How to Decorate a Rental House for the Holidays Without Leaving Damage

The arrival of the holiday season brings with it a special kind of creative energy. We can’t wait to fill our homes with the warm glow of twinkling lights, the festive scent of pine, and all the beautiful decorations that make this time of year so magical.

But for those of us who live in a rental, this excitement is often mixed with a bit of anxiety. How do you create a festive wonderland without putting a hundred nail holes in the walls and risking your security deposit? The good news is, it’s completely possible to go all-out with your decorations without leaving a single trace behind. The key is to use the right tools and a bit of creative thinking. When you live in a rental house, you want to treat it with care.

To help you create a festive home and keep your landlord happy, here are some essential, damage-free decorating tips.

Embrace the Power of Removable Hooks

Removable, adhesive hooks are the single most important tool in any renter's decorating arsenal. These have become a staple for a reason: they are strong, versatile, and when it’s time to take them down, they come off cleanly without damaging the paint.

• Hang your stockings from a mantelpiece or a shelf.

• Drape a beautiful evergreen garland over a doorway or along the top of a large mirror.

• Hang a lightweight wreath on your front door or an interior door.

• Suspend paper snowflakes or lightweight ornaments from the ceiling.

Use Tension Rods to Create a Magical Moment

A simple, spring-loaded tension rod—the same kind you use for a shower curtain—is a secret weapon for high-impact, damage-free decorating. You can place one in a hallway, in a doorway, or in a window frame without any hardware.

This gives you a sturdy, horizontal bar from which you can hang a variety of lightweight decorations.

• Hang a curtain of warm, white fairy lights to create a magical, glowing doorway.

• Use clear fishing line to suspend a collection of beautiful, shatterproof ornaments at different heights.

• Drape a lightweight garland of greenery or felt balls.

Get Creative with Washi Tape

Washi tape is a decorative paper tape that has a gentle, low-tack adhesive. It comes in a huge variety of colors and patterns, and it can be easily removed from most walls without leaving any sticky residue.

• Create a simple, geometric Christmas tree outline on a blank wall.

• Tape your holiday cards to a door or a wall in the shape of a tree or a star.

• Create a festive, temporary "frame" around your doorways or windows.

Focus on Your Surfaces, Not Your Walls

Instead of worrying about how to hang things on your walls, shift your focus to the flat surfaces in your home.

• Create a stunning centerpiece for your dining table or your coffee table. Use a tray to corral a beautiful collection of candles, evergreen boughs, and pinecones.

• Use your bookshelves as a place to tuck in small, festive objects and bottlebrush trees.

• Drape a cozy, holiday-themed throw blanket over your sofa.

Let There Be Light (The Damage-Free Way)

Twinkling lights are the heart of holiday decor. You can get that magical glow without a single nail.

• Use small, clear, removable hooks to carefully run a string of lights around your window frames or along the top of your baseboards.

• Fill a large, clear glass vase or a bell jar with a tangled mass of warm, white, battery-operated fairy lights. This creates an instant, magical "lamp" that you can place on a side table or your mantel.

• Simply drape string lights through a large houseplant or a small fiddle-leaf fig tree.

Living in a rental doesn't mean you have to skip out on holiday cheer. By getting creative and using these simple, damage-free techniques, you can create a beautiful, personal, and festive wonderland that will be the envy of your neighborhood—all while keeping your security deposit perfectly safe.