9 Quick Christmas Kitchen Decor Ideas

9 quick Christmas kitchen decorating ideas for sinks, windows, countertops, and shelves to quickly make your home festive.

It’s that time of year where I think, “Okay okay, I need to be finished decorating this house already” and then 5 seconds later say, “But I’m just going to decorate this last spot before calling it quits.” And repeat. 😉

Once you start, it’s kind of hard to stop. And since I had a few extra winter stems and Christmas accents leftover in our storage bins, I figured, why not throw in some kitchen Christmas decor for good measure?

9 Simple Christmas Kitchen Decor Ideas

Considering all of the cookie baking, gift basket / gift jar making, and Christmas brunch prepping our kitchen sees this time of year, it makes sense to deck it out with the rest of our downstairs rooms.

Do you love it when your kitchen is decorated with festive holiday touches?

It’s not like you can just put a giant Christmas tree in the middle of your kitchen floor (I mean, I guess some people out there do that), so if you want some quick ideas, here are a few ways to add Christmas decor in your kitchen without a lot of fuss.

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1. Add a Wreath and Garland to a Window

I especially love adding a wreath and garland draped around a window at the kitchen sink. Because honestly, any Christmas decorations that make doing dishes feel less like a chore is a winner, right?

Just stick up a couple of small Command hooks to the top of the window trim to attach the garland, and attach a Command hook right to the center window pane to hang the wreath.

I added this fake orange garland or you can make some dried orange garland yourself for a little something extra.

To make our kitchen window look festive at night, I wove a battery operated fairy light strand through the garland.

2. Grow Paperwhites by the Kitchen Sink

Paperwhites (or Paperwhite Narcissus) are perfect for growing in the winter months in a bowl by the kitchen sink, and it’s easy to remember to water them since they’re right at the water source.

If growing real flowers or plants isn’t your thing though, fake paperwhites add a feeling of freshness too. Leave them out even past Christmas to help winter feel a little more cheerful.

3. Add a Countertop Lamp

Since it gets dark by 5pm in winter (boooo, not a fan here), add a small lamp to your kitchen countertop.

We try to avoid turning on our overhead lights because they feel so harsh, but I absolutely love the glow from our under cabinet lighting, over sink pendant lamp, and DIY cordless countertop lamp I made from a thrifted vase.

4. Set Out a Few Candles

I always have a candle or two burning while I’m cooking dinner anyway to reduce any off-putting cooking smells, but candles add a little extra twinkle at Christmastime too.

Burn one that has a great holiday scent since we experience our homes not just with our eyes, but with all of our senses. You can even make your own candles out of thrifted vessels.

5. Put a Mini Tree in a Corner

Place a mini Christmas tree in the corner of your countertop. Or for something more useful, add a fresh mini rosemary plant so that you can snip off little bits to add to your cooking or stovetop potpourri.

6. Display a Fake Gingerbread House

I mean, if you’re into making gingerbread houses in your family, display the real thing, but our kids aren’t big gingerbread house decorators. Plus, the real gingerbread can attract bugs anyway. But I love the look of them!

I’ve had this fake gingerbread house cake for several years now that I just plop onto a cake stand on our countertop. Voila! Easiest kitchen Christmas decor ever that I didn’t even have to work for.

You can’t even tell it’s fake, can you? Here are a few other realistic looking fake gingerbread houses:

7. Add a Few Christmas Accents to a Shelf

If you have open shelving in your kitchen, add a couple of bottle brush Christmas trees, a mini wreath, or tuck in a strand of fairy lights around your dishes.

I even used a bowl to hold some fake orange pomanders. (The real ones smell amazing though… just make sure you only leave them out for no longer than a week.)

See that little glass Chrismas tree? That was my grandmother’s decades ago, and now it has a place on our kitchen shelf.

8. Display a Christmas Art Printable

Art often gets overlooked in the kitchen, but I love framing vintage style Christmas art to display on a shelf or countertop.

Get lots of different free art printables in my printable library here.

9. Add Winter Stems to a Vase on the Countertop

I always have a vase sitting on our kitchen countertop filled with some seasonal stems. These fake magnolia stems are perfect for Christmas (I only needed 2), but they’ll work beyond winter and year-round too.

BONUS: I love adding a hot cocoa bar in our kitchen when we have guests coming over! Grab the free printable hot cocoa bar labels here.

If you have an adjacent dining room or kitchen table, try a festive kitchen centerpiece with fresh greenery and a bowl of ornaments in the color scheme of your choice.

Add mini Christmas wreaths to the backs of kitchen chairs, display winter wonderland Christmas village figurines on a kitchen shelf, or place candy canes in a cup on the countertop for guests to enjoy.

Christmas Kitchen Decor Sources

• See all of the paint colors, DIYs, and sources in our kitchen makeover here
• Fake gingerbread house (similar)
• Window wreath
• Cedar garland
• Fake orange garland
• Artificial magnolia stems
• Large ceramic vase (similar)
• Large candle
• Small boxwood wreath
• DIY mini cordless lamp
• Fairy lights
• Fake paperwhite flowers
• White footed bowl (similar)
• Snow cabin art printable
• Mini Christmas tree (similar)
• Fake orange pomanders

That’s it! Simple, quick Christmas kitchen decor.

I don’t like to go too overboard because if I have a ton of Christmas junk in my way while I’m trying to cook, I get real grinchy. 😉

Do you add any Christmas decor to the kitchen for the holiday season? I’d love to hear how you dress yours up!

More Christmas Decorating Ideas

• 13 Cozy Christmas Living Room Decor Ideas
• How to Hang Garland on Stairs + Entryway Christmas Decor
• Best Battery Operated Christmas Lights from Amazon