Tired of the traditional red and green? Santa might be jolly, but there are still other ways to decorate that will leave you feeling festive. Check out these suggestions for modern Christmas décor!

Globe Lights and DIY Signs

Get this look by buying larger Christmas lights instead of the traditional strands. Then, cut paper bags into squares or rectangles and trace or cut out letters to glue on top! Decorate with doilies or stamps, then punch holes and hang from twine or string to spell out your favorite Christmas phrase! We used the phrase Let It Snow, but other equally festive slogans include:

• Merry Christmas
• Joy To The World
• Noel
• Happy Holidays
• A line from your favorite Christmas song!

Guests will be thrilled to see a new take on their favorite Christmas phrases, and they’ll be filled with questions about where you got your wonderful new décor!

Ornament Displays

Instead of placing all of your ornaments on the tree, use a glass bowl to display extra ornaments that have a similar color scheme. While you can certainly work with the ornaments you’ve got, you can also consider stopping by a local home improvement store and picking up a package. Pictured is a package of ornaments from Home Depot that totaled $5, set in a thrift store bought Kate Spade-esque bowl.

For bonus points, leave a few extra ornaments sitting around just outside the bowl. Looks like Santa dropped an ornament!

Unconventional Colors

To replace the traditional red and green vibe of Christmas, consider switching up your color scheme. Use blues or silvers, or other neutral or cool colors, to strike a more contemporary tone. Think of snow and ice!

Especially for those of you who are city dwellers, a lack of space may be an incentive to play around with new Christmas tree ideas. To change up your color scheme with your tree, look for small, shiny silver or white (fake) trees, then decorate with blue Christmas ornaments!

And there you have it! From globe lights and DIY signs to contemporary colored ornament displays, your home will be filled with a different kind of Christmas cheer!

What’s your favorite Christmas décor?

This is a guest post from Carly Taylor. Carly blogs at Createlive, where she writes about living creatively through food, fitness, home improvement and DIY decor.