You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey everybody, it's Mariel.

So I've been decorating my place for Christmas,

and every year up until now I've kind of just put up every Christmas ornament and

Chatsky that's been handed down to me sometimes to my detriment.

Because you know when you've got all these little elf and Santa figurines lined up in your

pantry you end up knocking them over every time you go to make a cup of tea or grab some spices.

It is possible I got this habit from my mom.

My mom's theme many years for our house that I grew up in is just snowmen.

She has so many snowmen. It is just like a hundred, I want to say like a hundred snowman.

I love that.

You love it?

I love that.

That's Elaine Griffin by the way.

She's an interior designer and the author of design rules, the insider's guide to becoming your own decorator.

I called her up because I think there might be a better way to do all this.

At the end of the day, your house must function.

So if you have 800 snowmen,

you need to corral 300 of them somewhere. On this episode of Life Kit, a start-to- finish guide for

decorating your space for the holidays. We talk about how to make this holiday season

your own, how to come up with a theme and follow old family traditions or make new ones.

Also we've got tips on how to do this sustainably and on a low budget.

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