. Then you’ll be ready to switch to a warm and cozy winter mood.

A few years ago, as we were organizing and packing away our Christmas decorations, I intentionally looked for items that could be recycled for winter, especially for our mantel. Our mantels are always a focal point no matter the holiday or the season.

Every one of my seven winter mantel decorating ideas uses items that have been used in our Christmas decor.

I found many ideas on Pinterest, which I saved to my Winter Home Decor Board. Then, because I love to share, I gathered my favorites in a post, 13 Winter Decor Accessory Ideas.

I used several of these ideas as I planned and created our winter mantel.

1 – Reuse Your Wreath

Any green wreath can be reused to decorate a winter mantel. All you have to do is remove the bows, any ornaments on the wreath, and colored lights. The wreath above our mantel has a very soft wintery look – I’ll call it cypress.

Since our lights are white, I left them on. This gives the living room a bit of winter magic in the evening.

NOTE: That year, by the time we returned from our Christmas trip to Atlanta, Fairhope, Alabama, and Biloxi, the lights were really dim, so we replaced the batteries.

2 – Reuse Your Garland for Your Winter Mantel

My favorite color scheme for winter decorating is white, green, and neutrals. Evergreen trees evoke a natural, organic sense. I dream of the quietness of walking through a forest during winter after a snowfall.

Disclosure: I do not have a forest near me and we don’t get much snow. Our home does back up to a tree-filled greenbelt. This is about creating a feeling.

Most of us use garland in our Christmas decor. Some of that garland has a more earthy, winter look than traditional garland. Pine, cypress, and juniper garland lends themselves to winter decor.

You can use any garland that you have on hand to get the winter look. Whatever type you use, remember to remove the colored lights. That’s the trick to a soft winter feel.

For this winter mantel, I removed the Santa Clauses and multi-colored lights.

I left these two strands of garland that are perfect for winter mantel decorating. One strand is just green and the other has a hint of white on it. I mixed the two strands together on our mantel. This garland already has a few pine cones attached, but you can add more.

TIP: a mix of garland in different textures adds to the natural look of your winter decor.

You may like a sparse look for your garland, which fits the winter feel. I decided to give my mantel a more lush green look.

Last Christmas I bought several different types of green picks on sale. I cut all the branches off and used them as filler in other Christmas decor and to create a bowl of greens in our kitchen.

This year I’ll recreate the same base look of garland for the mantel.

I used these green pieces to fill in the garland on the mantel for a fuller look.

TIP: Use a variety of foliage for a more natural look – oh, I already said that!

3 – Reuse Faux Christmas Trees to Become Winter Trees

If you have small Christmas trees, they will be a great addition to winter decor. I had 3 small trees that I used in our entry and kitchen.

First, I removed the lights and the ornaments. One tree had a snowy look with a burlap wrapper – perfect for a soft winter mantel with texture.

TIP: Burlap is another fabric that adds a rustic, natural and wintery feel.

TIP: When your trees are against a flat background, flatten the branches on the back of the tree. That way they will fit better and the front will have a fuller look.

I used two smaller trees to balance on the other side of the mantel.

Now that we have four decorated tabletop Christmas trees. I hope to use some or all of them after Christmas for winter decor.

4 – Use Wood for a Natural Element

Wood always adds a natural, organic feel to any setting. I used two vintage wood candlesticks on each side of the mantel.

Check out more winter decorating ideas.

5 – Use Candles on Your Winter Mantel

Nothing creates a warm winter glow more than candlelight. For my tall candlesticks, I used 2 battery-operated candles for areas that are harder to reach. In the images above you can see these candles. They are on timers and have a remote control.

On the mantel, I used real candles (from Dollar Tree) that had been elsewhere during the holidays. Last summer I wrapped adhesive burlap ribbon around them. The texture and natural color of burlap work great for winter, too.

NOTE: I used adhesive burlap ribbon about 4 inches wide, but I can’t find it available anymore. This ribbon can be added in strips until you get the width you want.)

The mantel creates a lovely, warm glow at night.

6 – Use Pinecones for an Earthy Look on the Winter Mantel

Pinecones are such a natural winter element that they should be a part of your winter mantel. My garland had a few pinecones attached. I added more small pinecones that added a pop of white softness to the winter mantel.

7 – Don’t Forget to Decorate Your Hearth

In addition to the area above the mantel, the area below the mantel – the hearth – should also be part of your winter mantel decorating.

Here’s one way to decorate your hearth.

Use Natural Baskets or Lanterns

If you have lanterns or baskets, use them to add ambiance to your winter fireplace decor.

In this area, I combined baskets, lanterns, greenery, wood, and candles.

For winter mantel decorating, I used a large basket filled with faux greenery. The greenery on the far left is actually a small Christmas tree.

I added the white birch logs (which I did not use this year for Christmas.) and a couple of winter owls.

TIP: If you can find white, grey, or natural-colored animals, they are wonderful accessories for winter decorating.

The lantern that was in our entry filled with bright gold balls and a big red bow is now filled with natural pinecones on the hearth.

On the other side of the hearth, I used two wood and glass lanterns that were in the dining room during Christmas last year. These are not available now, but I love the look of this set of wood lanterns.

More candles in the lanterns complete the winter decorating on the hearth.

Using a combination of these different winter elements creates a cozy feel for winter.

Recap the 7 Winter Mantel Decorating Ideas:

• reuse green wreaths – remove colored lights, ornaments and bows
• reuse garland and this green one with pine cones – remove colored lights, ornaments, bows and other Christmas decorations
• reuse small faux Christmas trees – remove colored lights, ornaments, bows and other Christmas decorations
• use wood – candlesticks, birch logs, branches and boxes
• use white candles – both battery-operated and real
• decorate the hearth of your fireplace
• use woven baskets, lanterns or other natural containers

Love these winter mantel ideas? Need decor items to create your winter mantel? Try these.

Love these ideas? I hope that you will take these ideas and use them to inspire your own winter mantel decorating. Be sure to PIN this post – you don’t want to forget them.

I’d love to know what you think about these mantel decorating ideas? Do you decorate for winter? Which ideas would you use? Do you have other winter mantel decorating ideas to share? Let me know in the comments.