In December the mantel is looked at more than any other shelf in the house. The tree gets a corner, but the chairs already point at the fireplace, and on the evenings a fire is lit the whole room faces it. Whatever goes along the shelf is seen for a month, by firelight and by the gray light of short afternoons.
It’s a narrow place to decorate. Things stand in a row, so height matters more than depth, and anything that hangs below the shelf hangs over the fire. The ideas begin with the garland, as most mantels do. They go on to what stands on the shelf and hangs above it, and finish with the stockings, the hearth, and the house that has no fireplace.
Let the Garland Fall Off One End
A garland cut to the exact length of the shelf stays level from end to end. A longer one, laid so that it runs along the shelf and drops down one side almost to the hearth, has a line the eye can follow. On a shelf 5 feet long and about 54 inches from the floor, that takes a garland of roughly 9 feet. Put the fullest part where it turns the corner and let the tail thin out. The bare end of the shelf is then free for candlesticks or a jug of branches.
Mix Two or Three Greens
A garland of one kind of branch is all one texture. Cedar hangs in flat, soft sprays, pine has long needles that stick out, and fir is short and dense. Wired together, two or three of them give a rope with some droop, some bristle, and some body. Seeded eucalyptus or bay adds a grayer green and a different leaf. A plain faux garland can serve as the base, with fresh cuttings pushed into it where they’ll be seen, and the fresh pieces bring the smell.
Hang the Garland Without a Nail
Fresh garland is heavy, and it slides. On a wooden shelf that shouldn’t have holes in it, small adhesive hooks stuck to the top near the back edge will hold a loop of florist wire around the stem every foot or so. Choose hooks rated for the weight and press them on a day ahead. Weighted stocking holders do the same job at the ends. On stone or brick, where little sticks well, a strip of rubber shelf liner under the garland stops it creeping forward, and its own weight holds it down.
Wind the Lights Through the Greens
Lights go on after the garland is in place and before anything else is added. Wind the string in and out of the branches so the wire is buried and the bulbs sit at different depths, with some glowing from inside. Warm white is close to the color of a candle flame. A battery string with a timer avoids a cord trailing to an outlet, and the battery box hides in the thickest part of the greens. Where there’s an outlet beside the fireplace, a string that plugs in saves changing batteries through the month.
Keep the Greens Clear of a Lit Fire
Cut greens dry out indoors, sooner above a fire, and dry needles burn easily. A fresh garland lasts about two to three weeks inside before it starts to drop. Bend a needle now and then. If it snaps when it should flex, the branch is dry and ought to come down. Nothing should hang below the shelf while a fire is burning, and that includes the tail of a garland, stockings, and ribbon. For a fireplace used every night, keep the decoration on top of the shelf only and replace fresh greens as soon as they dry.
Stagger the Candlesticks
Candlesticks of several heights, grouped toward one end, give the shelf a skyline that a row of equal ones doesn’t have. Brass, wood, and glass holders can be mixed if the candles are all one color. An odd number is often easier to arrange, since there’s a middle one to build around. Keep every flame well away from the garland, and use LED tapers in any holder that stands among the greens.
Hang the Wreath Over the Mirror
The mirror or picture above the fireplace doesn’t have to come down for December. A wreath hung in front of a mirror, on a length of ribbon looped over the top of the frame, is seen twice, once from the front and once from behind in the glass. As a starting point, choose a wreath about half the width of the mirror, so a border of glass shows all round it. The ribbon is part of the picture. Use a wide one, and pin it behind the frame where the pin won’t show.
Line Up One Kind of Thing
A row of similar objects is taken in as one decoration, because the eye sees the row before it sees the pieces. Bottle brush trees in graduated sizes, a street of small ceramic houses, a set of wooden nutcrackers, or a dozen brass bells will each fill a shelf alone. Vary the heights and let a few overlap. With a collection on the shelf, the garland can be thin or left off.
Hang Paper Stars Above
Paper decorations weigh almost nothing, so they can hang where little else can. Folded stars and honeycomb balls on thread, fixed to the ceiling or a picture rail with removable hooks, fill the wall above the shelf at several heights. White paper against a dark wall shows every fold. They turn slowly in the warm air that rises from a fire. Keep them high and well back from the opening, since they’re paper.
Stand Bare Branches at One End
Tall branches in a heavy jug give a mantel height without adding more green. Red dogwood stems, birch twigs, larch with its small cones, and winterberry with the leaves stripped all hold for weeks. At 3 or 4 feet they reach toward the ceiling and balance a garland that drops off the other end. A few small ornaments or paper tags can hang from the twigs, which makes a second, smaller tree in a room that has space for only a slim one.
String the Cards Across It
Cards arrive through the month, so this decoration builds itself. Run a length of ribbon or twine along the front edge of the shelf, fixed at each end, and clip the cards to it with small wooden pegs as they come. The line hangs in front of the shelf and below it, in the place stockings would take, so it suits a house where the stockings hang somewhere else. Over a fire that’s in use, fix the line to the wall above the shelf.
Grow Bulbs Along the Shelf
Amaryllis and paperwhites flower indoors in winter from bulbs planted in the fall, and a row of them changes from week to week. Paperwhites bloom about four to six weeks after planting. Amaryllis takes longer, so it goes in first. Pot them in plain terracotta, or stand the bulbs on pebbles in glass. Heat shortens the life of the flowers, so this is an idea for a fireplace that’s seldom lit, or for the weeks before the fires start.
Move the Stockings to One Side
Stockings in a row across the front hang directly over the fire and have to come down every time it’s lit. Grouped at one end, clear of the opening, they can stay up. Three or four overlapping on a pair of heavy holders look fuller than the same number spaced along the shelf. In a house with more stockings than shelf, a peg rail or a row of hooks on the wall beside the chimney breast takes them all, and the mantel is left to the garland.
Keep It Low Under a TV
Where the television hangs above the fireplace, the space between shelf and screen is only a few inches, and anything tall blocks the picture. A flat garland with nothing standing in it works. So does a low row of battery tea lights in glass, or small trees no higher than the bottom edge of the screen. Leave a clear line to the set’s remote sensor, which is usually at its lower edge. The rest of the decoration can move down to the hearth and the sides of the surround.
Dress the Hearth as Well
The floor in front of a fireplace is a second shelf, and a wider one. A basket of logs or pinecones, a small tree in a pot at one side, and wrapped presents later in the month give the fireplace a base, so the decoration isn’t all at chest height. With a fire burning, everything stays to the sides and off the hearth itself. In a fireplace that’s never lit, the opening can be filled with birch logs or a cluster of candles.
Make a Mantel Where There Is No Fireplace
A house without a fireplace still has a shelf somewhere at about the right height. A console table, the top of a bookcase, or a deep windowsill takes a garland and candlesticks the same way, and stockings hang from the front edge on weighted holders or from hooks underneath. A staircase does it too, with stockings tied to the spindles. A mirror or a picture hung above, and everything gathered in that one place, is what turns a table into the spot the room looks toward.
