How to Decorate to Look Like Santa's Workshop

A North Pole Welcome

• When you are decorating your home in a Santa's workshop theme, use easy-to-make props and wintry accessories to transport visitors to the North Pole. At the room's entry, post a welcome sign on a "North Pole" made from a cardboard mailing tube. Wrap the tube in white paper and red streamers to create a candy-cane effect and set the tube in a bucket filled with acrylic ice cubes. A frosty window made from an acrylic poster frame offers guests a peek into the workshop. Use colored masking tape to create windowpanes, paint snow in the corners and hang the window from the ceiling. Icicle twinkle lights, tinsel, white foam "snowballs" and polyester batting create a frosty setting for Santa's workshop decor.

The Elves' Workbench

• In Santa's workshop, the elves' workbench is the place where toys are crafted, painted and readied for delivery. In your workshop room, make a long wooden table the focal point and surround it with small chairs and stools. Arrange evidence of the elves' work -- small tools, scraps of wood, jars of nails, paint cans and brushes -- on top of the table along with a few old-fashioned toys. To create the impression that Santa's helpers might return to their work stations at any moment, hang colorful scarves and elf hats -- either purchased at a party-supply store or hand-sewn from felt -- on the backs of the chairs.

Toys and Presents

• Because Santa makes his gift-giving journey just once a year, his workshop is always filled with finished toys. Transform bookcases borrowed from another room into charming toy shelves. Use double-stick tape to line the shelves with Christmas gift wrap and stock them with an assortment of stuffed animals, dolls, blocks, cars, trains and vintage toys. Top the toy shelves with jars of candy canes and other sweets that Santa will stuff into stockings. To enhance the illusion that Santa's workshop is overflowing with inventory, wrap empty boxes in holiday paper and bows and stack them throughout the room. A sack or oversize pillowcase overflowing with toys and gifts lets visitors know that Santa is almost ready to make his Christmas trip.

Santa's Special Place

• While the elves are busy at their bench, Santa Claus needs a place to supervise their work and rest up for his big night. A plush chair and ottoman tucked in a corner of the workshop makes a cozy spot for Santa to read his mail and nibble cookies. To create a basket of Santa letters, arrange an assortment of stationery and envelopes in a basket and place it near Santa's chair. If you'd like to achieve true authenticity, address the envelopes to the North Pole and include a few handwritten Christmas lists in the basket. A small table holds Santa's reading glasses and a plate of cookies. Since Santa must always be ready for a sleigh ride, hang a Santa coat and sleigh bells on a coat rack and place a pair of black boots nearby.