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Looking for a quick, inexpensive or free way to use things you already have and
give your fireplace mantel an updated Christmas arrangement? Bring out the glassware and fill 'em up!
The unifying element of your collection is that everything will be clear
glass. So gather one or more of all the shapes of crystal and glass you have on hand, the more varied the shapes, the more interesting the fireplace mantle display will be.
Dig out the unused fish bowl; get one of those martini glasses you only
use once a year; pull out that lovely cut-glass pitcher of grandma's; use that glass canister or mason jar; locate a tall iced tea glass or an
everyday juice glass; go after glass or crystal vases in various shapes; locate some glass bowls. If it's a clear glass with an interesting shape,
then it's a possibility for your Christmas mantle decoration.
Step two of decorating the Christmas mantel is to fill up all the glass
containers with a single kind of small, wintery holiday item. Think of something you already have plenty of on hand or something you can
gather plenty of for free or inexpensively. Here are some possibilities:
- Cranberries. A lovely holiday red, they are nature's gift for eco
-decorating in red!
 For large containers, insert a similarly shaped
but smaller glass inside the larger one. Then fill in the space between the inside glass and the outside one. It gives the appearance the
whole large container is filled with cranberries, but it only requires a fraction of the number of cranberries. Sneaky? Yea, but worth it unless you can pick wild cranberries.
- Pinecones. Another of nature's gifts!
 Gather all sizes of pinecones. Fill up your glassware with them, using small
pinecones to fill in around larger ones. If their natural color doesn't coordinate well with your room, or if you want a more formal look than they naturally provide, you can spray paint the
pinecones first. But few of us have the patience or time for that!
- Candy canes. The red and white ones are
 my favorite for decorating, but the green and white or the red,
green, and white ones might work best in the room in which your fireplace mantel is located. You can also use candy-cane striped ball candies. One
great thing about candy canes is that they seldom go to waste! After the holidays, they still appeal to the sweet tooth.
- Christmas Balls. These have the advantage
 of coming in just
about any color your decor needs! Stores that sell their wares for a dollar often have boxes of Christmas balls, so you can stock up for just a few dollars. Consider the effect
you want to create. Will balls all one color (though maybe in a matte and a shiny finish) work best? Will a two-color display with, for example lime green and pink or with
gold and white, be right to that mantel? Or is a less formal mix of all colors of Christmas balls for your fireplace mantel? Pile them in the glassware as in the vase shown here
filled with silver balls!
- Ribbons. Turn what would be scraps into
 an eye-catching fireplace mantel display. Loosely pack your
glassware with a jumble of colored ribbons, letting them curl out over the edges and dangle onto the mantel. Two or more colors of ribbons work best,
and having a variety of textures of ribbons including lacy ribbons and metallic ribbons gives the display more interest.
- Tiny Gift Wrapped Boxes. Okay, this one is
 not a quickie unless
you have made a run on a crafts store. Some craft and dollar-type stores have tiny, little boxes already wrapped, ready to be used as tree ornaments. Repurpose them by filling
up your glassware with them for a jolly fireplace mantel look.
- Greenery. Bits of holly and evergreens
 are lovely in glassware.
Arrange them as bits inside the containers or use each container as a vase with the greenery arranged just as you would make a flower arrangement. Use snippets of
greenery from your yard or trimmings from stray Christmas tree branches.
- Red and Green Apples. Apples n
 ot only look great, come in traditional Christmas colors, and are
available in a variety of sizes, they also have a great smell! Plus, they last and last, and can be "recycled" into snacks after Christmas.
- Tinsel. Not my favorite, but it has three thin
 gs going for it:
Children tend to think it is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l; it is so easy to tuck into glasses even the toddlers can help out; and it is very inexpensive.
- Jingle Bells.
If you don't already have jingle bells on hand, you can buy them relatively inexpensively
 by the gross at craft stores
or online. They come in gold, silver, red, and green. Mixing two of the colors and more than one size in the glassware creates a great
holiday mantel display. Using a "filler" in the center of a glass container reduces the number of jingle bells you actually need to,
nevertheless, give the appearance of a vase, bowl, decanter or other glassware filled with jingle bells.
The third step is to arrange the filled glassware on your fireplace
mantel. Think layering, with some overlapping the glass container behind them. Fill in around their bases of the glassware with...what
else!...more of the same: more pinecones around the glasses filled with pinecones, more presents around the glasses filled with presents, more
Christmas balls around the glassware filled with Christmas balls.
For the final step
, think "accent." Scatter one of the elements you have not used amid your filled glassware. For example, around and
between glasses filled with candy canes, entwine ribbons; tuck in bits of holly or evergreens amid your display of Christmas balls in glass
containers; or accent your cranberry-filled glassware display with a scattering of pinecones. Candles are another excellent choice for the
"accents" when decorating the mantel for Christmas.
Simple? Yes, so simple that the children can even help with filling up
the glass containers. But you have quickly and inexpensively created a memorable fireplace mantel display for the holidays. And using things
you already own, things that already have warm memories attached to them, makes your Christmas fireplace mantel decorations that much more meaningful.
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