17 Ways to Decorate with Christmas Ornaments (Beyond the Tree)

I have more Christmas ornaments than any tree in our cottage could hold. Plaid ones, mercury glass, a few with a real story behind them, and a growing pile of vintage finds I couldn’t leave at the antique mall.

So, they don’t all go on the tree. They end up in dough bowls on the coffee table, hanging from the dining room chandelier, tucked into garland on the mantel, and scattered down the dining table. Here are my favorite ways to decorate the house with Christmas ornaments.

For more trees, mantels, vignettes, and living room ideas, see my guide to 32 Christmas Decor Ideas for Bringing Comfort and Joy Home.

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. My blog also features other affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my privacy policy.

How Can You Decorate with Christmas Ornaments Besides the Tree?

Try decorating with Christmas ornaments by filling bowls, crates, and glass containers. Hang them from chandeliers, curtain rods, and branches. Tuck them in wreaths and garland. Use them on the dining table as runners, centerpieces, and napkin rings.

Keepsake ornaments can go in a shadow box or on wrapped gifts, where they double as a present.

Tabletop Christmas Ornament Display Ideas

1. Fill Dough Bowls, Crates, and Baskets with Ornaments

This is the easiest idea on the list and the one I use most. Pile ornaments and a wooden dough bowl, crate, or basket, then tuck greenery and pinecones around them. Add a strand of battery-powered fairy lights, and it glows at night.

I found my vintage chicken feeder at a small vintage shop, and it’s my favorite container for this. Its long, narrow shape is perfect for displaying a row of ornaments down a table or shelf.

2. Tuck Ornaments into Holiday Vignettes

When a shelf, console, or coffee table vignette feels like it’s missing something, it’s usually a few ornaments. Set one on a stack of vintage books, rest a few at the base of a candlestick, or line them along a mantel.

See how to create Christmas vignettes in 5 minutes for more tips.

3. Make an Ornament Centerpiece in Glass

A glass cloche, lantern, hurricane, or large apothecary jar filled with ornaments makes an easy focal point. Glass works especially well with mercury glass and metallic ornaments, because the light bounces between them. Stick to one color family and vary the sizes.

4. Scatter Ornaments Down the Table as a Runner

Lay a garland or loose greenery down the center of the dining table, then nestle ornaments and pinecones with candles. It’s an easy Christmas tablescape, and it’s low enough to talk over.

5. Display Ornaments on a Tiered Stand

A tiered dessert stand or cake stand holds a small ornament display at different heights. Fill the tiers with ornaments, adding sprigs of greenery, cinnamon sticks, or a little faux snow.  

Hanging Christmas Ornament Ideas

6. Hang Ornaments from a Chandelier

Tie ornaments with ribbon or twine and hang them at different lengths from a chandelier or pendant light. Use LED bulbs and keep ornaments and ribbon away from hot bulbs.

8. Hang Ornaments from a Curtain Rod

Tie ornaments with ribbon at different lengths along a curtain rod. In a window, they catch the daylight and sparkle, and they look just as good lit from inside at night.

9. Make a Branch Mobile or Hanging Display

Hang a bare branch or an embroidery hoop horizontally from the ceiling with fishing line, then hang ornaments from it at different lengths. It’s a beautiful way to show off extra ornaments and adds height to the room without taking up important surface space.

10. Tie Ornaments to Cabinet and Door Knobs

Tie a small ornament to each cabinet knob in the kitchen, dresser drawer pulls, or a door handle with a bit of ribbon. Use shatterproof ornaments anywhere they’ll get bumped. (With Jax and Ollie around, I keep glass ones up high.)

I actually tie ornaments to Christmas stockings attached to cabinet knobs.

11. Create an Advent Ornament Display

Hang 24 small hooks from a wooden dowel, branch, or the wall, and add one ornament each day of December. It’s a sweet countdown, and by Christmas Eve it’s a full display.

Adding Ornaments to Wreaths, Garlands, and Greenery

12. Add Ornaments to a Christmas Wreath

Wire small ornaments into a fresh or faux wreath for extra color. Twist floral wire through the ornament cap and around the wreath frame. Metallics look polished. Colorful vintage pieces feel more cottage.

13. Tuck Ornaments into Garland

Wire ornaments into a garland along the mantel, staircase, or even a headboard. Clusters of three spaced along the garland look more natural than ornaments evenly dotted every few inches.

14. Decorate Houseplants with mini Ornaments

Your houseplants can join in too. A few lightweight mini ornaments on an olive tree, Norfolk pine, rosemary topiary, or potted evergreen turn it into a tiny Christmas tree. Keep them light so the branches don’t bend.

Keepsake and Gift Ornament Ideas

15. Display Keepsake Ornaments in a Shadow Box

Special or fragile ornaments, like a baby’s first Christmas, a hand-painted heirloom, or a vintage glass piece, are safer in a shadow box or glass-front cabinet. You see them every day, and they are protected from bumps.

16. Tie Ornaments to Stockings and Wrapped Gifts

Use an ornament instead of a bow on wrapped gifts, or tie one to each stocking. It makes the present look special and gives the recipient something to hang on their own tree next year.

How to Arrange Christmas Ornaments So They Look Styled

Have more ornaments than places to put them? A small tree in a crate or crock is another option. See my Christmas tree ideas for small spaces for more ideas.

Christmas Ornament Decorating FAQ

Final Thoughts on Decorating with Christmas Ornaments

Ornaments are too pretty to see only on the tree. Pull out the box, fill a bowl, and hang a few somewhere unexpected.

Until next time,

Happy decorating,