Create a great first impression this Holiday Season
If you’re doing any hosting this holiday season – whether it’s for a quick Christmas cookie, a cozy movie night, a fancy cocktail party, or an overnight visit from out-of-town family or friends – be sure to impress your guests right off the bat with a well-decorated foyer or entryway.
Did you know that when you’re hosting at home – a first impression can shape a person’s perspective for the remaining aspects of the event? Putting a focus on decorating your home’s entrance will give a very warm welcome that can set the tone for the rest of your guest’s time with you. Ultimately it could leave a long-lasting positive impression of their total visit, despite what happens next.
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Creating a “Wow” Welcome
A truly great first impression starts with some sort of wow factor that you see the second you walk through the front door. Typically you’ll find a Christmas tree in a living room or family room – but I was inspired by the glamorous oversized trees and shiny ornaments that you would find in a New York City five-star hotel’s lobby. I placed a large Christmas tree right in the center of our small foyer to create a “wow” moment.
Another thing I did to make our small foyer feel even grander and give the illusion of it being much larger, is intentionally decorating with colors, textures, and sparkles that would draw the eye up.
If you’ve ever visited anyone when it’s winter – you know the very first thing you do when you get in the door is to remove your coat & start wiping your feet on the welcome mat, or begin removing your shoes. At this point, you’re almost always looking down towards the floor, so when you start seeing the plush tree skirt, followed by metallic gifts wrapped in pink shiny tin roof-inspired paper, then the tall flocked tree right keeps drawing the eye up, as you see it’s 700 warm twinkling lights, icy blue poinsettias, strands of pearls, glamorous touches of iridescent, metallic, blush & blue ornaments & a glittering silver star that lend to a winter wonderland inspired grandmillennial vibe. Then as your eye continues upward you’ll see the ribbon and mini ornament adorned flocked garlands wrapping their way up the stairs. Then even further you’ll see the oversized chandelier hoisted up to the open second-floor ceiling, creating a very “wow” moment, where you suddenly feel immersed in the decor.
Color Palate
When it comes to modern holiday decorating there are no rules when it comes to what colors to decorate with. Instead of opting for the traditional red & green, I went with colors that blended better with my home’s existing decor. I like to focus on two main colors, with the addition of mixed metallics in each space. As I did pinks and greens in the dining room, and blue & white in the living room – it made sense to combine two of those colors to tie both of those rooms together, as they’re semi-open to one another. Pastel colors are consistent with the holiday ambiance throughout all of the rooms in my home.
Set Up
While this setup looks like a lot of work, it couldn’t have been easier to set up. I partnered with King of Christmas to deck out my foyer. Their 8’ King Flock® Slim Artificial Christmas Tree has a small footprint at only 45” wide & fits perfectly in the small nook by my stairs. Setting it up couldn’t have been any easier – simply connect the tree segments, fluff, plugin & you’re ready to go!
For the stairs – I’ve used these same garlands for three years now & the system I use to set them up makes decorating a breeze. To attach the garlands, I use zip ties to connect them to the railings, trim the excess zip tie, & then cover those with the oversized ribbon bows. When it’s time to take them down, I untie & roll up the ribbon for later use. I then cut the zip ties, tape them back together with painters or masking tape, then I label the tape with which part of the railing it gets attached to. As these garlands have a stiff wire, it helps store them folded in the general shape of the way they would drape on the stairs. I even keep the battery-powered lights, and shatterproof mini ornaments attached when they go back in the box.
Shop the Post
Click the photos below to shop all of the pieces in my Grandmillennial-inspired Blush & Blue Christmas Foyer.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @HousewifeHospitality for even more holiday decor and hosting tips.