How to transition your Christmas decor for New Year’s – 7 ways to quickly swap and repurpose your festive decor

Once Christmas Day is done and dusted, we all tend to fall into a little bit of a festive slumber, exhausted from all the intense work, stress, organising and planning that the last month of the year tends to be filled with. And then we get hit in the face with yet another special occasion - New Year’s Eve. Luckily, if you do need to transition your Christmas decor for a New Year’s party, there are a few easy ways to do it that take minimal effort.

As Christmas and New Year’s Eve are two dates very close together, it’s expected that there will be a little bit of overlap. That means you don’t need to take down your Christmas tree and all festive decor in order to recreate these New Year party decorating ideas. But to make the night special, we recommend showing you put a little bit of effort into your decor and make some quick swaps.

‘Repurposing Christmas decor is a brilliant way to transition into your New Year’s Eve celebrations without having to go out and purchase all new decorations,’ says Chloe Barrow, interior expert at Laura James. And in that spirit, we move onto our first tip.

1. Repurpose metallic Christmas decor

New Year’s is when we embrace all the glitz and glitter, along with the glamour and shimmer of metallics. Silver and gold are the colours of New Year’s Eve but they are also a popular Christmas colour scheme which can be repurposed. Especially if you’re embracing the Christmas disco trend this festive season.

‘This year’s New Year's Eve Disco trend captures a fun and glamorous style of decor that’s perfect to take you through the whole festive season and New Year,’ says Samantha Picard, Balsam Hill ambassador. ‘It is poised to be a major trend this year with TikTok's 'disco ball' hashtag currently on 605 million views, plus you can easily repurpose many of your existing decorations to pull it off.’

She continues, ‘Start by embracing the glitz and glamour of metallic elements. You can layer silver and gold accents throughout your space, mixing warm and cool tones for depth. Then drape foil fringes liberally across mantels, doorways, and table settings. Any existing metallic Christmas elements are perfect for a Studio 54-inspired celebration. Metallic ornaments, especially those with beading or glitter accents, can become makeshift disco balls for your New Year's celebration.’

Chloe at Laura James adds, ‘You can even repurpose leftover Christmas crackers by opting for the ones in sleek or metallic designs, as they work perfectly for a New Year’s party atmosphere.’

2. Remove only explicitly Christmassy decorations

Save yourself the trouble of taking down all your Christmas decorations completely. Instead, focus on the ones that have overly Christmassy designs like Christmas stockings or Santa decor and keep the generally festive ones.

‘The key is to focus on removing the explicitly Christmassy details, like red ribbons or Santa-themed items, and replacing them with more neutral or metallic tones,’ says Sam Sutherland, Flitch interior stylist.

Chloe at Laura James adds, ‘If you’re short on time, simply swap any red ribbon or accents for gold or silver alternatives, and replace Christmas greenery with glittering candles or fairy lights. This small change can instantly give your space a refreshed, celebratory New Year’s Eve feel.’

3. Create a centrepiece out of baubles

If you happen to have extra metallic baubles, whether that’s because you’ve taken down your Christmas wreath, garland, tree or simply had too large a pack to utilise every last ornament, you can use them for a festive table centrepiece idea.

‘Gold and silver decorations are the easiest to repurpose for New Year’s Eve. Baubles can be placed into glass bowls or tiered stands to create a simple yet sophisticated centrepiece,’ Chloe at Laura James says.

4. Redecorate your garlands

‘Invest in versatile base decor, like white candles or greenery, that works for both Christmas and New Year’s,’ Sam at Flitch says.

That way, once Christmas Day passes, you’ll be able to take off the Christmassy decorations off your garlands and redecorate with something more appropriate for New Year’s – like silver and gold ribbons as bows are one of the biggest decor trends of this Christmas season.

‘Even greenery garlands can get a little New Year’s makeover with some gold ribbon or silver accents,’ Sam confirms.

5. Swap out tree decorations

If your tree is decorated in a metallic colour scheme or one that doesn’t read as traditionally Christmas - for example, pink is a big Christmas tree trend this year and it could make for a great New Year’s Eve party theme, too - you can keep your tree decorated the way it is. But if you opted for a red and green colour palette, then we’d recommend taking these down.

‘Christmas trees can be transformed by removing traditional decorations and adorning them with mirror ball ornaments, cascading foil fringes, and metallic ribbons. Silver and gold decorations work perfectly within this theme, while crystal and glass elements add a bright shimmer under good lighting,’ Samantha at Balsam Hill says.

Sam at Flitch agrees, ‘Swap out the reds and greens for metallics, whites, and glass to give them a fresh, New Year’s feel.’

6. Reposition fairy lights

‘Fairy lights are your best friend when it comes to New Year’s – just pop them around mirrors, mantels, or even along shelves for that warm glow,’ Sam at Flitch says.

This is another perfect idea for repurposing existing Christmas decor. Especially as you can have your best Christmas lights with simpler designs out adorning your home for a large portion of the year, not just December.

‘String lights used for Christmas can also create a stunning celebratory glow for your New Year’s tablescape,’ Chloe at Laura James adds.

7. Sprinkle confetti

There’s nothing that says New Year’s celebrations quite like confetti. ‘Quick changes, like adding confetti or switching out stockings for party hats, can instantly transform the space,’ Sam at Flitch says.

And if you want an easy DIY project and way to recycle some of your used Christmas wrapping paper, then you can make your very own confetti at home. ‘Leftover wrapping paper is a hidden gem. You can shred any gold, silver, or black wrapping paper to create confetti for your table or scatter it along a runner for a playful yet glamorous effect,’ Chloe at Laura James says.

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Have a lovely, stress-free but also seamless festive season! May the celebrations begin.