Decking the halls in pastel Christmas decor is not your typical go-to color palette for the winter holiday season. But that doesn’t mean it’s off limits when the ground is covered in a blanket of fluffy snow.
You just need a little inspiration to get started and open your mind to new color ways to decorate for the holidays.
From ornaments and mini wreaths to dusty berry stems and lush garland, these dreamy pastel Christmas decorating ideas will bring your creative side to life.
At the arrival of spring as the snow melts away, awakening the once frozen ground and returning it to its gloriously lush green hue, pastel colors make their grand entrance. Around Easter, eggs dyed muted shades of blush pink, dusty blue and buttery soft yellow overflow bowls and baskets alike.
Eschewing traditional Christmas holiday colors of deep red, forest green and shiny silver for muted pastels is like opening a door to another realm. Too dramatic? Let’s try that again. It’s like turning down the volume on your holiday decorations.
I love decorating for Christmas in traditional colors as well; however, sometimes I need to be surrounded by calming colors instead of powerful shades of red.
SOURCES: Frosted Blue Glass Ornaments | Large White Floral Stem (or similar in-store at HomeGoods) | Blush Pink Ball Ornaments Large | Wood Topper Ornament, Wood Finial Ornament | Dusty Blue Glass Ball Ornaments | Lambs Ear Garland | Eucalyptus Garland
What are Pastel Christmas Colors
Pastel colors are noted for being much more soft and muted compared to regular primary colors. Graphic design tool Canva describes pastels as tinted primary colors that have white added to them to make a paler version of the same color.
When I think of pastel Christmas decor, shades of blush pink, dusty blue, sage green, cocoa mushroom brown, and white come to mind.
Additionally, brass and gold accents usually replace silver hued decorations, though I have also seen how others continue to use silver with this color palette. Natural elements, such as wood, come into play as well.
SOURCES: Matte White Glass Ball Ornament (similar) | Metal Brass Bell | Frosted Blue Glass Ornaments | Large White Floral Stem (or similar in-store at HomeGoods) | Blush Pink Ball Ornaments Large | Wood Topper Ornament, Wood Finial Ornament | Dusty Blue Glass Ball Ornaments | Lambs Ear Garland | Eucalyptus Garland
Inspiration for Decorating with Pastels at Christmas
Pastel decorations have come and gone in popularity around the holiday season. According to the international art fair in Vancouver, Canada, Art Vancouver, it will come as no surprise that during the 1950’s pastel colors were featured in Christmas cards.
It’s safe to say the use of pastels during the holiday season has grown in popularity ever since.
Will pastels ever replace the traditional colors of Christmas we know so well? I say, no. There is too much nostalgia attached to displace them altogether.
Whether you’re considering incorporating a few pastel decorations here and there, or you’re going all in, I’ve put together pastel Christmas decorating ideas you can use as inspiration.
Tip:
Don’t wait until the holiday season to buy Christmas decorations. Many stores carry Christmas items online year-round. Craft stores like Michaels and JoAnn have regular sales on such items as well as coupons you can use to save even more. You can also always shop holiday decor on Amazon and Wayfair year-round, too.
Ideas for Pastel Colored Ornaments
Today, maybe more than ever, you can easily find Christmas ornaments in blush pinks, dusty blues, sage greens, and light grays.
I like to decorate our Christmas tree with an assortment of small, medium and large ball ornaments. Read my post on How to Decorate a Christmas Tree to learn the best order of operations to decorate your tree.
Tip:
Elevate your Christmas tree ornaments by replacing the typically inexpensive string with velvet ribbon. I used a taupe-caramel-khaki velvet ribbon for our ornaments. A dusty rose velvet ribbon looks gorgeous if brown isn’t your color.
This year, I expanded our collection of ornaments for a fuller tree effect. These large blush pink glass ball ornaments look lovely amid the boughs. I also have the smaller pink glass ball ornament as well.
Dusty blue ornaments also feature heavily in our holiday decorations, including these frosted blue glass ball ornaments—where one style is ribbed while the other has a diamond pattern—or these powder finish matte gray / blue glass ball ornaments. I purchased the frosted ornaments from the eponymous Brooke & Lou. After a little research, you can find them at a few select stores online, including Michael’s.
I prefer matte or frosted ornaments, with hints of glossy baubles here and there. Last year, I featured matte and glossy white glass ball ornaments from McGee & Co. on our tree, which I can’t get enough of. I love how the white pops against the dark green of the tree. Christmas by Krebbs carries similar ornaments in a wide assortment of colors as well as sheens.
Maybe a DIY project is your thing, like Jenna Sue Design’s sophisticated DIY powder finish ornaments. I had hoped to get around to a DIY project for some of my own ornaments, but didn’t have the chance this year.
Brass, Wood and Other Tree Ornaments
Between mini wreaths, white snowflakes and wood finials, the list goes on and on for other types of tree ornaments that complement a pastel Christmas color palette.
I have found that brass and antique gold, as opposed to bright shiny gold, look best when paired with pastels.
On our Christmas tree, I love to use whimsical, organic shaped aged brass metal bell ornaments. They come in two sizes: small/medium and large; I have the large.
For some reason, probably because of their popularity, this particular ornament is difficult to find in stock. Boutique shops, including Brooke & Lou, Sparrow & Co., peony + olive, Cottonwood Company, and The Simple Co., typically carry them around the holidays. Sign up for emails and/or newsletters to be notified of sales.
Tip:
Shopping small as well as local businesses when possible may cost a little more, but it’s immensely important to reduce the homogenization of retailers. In the end, it will keep costs lower due to competition.
Because small businesses don’t have the margins to offer free shipping, or they don’t own the supply chain from end-to-end like some larger retailers, you may have to pay for shipping.
In addition to aged brass bells, mini gold laurel leaf ornaments warm up the whole tree making it feel cozy. I absolutely adore laurel leaf decor of any kind!
Wood finials, mini wooden trees and rattan ornaments lend a natural element to the decor. Lighter wood tones feel right at home next to pastels, though a rich walnut tone would also look stunning.
Textural ornaments like these rattan trees and stars are too cute not to include on your Christmas tree!
Pastel Florals, Stems and Picks Holiday Decorations
When I was planning our Christmas decorations this year, I knew I wanted to add some kind of berry stems.
You usually see creamy white berry stems at Christmas time. I came across stunning blush pink as well as dusty blue berry stems in the Brooke & Lou holiday catalog online (2023). From that moment, I knew they had to be in my life!
I bought a few in both colors… Maybe more than a few… Okay—twist my arm—I bought ten… At first… On their Cyber Monday sale, I bought five more. (I’m extra, and if you’ve read other posts on here, you know that and I won’t apologize for it.)
Dramatically large florals / flowers make a statement you can’t quite grasp until you’ve beheld the magical beauty with your own two eyes.
I love the look of white mixed with pastels against the deep forest green backdrop of the Christmas tree.
The crisp white floral stems are Brooke & Lou while the large creamy white flowers were a HomeGoods find. Fluffy white hydrangeas, magnolias and peonies make great alternatives that will also easily fill gaps in the tree.
Ideas for Pastel Wreath and Garland Decor
Have you ever used additional greenery garlands on your tree? More is more when it comes to adding other types of green garland. From cedar garland to non-traditional lambs ear garland, it helps fill in holes while creating bulk thin trees often need.
I added three eucalyptus garlands to our Christmas tree.
To further elevate the look of our tree this year, and in addition to the three eucalyptus garlands, I included three strands of pretty sage green lambs ear garland. The whimsical combination of ornaments with fuzzy garland and soft berry stems is very calming.
Small, chunky wreaths adorn our kitchen island chairs this year.
In keeping with a pastel Christmas color palette, I combined a soft white frayed edge 1 ½ inch wide cotton ribbon with a ⅜ inch wide light pink satin ribbon.
They are so pretty!
Our fireplace mantel also got a glow-up with the same berry stems and large white flowers. A copper bell garland adds interest as well as a little contrast.
Check out the Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas post from last year for more inspiration.
A few years back, I bought lovely Christmas stockings from the AngieandLois shop on Etsy. The stockings are handmade using gorgeous fabrics. I like that they’re neutral, so they easily pair with practically any color palette.
As you can see, I embellished the stockings with layers of dusty pink frayed edge ribbon and a thinner velvet taupe ribbon. Can you ever have too much ribbon?
Our entire home beams in pastel Christmas decor! I may not decorate like this every year, but what a delightful change this year.
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