Let your family traditions guide your seasonal theme, but be sure to agree as a couple before launching an all-out decorative assault. If you two are multi-cultural, observe different religions or none at all, you may have to negotiate your celebratory boundaries. Don't let the discussion dampen your spirits: It's all a part of marrying familial and personal traditions into something that works in your own newlywed nest.

Making your place glow like Times Square is definitely festive… but now that you're settling into grown-up digs, you might want to opt for more dignified seasonal special effects. To help give your home comfy holiday feel, the decorating experts at The Knot offer these room-by-room hints:

STEP UP THE SIDEWALK

Set your holiday scene from the sidewalk (if you've got one). A year-end staple in many parts of the country, candlelit paper bags are surprisingly elegant -- and easy to make. Just weight down large white paper lunch bags with sand or dirt, center a heavy-duty glass votive safely inside, and light them up when company comes.

DECORATE THE DOORWAY

Bereft of a long walk in a nearby fir grove? You can still bask in the piney fragrance by tacking a holiday wreath on the door. (Don't forget to buy an over-the-door wreath hanger if your entryway isn't already riddled with hooks and nails.) To save cash -- and demonstrate your creativity -- buy a plain wreath from your local farm stand and decorate it yourself. And don't forget: Fun-loving guests shouldn't pass go without kissing under the mistletoe! String a sprig right inside the doorway.

WARM UP THE LIVING ROOM

Concentrate on the rooms where guests will gather and where the two of you spend the most time, like the living room. Once you decide whether a Christmas tree, menorah, or other special symbol captures the limelight, choose a color scheme or decorative theme and play into it. Sticking with a sophisticated silver and gold palette or a whimsical snowman motif, for example, will give the space a sense of cohesiveness. Before you start gussying up, be sure your holiday colors don't clash with your everyday scene: You want to create an inviting, relaxing space, not conjure Halloween flashbacks.

One of the easiest and most inexpensive decorating tools, tactile textiles go a long way toward creating a warm ambience. Stock up on cozy throws and decorative pillows in your seasonal shade. While guests snuggle up, start spinning romantic oldies like "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" on your CD player, or flip an annual favorite like Miracle on 34th Street into the VCR.

SPRINKLE FESTIVE TOUCHES

Here a few quick and easy ways spread cheer throughout your house:

• Visit your respective moms. Be sensitive to your parents' needs to maintain family traditions as their kids leave home. Most parents will generously seed your fledgling nest with one or two decorations that remind you of childhood holidays.
  
• Celebrate others' love for you: Make a card tree on a door, in the entryway, or on the living room wall. Top your creation with a wrapping-paper star. Decorate your "tree" with photographs of friends' kids and your own pixie kin -- or create an extended family photo album of your fridge door. Those hard-won shots of Junior in his holiday best will warm your hearts and visually link you to loved ones around the world.
  
• Simple but striking, center a single poinsettia on your coffee table, end table, or kitchen table. Tie a stunning bow around its base. Underscore it with a crisp linen tablecloth or a fashionable holiday runner.
  
• For greater impact, cluster poinsettias around your fireplace or in a highly visible corner. Use red to create a rich, dramatic vignette, or white for a cool, elegant look. Or sprinkle petite poinsettias around the house; available at most grocery stores, they're a cost-effective way to infuse holiday color into your rooms.
  
• Swap strings of eye-popping lights for a woodsy live garland. Run it along architectural elements like windowsills or chair rails, suspend it from chandeliers, or twine it around coffee and end tables. Embellish the sprigs with ribbon or pinecones.
  
• Sprinkle an eclectic array of candlesticks all around, adding an aromatic berry- or cinnamon-scented votive into the mix.
  
• Fill contemporary metal bowls or glass hurricanes with seasonal potpourri or shimmering ornaments. To make your own sparkling balls, pin sequins to styrene balls.
  
• Use ribbon to hang frosted balls or glass snowflakes from the ceiling. Suspend them in doorways, over seating areas, in front of the mantle.
  
• Spend some quality time building a gingerbread house and display it with all the pride it deserves. And yes, it's okay to buy a pre-fab. (Look for kits at mass merchants and craft and grocery stores.)
  
• If your wrapped gifts could double as modern art, turn them into eye-catching decorations. Instead of piling them high in the living room, think of each present as a hidden gem for guests to gleefully discover. Perch them on shelves, in dimly lit corners, on your dresser. And since these artistic dynamos will be given away, you won't have to worry about post-season storage.
  
• Have a passel of nieces and nephews? Invite them over to make paper decorations. Cut snowflakes, have a "color Santa" contest, cover the works with glitter. Sing carols while you work. Ply the busybodies with cookies and milk. And let them choose where you'll exhibit their creativity.

COOK UP A CHEERFUL KITCHEN

One of the best ways to make your house into a holiday homing device? Break out the rolling pin! The aroma of baking apple pies and gingerbread cookies brings guests back to childhood in a heartbeat. If you wouldn't touch a pie crust with a 10-foot pole, you can "cheat" your way to that spicy holiday scent: Simmer a handful of fresh cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves in water. Check occasionally to ensure your medium saucepan doesn't boil over or run dry.

Don't underestimate the power of festive towels, potholders, and aprons, either: These inexpensive decorative dynamos spice up dull everyday duties and lend cheer to holiday party prep.

DISH UP DINING ROOM AMBIENCE

Festooned with your crystal, and flatware, your dining table is certain to shimmer. Rely on your centerpiece, holiday-colored linens, and special serving dishes to add a festive holiday feel.

Choose glistening gold or platinum decorative elements if you'll be hosting a swank affair, cranberry and forest if you'd like richness without the shimmer, blue and silver if you'll celebrate a traditional Hanukah, or a seasonal print that instantly hits a holiday note.

SHOW YOUR CENTERPIECE SAVVY

A few ways to make a classic -- or nontraditional -- mid-table statement:

• Buy special tablecloths and napkins, and break out party-pleasing napkin rings.
  
• Fill a charming container -- a woven basket, an antique water pitcher, a galvanized pot -- with candles and fill in the holes with greenery, branches, and pine cones. Wrap a twine bow around its base.
  
• Cluster candlesticks of all shapes and sizes; deck with white tapers and surround bases with greens and holly.
  
• Set floating holiday-themed candles aflame in a large cut-crystal bowl.
  
• Put a string of white "noodle" lights -- spiked with shimmering chopsticks -- in a stove-top wok<>
  
• Plant a bow-bedecked live fir in a ceramic pot or vine basket.
  
• Whip up a buche de noel, stack up a sugar-covered fruit tree, or make a pyramid of clove-spiked oranges on a glass cake plate.

BOOST THE ALLURE OF YOUR BOUDOIR

Romance casts a special glow over the holiday season. Feed the flame with soft bedding you can't wait to snuggle under and sumptuous robes that take the chill off the winter morning.

Has your sweetie had a trying day playing host or hostess? Welcome honey to your private haven with a bucket of chilling champagne, the soothing scent of incense, and a vase overflowing with red roses. Remember: The season will be as romantic as you are!

PROVIDE A GRACIOUS GUEST ROOM

If you're lucky enough to have a spare room for visiting friends and family, make it feel just like home by anticipating their every need:

Stack towels and beautifully wrapped soaps on the bed, and drape matching robes at the foot. (If you're on a budget, opt for a fresh pair of slippers or cute holiday socks.) And place a carafe of spring water on the nightstand. To add holiday cheer, line miniature silver vases filled with holly sprigs along the dresser, or make a statement with an ornate arrangement in a handblown vase. Welcome an extra-special couple with a bottle of chilling champagne and a pair of crystal flutes.

Now are you in the mood to spread some warm holiday cheer? Start decorating!

-- Dayana Yochim

See More: Painting & DIY