Holidays & Occasions Christmas Christmas Decor 7 Christmas Decorations We Love To Hate Call us the Grinch, but these decorations put our tinsel in a tangle. By Zoe Gowen Zoe Gowen After a notable obsession with yellow houses, historic homes, and glossy magazines as a child that lead to a degree in American Studies from Sewanee: University of the South followed by a jaunt through the Washington, DC art world, Zoë found her way as the Senior Home and Garden Editor with Southern Living. There she crisscrossed the region to produce inspiring interiors, entertaining, and holiday stories while also overseeing the Idea House franchise. After seeing more porches and Christmas trees than any other reasonable person can claim, she ventured out to pave new roads freelancing for various magazines and helping people bring magazine tearsheets to life inside private homes via interior decorating. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 21, 2023 In This Article View All In This Article Decorations that Get in the Way Real Christmas Trees Flocked Anything Christmas Villages (But Not for the Reason You Think) Motion-Activated Holiday Characters White Lights or Multi-Colored Lights, Depending on Your Preference LED Light Projectors The most wonderful time of the year is upon us, and with it, all the things we love about the season: time with loved ones, fresh-baked cookies and sky-high trifles, nostalgic music, and garland-wrapped trees decked in treasured ornaments. But every year, amidst all this magic, there are a few Christmas decorations that transform our sugar-plum dreams into something of a nightmare. Here, a few of our resident Southern Living Grinches whine about the holiday decorations that they love to loathe. Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images Decorations that Get in the Way We’re all for placing festive elements in unexpected places, but don’t get so focused on the pretty that you abandon the practical. “Fake cotton snow on the kitchen island is not ideal for food prep,” says one grouchy Southern Living editor. “Don’t cover a set of cabinets with a wreath so that you can’t open it. Make sure it’s beautiful and functional.” Real Christmas Trees Before you cancel your subscription, let us say first that we love to love real trees—preferably when they’re cut at the local farm or purchased from a community organization that sells them as an annual fundraiser. But we’ll admit that sometimes we also love to hate our beloved Fraser firs because they can be a real pain. “I have to vacuum up loose needles almost daily, it requires more water than my front porch planters, and my dog tries to climb it every other minute. It smells so good, but every year, I have to ask myself, ‘Is it worth it?’” whines a Southern Living Scrooge. Flocked Anything A faux-snow-covered tree is mesmerizing in the land of rare or little of the white stuff, but if you’ve ever tried to flock something yourself, you know that it can be a royally un-merry disaster. “I hate flocked anything. It’s so messy,” gripes a snow-hating Southern Living staffer. Christmas Villages (But Not for the Reason You Think) The teeny tabletop scenes bring joy to many, but for the person unpacking them, the experience can be as bleak as a visit from Christmas Future. Whines one Southern Living Christmas crab: “It takes like 90 hours to pull [all the pieces] out of the perfectly cut Styrofoam packaging.” It’s just as fun, we imagine, to put them all back up. Motion-Activated Holiday Characters They say you hate what you fear. Such is the case, at least, for one Southern Living editor who deplores dancing Saint Nicks: “No matter how many times I walk by them, they will scare me every time.” If you've got folks in your family who scare easily, it might be time for you to rethink the animatronics too. White Lights or Multi-Colored Lights, Depending on Your Preference There are few debates that stir up quite so much controversy in our office as that of white lights versus multi-colored lights. We may let you waffle on what kind of barbecue you like or which mayonnaise gets slathered on your sandwiches, but your holiday light preference is as concrete as your football team during the Iron Bowl: You can’t be Team Both. If you’re Team White Lights, you’ll argue that they’re classic and timeless; you’ve deemed multi-colored lights a chaotic eyesore. On the other hand, if you’re Team Multi-Colored Lights, you’ll contend that they’re whimsical and nostalgic; to you, White Lights are a snooze—why waste the electricity on that? Wherever you land, we feel quite certain that the other team’s lights are a Christmas decoration you love to hate too. LED Light Projectors While we’re fans of LED bulbs themselves (they use less energy than their incandescent counterparts), we can’t get behind the projected displays that dance across home exteriors as an alternative to traditional string lights. “Take your lazy decoration back to Lowe’s and get real lights,” advises a Southern Living sour puss. Call us old-fashioned, we suppose. The Top Holiday Decorating Trends For 2023, According To Designers Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit