After Christmas, a shelf needs two decisions. Pack away everything red, shiny or with Santa on it, and keep whatever looks like winter outside your window: plain greenery, pinecones, wood, cream candles and a strand of little warm lights. Then give each shelf the same simple recipe, a few books, one natural thing, one pale ceramic piece and something soft, and leave a few gaps. That is winter shelf decor, and it holds up through January and February.
9 Winter Shelf Decor Ideas for After Christmas
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What stays on the shelf after Christmas, and what goes in the box?
If it would look at home next to a bare tree in the yard, it can stay. If it says “Christmas” before you read a word on it, it goes.
| Goes in the box | Stays on the shelf |
|---|---|
| Red berries, bows and ribbon | Plain evergreen garland, no bows |
| Ornaments, Santas, nutcrackers, stockings | White and cream candles |
| Anything with “Merry Christmas” on it | Pinecones, wood and bare branches |
| Glitter and bright gold | Warm white fairy lights, books, baskets |
If your garland has red berries wired into it, snip them out. That one change often turns a Christmas shelf into a winter one.
When should the Christmas shelf come down?
When you are ready. Some people clear everything on January 1, and some wait until after Epiphany on January 6. Shelves are an easy place to start, because most of the work is taking things away and the books are already there.
9 winter shelf decor ideas for after Christmas
You do not need all nine. Pick three that suit your shelves and let them share the space, with nothing festive left over. A shelf with a few good things on it looks calmer than one with everything on it.
1. Keep the greenery, lose the berries and bows
Plain cedar or pine is the easiest thing to keep from a Christmas shelf. Lay a garland along the top edge of a bookcase, or tuck a few stems between books and a vase, and it reads as winter as long as the ornaments, bows and berries are gone. A small plain wreath leaned against the back of a shelf works the same way.
Fresh stems are even better, a few cedar or eucalyptus sprigs in a glass jar. They dry out, so swap them when the needles start dropping.
If you do not have a garland to keep, this 6 ft faux cedar garland (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. is listed as a plain garland for a mantel or shelf. Pick a plain one with no berries or bows, and cut it into two shorter pieces if your shelves are narrow.
2. Stack books and add one pale ceramic piece
This is the base of every winter shelf. Start with the books, then add the rest around them. Real Simple’s designers say the same thing: start with books, then layer objects on top, and mix books standing up with books lying flat.
Cream, oatmeal, gray and tan spines look calm together. Lay three books flat, set one white ceramic piece on top and you have a finished corner in under a minute. A matte white or ribbed vase suits almost everything. This set of three small white ceramic vases (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. is listed at 7, 5 and 4 inches, so you get three heights from one box.
3. Put bare branches or pussy willow in a vase at one end
Branches give a flat shelf some height, and they cost almost nothing. Birch, curly willow and pussy willow all look right in January. Cut a few from the yard or pick them up at a florist or grocery store in winter.
Put them in a tall vase at one end of the top shelf so they rise above everything else. Do not center them. A tall thing off to one side looks more natural than a pair at each end.
4. Group cream candles at different heights
Candles are what make a shelf feel cozy at night. Use three, in three heights, and set them together instead of spreading them out. Odd numbers look better than even ones.
Brass or glass candlesticks you already own are plenty. Battery tapers are the easy choice on a shelf full of garland and books. These ivory flameless taper candles (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. come as a set of six at 9.6 inches, and the listing says they have a remote with a 2, 4, 6 or 8 hour timer, so they switch on by themselves at dusk. If you light real ones, keep the flame well away from the greenery.
5. Wind a strand of warm white lights along the top shelf
Plain warm white lights do not say Christmas on their own. A thin strand along the top edge of a bookcase, or behind a pitcher on a kitchen shelf, makes the whole thing glow on a gray afternoon. The thin copper-wire kind nearly disappears in the daytime.
This 4-pack of battery fairy lights (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. gives you four 16 foot strands on 3 AA batteries each, and the listing says the timer setting runs 6 hours on and 18 hours off. For the bulb in the lamp beside your shelves, our guide to warm white bulbs for a living room covers what to buy.
6. Swap the art for a winter landscape
Put the Christmas print away and lean something quiet in its place: a snowy field, a row of bare trees, a charcoal sketch, a black-and-white photograph. Leaning a frame against the back of a shelf looks more relaxed than hanging it and needs no hole in the wall.
If you only have your Christmas frame, take the picture out and slide a winter print or even a page from an old calendar behind the glass.
7. Add wood, pinecones and a basket
Natural things fill the space the ornaments left, and none of them says Christmas. A wooden bowl of plain pinecones is the classic. Glittered or gold-painted ones go in the box.
Down on the bottom shelf, a woven basket holds a folded throw so a blanket is within reach and the shelf looks soft. This rectangular seagrass basket (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. is listed at about 10 by 7.5 inches and 4.7 inches high, so measure the depth of your shelf first, or use a basket you already have.
8. Go winter white with ceramic, frosted and mercury glass
White ceramic pitchers, ironstone, clear glass jars and silver mercury glass look like frost, and they work on kitchen shelves as well as in the living room. On open kitchen shelves, stack white plates, put eucalyptus in a cream pitcher and add a bowl of clementines, which is the one bright color a winter kitchen needs.
For small lights that catch the glass, these silver mercury glass votive holders (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure. come as a set of twelve at about 2.7 inches tall, and the listing says they take tea lights or flameless LED tea lights.
9. Leave gaps and keep one old thing with a story
The last idea is to stop. Leave empty spaces between the groups, because bare shelf is what makes the groups look chosen. A designer in the Real Simple piece says the same: leave openings so the eye can rest.
Then keep one thing that is yours, a thrifted brass candlestick, an old clock face, a small frame from a flea market. One piece with a past makes a shelf look lived in. Dabbling and Decorating hangs vintage clock faces on her bookshelf after Christmas for exactly that reason.
How do you arrange a winter shelf so it looks pulled together?
Before you decorate, take everything off and wipe the shelf. A blank shelf shows you what you actually have, and it is much easier to see what to put back.
- Set the tallest or biggest piece first: a framed print, a vase of branches, a basket.
- Add books, some standing and some lying flat. Stack a few so something can sit on top.
- Fill in around them with groups of three, mixing heights and textures, smooth next to rough.
- Stagger the groups from shelf to shelf, so each one sits higher or lower than the one above it, like a zigzag.
- Step back across the room and take one or two things away from each shelf.
A simple check for each shelf is books, one natural thing, one pale ceramic piece and one soft thing, such as a knit or a basket. If it has all four and still has a gap, it is done.
What colors work if you are done with red and green?
Cream, white, oatmeal, warm gray and wood tones carry the whole look. Deep forest green and charcoal work as accents, and brass and aged silver add a little shine without the bright gold of December. Choose one feature color and repeat it across the shelves. A shelf in whites and neutrals with a little green looks pulled together, and one red object ruins it.
How do you style a shelf or bookcase in a rental?
Use a bookcase or a leaning ladder shelf, which needs no drilling at all, and nothing has to be patched when you move. Lean the art instead of hanging it, and keep a basket on the bottom tier for blankets. Use a thin strand of battery lights so there are no cords to hide.
Five tiers is a lot to fill. You only need one or two groups per tier, and an empty tier looks fine.
Can you keep some of your Christmas pieces on the shelf?
Yes, if they pass the window test. A white ceramic house, a wooden bead garland, a plain bottle brush tree in white or green and a flocked tree all look like winter once the red and the Santas are away. April Hoff of House by Hoff left her little LED house ornaments, a twinkly garland and some sparkly sprigs on her open shelves after Christmas and just called it winter.
If a piece has red, glitter, a Santa or a word on it, it goes in the box. Our guide to a small-home Christmas decor storage plan helps with packing it so it is easy to find next year.
How do you do winter shelf decor on a budget?
Shop your own house first. The books, vases, pitchers, baskets, jars and candlesticks you already own are most of it. Branches and pinecones from the yard are free, and a jar of dried beans on a kitchen shelf costs nothing.
After Christmas, clearance helps. The Harbour Breeze blogger bought a gingerbread sign and a wreath on sale because they were “technically Christmas decor” but worked for winter. Look for plain white and natural pieces, and leave the red ones.
How do you move the shelf toward Valentine’s Day?
Do not redo it. In early February, change one thing per shelf: lean a pink or blush print in place of the snow sketch, add one pink stem to the vase, or put one red-spined book at the end of a stack. The cream candles, books and pinecones all stay.
What to buy
Everything here is a small, low-cost piece. Cost tiers run from $ (least) to $$$ (most). Check size and details on each listing before you order.
- Faux cedar garland, 6 ft: plain cedar, no bows (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $$
- White ceramic vases, set of 3: 7, 5 and 4 inch (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $
- Flameless taper candles, set of 6: ivory with remote and timer (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $
- Battery fairy lights, 4-pack: warm white with timer (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $
- Mercury glass votives, set of 12: silver (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $
- Seagrass basket: rectangular with handles (opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure., $
What to read next
- Winter home decor after the tree comes down: the whole room, not just the shelves
- 9 winter mantel decor ideas for after Christmas: the same keep-and-swap idea on a mantel
- 7 Christmas bookshelf decorating ideas: the December version of this shelf
- 5 corner shelf styling ideas: if your shelf sits in a corner
- Dried flower shelf ideas: stems that last past February
