How to Transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas

There’s no denying that Christmas and Thanksgiving have blurred together over the years.  Christmas songs start on the radio on November 1. It’s common to see Christmas trees up in homes and holiday lights ablaze right on Thanksgiving. In many homes, Thanksgiving has almost become “Christmas: Part One.” But Thanksgiving still deserves its due, so you’ll want to focus on how to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Luckily, if you can’t wait to get a bit of a jump on Christmas, there are plenty of gorgeous ways to combine both Thanksgiving and Christmas styles. Below are some classy ways to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas using creative styles from both seasons. The overall idea is that you have a little bit of Christmas with your Thanksgiving, and then after Thanksgiving it’s easier to move your space to all Christmas decorations.

Subtle holiday wreaths and pumpkins go well together. Image: Leanne Michael

Combine wreaths with pumpkins

The first photo above shows how you can combine harvest themes with a light touch of Christmas in a patio space. You can see how the pumpkin menagerie around the door gives the home a solid harvest theme for Thanksgiving. Pumpkins work in the home right up to Thanksgiving Day. However, the wreath gives a look of impending Christmas festivities, with the evergreen, seasonal red flowers and large holiday bow.

By combining pumpkins and a festive wreath, you pay homage to the holidays as a whole. This style can either work outdoors on the patio or you can use the same concept around your home indoors.

Holiday-themed word banners are an easy way to decorate for both holidays. Image: Live Love Create

Use holiday-themed words to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Another way to make your home move cleanly between the two holidays is to use holiday-themed word art around the home. The red and green plant on the table in the photo above already sets an early tone for Christmas. But the larger “gratitude” banner sets the theme for Thanksgiving.

Then, when it gets to be closer to Christmas, you might want to simply switch the word banner to read something more Christmas-themed, like “Yuletide,” “Santa” or something else related to Christmas specifically.

This style is also an example of a great idea for a minimalist holiday decorating scheme. The word banner creates a strong focal point, meaning you have to place fewer holiday decorations around the space.

Placing small trees out during Thanksgiving gives a hint of the Christmas days to come. Image: Janet Paik

Add small trees early

A good way to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas is to add some small tabletop trees in the home around Thanksgiving. This gives the hint of Christmas days to come without going full hog yet and putting up the large tree. You might also put sparse ornaments on the smaller trees to start out, and then load them up with decorations the closer it gets to Christmas.

This idea focuses on moving your holiday decorating in stages. As you get closer to Christmas, your home gets more seasonal. It helps create a sense of momentum in the space, rather than putting everything out too early and risking getting sick of Christmas in November.

Seasonal container plants work well for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. Image: Le Jardinet

Try seasonal container plants

Another easy way to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas is to go for container plants with seasonal plant life. For example,  the photo above features red berries, pine cones and an ornament.

Red berries are a decorating accent that moves well between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cranberries tend to be staples on both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables. And red berries tend to grow in fall already, so they make a good harvest decoration. But you can keep the red berries up because the red coloring goes with other Christmas decorations.

As you move towards Christmas, you can add more seasonal items to the display. Examples include more pinecones, ornaments or seasonal table pieces around the potted plant.

This owl has a harvest feel in his materials, but he’s easy to update for Christmas. Image: Interiors Unleashed

Use harvest characters with Christmas items

This cute idea in the photo above is a good way to combine harvest themes and early Christmas themes. The owl himself has a harvest feel about him. He’s made of a straw texture and stands on some branches, which are common materials to find in harvest decorations. Then by adding an early Christmas seasonal hat, you can essentially update him for Christmas.

You can handle an idea like this in a couple of ways. You could keep just the harvest character out through Thanksgiving and then add the holiday hat before Christmas. Or you could have the harvest character and Christmas hat out on Thanksgiving, if you want to blur the two holidays together in a more modern sense.

A conical tree on a harvest table setting is a good item to hint at Christmas. Image: Expert Touch Interiors

Go for holiday colors and conceptual items

Another idea to transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas is to get more sneaky in how you introduce Christmas elements early. For instance, in the photo above you can see how the table setting has an overwhelmingly harvest theme. However, the tall tree starts hinting at Christmas trees to come. The white and red berry formations on the tree also start to introduce Christmas colorings into the home.

So even though your home still has a harvest theme for Thanksgiving, it’s can start to have more subtle themes that you’ll see later for Christmas. You could also keep subtle pieces like the tabletop tree up during the holidays, since the red and white colors match traditional Christmas color schemes.

How do you transition your home from Thanksgiving to Christmas? Let us know in the comments.

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