50 Creative Christmas Mantel Ideas

Have a Monochromatic Moment

Sentimental decor will never go out of style. The star of this fireplace is a large family portrait showcased above a modern black mantel. A simple black-and-white Christmas color scheme serves as a beautiful backdrop for seasonal accents, including basic white stockings, metallic candlestick holders, and a cedar garland.

Neutral Christmas Mantel Decor

Bring a sense of calm to your Christmas mantel display this year. Combine a rustic pinecone garland with a minimalist arrangement of neutral accessories, like blonde woods, cream-colored ceramics, pampas grass, and metallic ornaments. The green DIY garland adds a natural element to the neutral arrangement.

Add Some Jingle

Bells have a long history with winter holidays. Place a collection of vintage bells in an array of sizes on each corner of your mantel. Use ribbon, strands of beads, and garland to layer on the charm. Nestle dusty blue flowers in a cedar garland for a fresh note of color in your Christmas mantel display.

Cozy Christmas Mantel with Stockings

Get ready to snuggle up by the fireplace this holiday season. Bring out Christmas cabincore decor by adding rustic elements to your mantel. Think bold plaid prints, fur accents, and warm wood tones. Here, metallic ornaments and red plaid stockings complement a stone fireplace and wood mantel.

Coastal Christmas Mantel Ideas

Skip your typical traditional Christmas decorations for a coastal theme. Take a deep dive into the ocean with this nautical mantel that makes a splash. A garland features subtle aquatic accents like starfish and anchors in glimmering greens, teals, blues, and aqua. The soothing color palette repeats on surrounding living room accessories.

Pops of Pink

This year, choose a unique Christmas color scheme for your home. This pink, gold, black, and white combo will give your house a dazzling holiday refresh. Buffalo-plaid stockings line the mantel. Each one is accessorized with a pink ribbon and wrapped gifts. Black snowflake stocking holders nestle into a traditional garland accented with pink and gold ornaments, which repeat on the Christmas tree.

Cottagecore Christmas Mantel

Give your mantel some whimsy with Christmas accents inspired by nature. The cottagecore decorating trend centers around colors and textures found in nature. Create a woodland-inspired landscape on your mantel with mini mushrooms, pinecones, and faux furry creatures. Vases filled with greenery and flowers add height to the Christmas mantel display, while monogrammed stockings continue the classic color scheme.

Christmas Village Mantel

Make your own farmhouse Christmas village using inexpensive paper chipboard! Display your finished village with cut pine branches, pinecones, and a classic evergreen wreath. Add holiday glow with mini twinkle lights.

Gingerbread House Mantel

A light dusting of sugar "snow" coats a mantel adorned with homemade gingerbread houses, animals, and cut-out sugar cookie trees. Attach a small cookie scrap with icing to the back of each cutout to create a "kickstand" to prop it up.

Editor's Tip: Complete the Christmas mantel decor with a faux greenery garland and mini twinkle lights.

Red and Green Mantel

Nothing looks more festive than a holiday mantel decorated in crimson red and crisp white. Add the deep green of a flocked pine wreath and garland for a traditional farmhouse-style palette. Finish the look with mini tree decorations and tiny white ceramic houses.

Editor's Tip: Make your own twine-wrapped trees. Simply wrap papier-mache cones with red and white baker's twine.

Vintage Christmas Mantel

Dress your Christmas mantel with a garland and cozy knit accessories. On top, create a still life of vintage wares: a mirror, a salvaged window, and an old frame with an interesting shape. Then, add mini bottle-brush trees and ball ornaments in shades of green and gold.

Farmhouse Christmas Mantel

Draw attention to your mantel display with a big sign. To complete the look, a collection of small houses peek out above a lush Christmas mantel garland with eucalyptus, pinecones, and small berries.

Editor's Tip: Use wooden tags decorated with each person's name to label similar stockings.

Perfect Palette

A festive display of trees, stockings, and garlands doesn't have to be overwhelming—just stick to a simple color palette. This gorgeous Christmas fireplace decor incorporates beige, green, and gold for a big-impact style with only a few colors.

Metallic Christmas Mantel

This fireplace mantel Christmas decor goes for the gold. On top of the mantel, small flowerpots are painted gold and filled with holiday blooms for a fun and easy project. Below, a spectacular display of wrapped presents and gold lanterns draws the eye in.

Sweater Weather

Holiday spirit doesn't get much simpler than this cheery display. All you need are a few old sweaters in holiday hues of red and green. The minimal design adds Christmas mantel decor without a lot of fuss.

Light the Night

Candles aren't just for your Christmas centerpiece. White taper candles are an easy way to make a big statement without a lot of expense. This Christmas mantel decor is complete with simple cut greenery, hung stockings, and a roaring fire.

Metallic Accents

Modern Christmas fireplace decor ideas aren't limited to red and green. Depending on the rest of your room's decor, try experimenting with pinks, oranges, and blues. Metallic accents—such as the gold candlesticks on this bright mantel—add a touch of holiday glitz.

Cozy Cabin Decor

Make Christmas mantel decorating stress-free with low-fuss accents found around the house. Here, a black, white, and green palette complements Scandinavian-inspired holiday touches, including wood candlestick holders, small white trees, and evergreen sprigs. Black-and-white family photographs add a nostalgic element to the display.

Bold Red

Bright red looks beautiful with cream, white, and evergreen—and this festive mantel is proof. Cream bottle brush trees and white candles are intertwined with a living garland, while simple Christmas stockings draw the eye in.

Classic Red & Green

For a classic Christmas, stick to hues of rich, holly red and deep, emerald green. This simple yet stunning mantel incorporates plenty of beloved holiday features, including candles and a classic evergreen wreath. A garland of rich red ornaments adds a touch of modernity to the display.

The Right Formula

Outfit your mantel with a variety of objects that feature a common denominator. Here, lots of ornaments steal the show. They're embedded in a simple garland and adorn tiny trees on either end of the mantel.

Colorful Christmas

Who says you have to decorate in red and green for Christmas? Get crafty this Christmas and use a frame to capture a DIY Christmas scene by layering fabric and yarn. A garland of pom-poms and an assortment of bright trees create whimsical and fun Christmas mantel decor.

Dressed Up in Lights

This garland and wreath are gorgeous on their own, but soft white lights take the display to the next level. The back-lit wreath stands out over the Christmas mantel decor. Several strands of twinkle lights are accented while flickering white taper candles complete the look.

Poinsettia Mantel

Poinsettia bracts in shades of red and pink stand proudly in mismatched glasses standing in vases. The different shades of pink soften the look of the crisp white mantel and surround.

Woodland Christmas Mantel

Have a wide assortment of pieces to display? Arrange them in a symmetrical pattern for an organized—not cluttered—look. A hurricane and bottle-brush tree ensemble and two stockings dress each side. The symmetry extends to the surrounding built-ins, outfitted with more Christmas collectibles and matching wreaths.

Editor's Tip: The objects used to decorate the Christmas mantel are carefully chosen for size, so they don't interfere with the television screen.

Vintage-Look Display

Outfit your fireplace with repurposed Christmas mantel decorations. Vintage window panes, a retro Christmas trend, are an unexpected addition to a classic wreath, pom-pom garland, and simple knit stockings. For a classic farmhouse Christmas feel, keep the colors neutral.

Simple Christmas Mantel

Dress your mantel in a flash with a statement-making wreath. Although unadorned, this handsome green wreath is eye-catching because its size is perfectly scaled to the beautiful fireplace.

Editor's Tip: Hang the wreath over a mirror for a reflective element. Mercury glass candle holders and votives finish this modern Christmas mantel idea.

Fruit Christmas Mantel

Add a pop of red to your mantel with ball ornaments and faux apples artfully wired into a lush greenery garland. Fill in the open spaces with springs of greenery, simple Christmas stockings, and classic white taper candles.

Vintage Stockings

When it comes to fireplace Christmas decorations, take the opportunity to show off your favorite collectibles. This grouping of treasured stockings looks as good now as it did 20 years ago. Whole fruits intertwined with the green boughs add a bright boost to this country Christmas mantel decorating idea.

Fabulous Farmhouse Mantel

You don't need a garland to create a festive mantel. This farmhouse Christmas mantel starts with simple bottle brush trees and star figurines. Plaid stockings and a wreath over the fireplace complete the look.

Pinecone Christmas Mantel

Create your very own winter wonderland. This mantel features an oil painting, wall sconces, garland, and tree toppers to emulate a classic winter scene. Incorporating color, like using bright blue decor, adds a jolt of energy.

Bright Mantel

When it comes to fireplace mantel ideas, small bits of color go a long way. Here, a handful of bright glass ornaments carefully arranged along the mantel wake up the white surround. Year-round porcelain dog figurines also welcome Christmas by being outfitted with whimsical collars made of wreaths and ribbons.

Traditional Magnolia Mantel

Create a lush Christmas mantel with swags of leaves, greens, and branches layered along the fireplace. For an immediate holiday feel, add a wreath above the mantel. Bright metallic accents shine like silver touches or gold figurines.

Plaid Christmas Mantel

If you're searching for a country-chic Christmas mantel look no further. This rustic scene takes the cake. To get the look, use tons of plaid! From stockings to snowflakes—it can be used anywhere. Add some whimsy with antique elements, like a pair of small skis, next to the fireplace or vintage ornaments.

Bottle Brush Trees

Add some height to your Christmas mantel display with a gorgeous DIY pinecone wreath and an assortment of bottle brush trees. The red accents in the wreath really pop against the green and white tones on the mantel, but the best part about this display is that you can use any colors you like to compliment your existing decor.

DIY Snowflake Mantel

Glue snowflake ornaments on top of CDs for an easy DIY mantel garland. To form the garland, snip the bead garland into short pieces. Using a double strand of thread, tie one end of the garland to the tip of a snowflake. Continue until the entire strand is formed. If the CDs tip forward when hung, tape coins (as weights) to the back along the lower edge until they stay upright.

Silver Christmas Mantel

Surrounded by evergreen boughs and filled with red and green blooms, everyday items become festive fireplace mantel decor. Grace the mantel with classic collectibles like pewter pitchers and vases. Try to use vintage keepsakes and mementos to add a personal touch.

Garland Mantel

Decorating the mantel doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. Thicken store-bought garlands by adding fresh greens from the yard, or plump a fresh garland or wreath with faux greens. Then, dress up the garland as much as you'd like with effortless accents, such as apples, pinecones, wooden blocks, ornaments, or ribbon to give it a still-life look.

Colorful Stockings

Old-style stockings bring color to a neutral wood mantel. To customize, simply attach a no-fuss office supply tag to each stocking. Then, all that's left is to stuff them full of treats!

Editor's Tip: Try making a homemade Christmas stocking to match your holiday decor.

A Super Simple Mantel

Carry the decor from your tree to your mantel for a charming farmhouse Christmas display. If you have a flocked tree, find some flocked greenery to drape over your mantel for a no-fuss mantel. Use an array of neutral items like stockings, simple candles, and a festive holiday wreath to create a finished look.

Use a Pinecone and Pearl Duo

This might seem like an unlikely combination, but pinecones and mother-of-pearl ornaments give off rustic elegance. Together, they add texture and shine. A string of leaf-entwined moss garland will give your mantel the perfect backdrop for some pearly opulence.

Oversize Art

DIY your own holiday art piece! An oversized window frame is a simple, but stunning backdrop for an enormous cross stitch. Decorate each side with various-sized candles. Give the space a sense of cohesion by hanging stockings made from the same materials as your handstitched project for a consistent theme.

Wrapped Gifts Mantel

Get creative this Christmas. Decorating ideas don't get more wow-worthy than this rosy red display. Bold-wrapped boxes top the mantel, while a stunning poinsettia garland wraps around the edge. This eye-catching display is fun and elegant.

Gold and White Mantel

Find inspiration for your mantel decor from past Christmases. An antique gilt frame showcases a classic wreath adorned with cream and white ribbon. Charming tall white flower arrangements add vertical interest.

Neutral Christmas Mantel

Reclaimed wood will make a homey and welcoming statement on your mantel this holiday season. Simple yet stylish, this mantelscape is topped with silver reindeer and sprigs of fresh green. Use similar elements on your Christmas tree to achieve a cohesive look.

Penguin Parade Mantel

Transform your living room decor into a polar oasis with a black, white, and gold scheme brimming with upscale wintry accents. A flock of stoic penguins huddled in front of the hearth adds whimsy to the otherwise elegant mantel.

Red and Gold Mantel

Create a classic Christmas display on your mantel to give your home some cheer. Add seasonal staples like ball ornaments, bottle-brush trees, and small wrapped gifts. Finish the display by adding some twinkle with small candles in mercury glass votives.

Christmas Candle Mantel

All is bright with this Christmas fireplace decor. Salvaged candle holders light the way to a vintage-inspired mantel. Reindeer and Christmas tree figurines embedded among the candles add extra holiday cheer.

Cozy Sweater Mantel

A festive fabric (think Christmas sweater) is the key to this simple mantel decor. Cover a large star and tiny trees in this neutral fair isle print. Don't forget to add dashes of red and green to avoid having a sparse mantel.

Family Photo Mantel

Make space for those you love (including furbabies) with this lovely homage. Stuff glass bottles with family pictures and strands of greenery. Choose vases of various heights to create dimension. Arrange on your mantel for a sweet and sentimental decoration you'll love for years to come.