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Today I’m sharing how to create a Little Women inspired Christmas in your home. If you’re longing for Christmases past or decor that feels nostalgic, warm, and inviting, this might be the trend for you.
Little Women is one of my favorite movies. I can watch it over and over again and typically do around the holidays. I love both the 1994 and 2019 versions. Both pull at my heart strings and the casts in each created such beautiful characters. Recently, I also watched the 2017 mini series on Netflix but it’s not my favorite version.
When I think about a Christmas inspired but the Little Women, there are a few things that come to mind. Simple homemade decor using fresh greenery and things found around the home and in the kitchen and candlelight. Lots of warm candlelight.
If this is a style that has caught your eye or feels aligned with how you want your home to feel during the holidays, keep reading for tips on how to implement in your own home.
Start With A Traditional Foundation
A Little Women Christmas is traditional at its core. The main color palette is bright red and mossy green. Chestnut brown helps to ground these main colors while accent colors in cream, orange, and gold help add a festive holiday touch.
Here’s an example of how to bring this color palette to life with a display on your mantle:
First, use fresh greenery draped across your mantel as your base. If fresh greenery isn’t your thing or you don’t like the mess, faux greenery works too. This year I purchased 2 – 9” artificial cedar garlands and 1 – 6′ garland to use either in our guest bedroom or around our entry door.
Add bows made with red velvet ribbon on either end. A 2.5″ red velvet ribbon with wire will make it easy to create more structured bows. If you like the look of those more relaxed long bows, look for a 1.5″ red velvet ribbon without wire.
Next, string together dried orange slices to use as garland and layer on top of the fresh greenery. A couple of years ago I made my own dehydrated orange slices but you can also find them on Amazon. This bag of 50 dried orange slices with hemp rope would be a good starter kit.
Tuck in pinecones for texture and interest. If you want to save a step, grab this 9′ pre-lit garland with pinecones. I love the mix of this one and use it across the opening between our dining room and living room.
Finish by adding in some tall brass candle holders of various heights on either end with creamy white taper candles. Simple and gorgeous!
You also can’t have a Little Women Christmas without a tree, and the more imperfect that tree is the better.
The trees in the movies are real and aren’t perfectly symmetrical, triangular, full trees. They’re a bit sparse and maybe a little wonky. Think something you’d find out in the yard or in the nearby forest.
If real isn’t your thing, I love the look of this 7.5′ Pre-Lit Aspen Fir Artificial Christmas Tree. It still has some fullness without being super thick and I love that the length of the branches are a bit random and not all uniform.
If you prefer an unlit version, this 7.5′ Norwegian Spruce Artificial Tree also fits the bill.
The key is, whether you go with a real tree or something artificial, look for one with character and charm. Those imperfections are what makes it perfect, unique, and special.
Find my go to favorite Christmas decor I like to decorate our home with here.
Create Ambiance With Lots Of Candlelight
I don’t think you can have a Little Women Christmas without lots and lots of candlelight. During the timeframe in which Little Women is based, electricity was not yet available for domestic use. Light by candles therefore was more of a necessity rather than used for aesthetics only.
While I do think you can create a cozy atmosphere by turning off any harsh overhead lighting and leaning into soft incandescent light from lamps, there’s just something magical about light from candles.
The way the flames flicker and dance and cast shadows around the space as well as the warmth and coziness that candlelight brings is hard to recreate. Making candlelight one of the key elements, I think, to a Little Women Christmas.
There are lots of ways you can incorporate candlelight into your holiday decor. If you prefer not to have to worry about a bunch of real candles, I get it. There are plenty of great flameless options out there to help you create the look without the fuss or worry.
I purchased this set of 6 flameless flickering ivory candles with remote a few years ago and use them every year in our holiday decor. I just add them to some of my brass candle stick holders and set them on the mantel in our guest bedroom.
For Halloween this year, I purchased this set of 24 waterproof flameless pillar candles to use outside on our porch and inside our ceramic pumpkins. The soft glow and slight flicker was the perfect touch to our outdoor decor. They come with a remote and timer as well.
Last year I also grabbed a set of these flameless flickering waterproof taper window candles. They are super versatile and come with accessories that allow you to use them a few different ways.
The suction cups allow you to place them in your windows. Giving you that beautiful soft glow view from the street. They also come with picks so you can add them to floral arrangements.
Last year, I used the clips and added them to our Christmas tree. The remote with timer made it super easy to align them with the timer for our Christmas tree lights. Allowing us to set them and forget it.
Foraged and Homemade Simple Decor
If you’ve watch Little Women and study the details in the set designs, you’ll notice that the Christmas decor is simple but impactful. The spaces are decorated with items they could forage outside or make by hand.
Fresh greenery, pinecones, and flowers found outside instantly add a festive touch when brought indoors and put on display.
Greenery can be very impactful on its own or with a simple ribbon embellishment. For example, take a few small branches and tie them together with a bow to create a swag and tuck it behind the top of a piece of art in a gallery wall..
Another example would be to add greenery to a chandelier. I do this in our dining room ever year. Last year I used 3/8″ red ribbon and tied small bows to the arms of the chandelier. The year before that I took it a step further and added these clear glass icicles.
Hang wreaths on your windows and doors with a bit of ribbon. You can also take it one step further and add a bow.
A small bouquet of fresh greens and winter flowers gathered in a vase will instantly elevate any space where it’s displayed.
Colorful ribbon draped from mantles and doorways is another simple way to create a festive atmosphere for the holidays. You can also use it to elevate everyday items by creating bows and adding them to candles and picture frames. Making them feel extra special.
Handmade paper chains and homemade ornaments are trending right now. They add pops of color, whimsy, and that nostalgic vibe we’re after.
Bowls of citrus fruit and nuts were considered a rare and special treat so having them around the holidays to celebrate makes sense. Garlands made with popcorn, cranberries and even dried oranges is another way to create something homemade using what you have on hand.
Creating a Little Women Inspired Christmas
Creating a Little Women inspired Christmas in your home doesn’t have to take a lot of time or a lot of money.
You probably have most of the stuff already and just need to pair back and repurpose it in a different way.
Focus on the key elements, greenery (fresh or artificial), candlelight (real or flameless), and add some simple homemade touches to elevate the everyday.
Let me know in the comments if you’re giving this style a try this year and how you’re recreating it in your own home.
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