It's Going To Be A White Christmas

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Those dreaming of a white Christmas won't need to wait for snow this year as the colour of choice for the 2011 festive season is white all the way!

But whether your style is homespun chic, bright lights or sparkling glamour, there are hundreds of ways to introduce a shot of the white stuff into your decorations.

Using felt and knitted fabric, B&Q's range of decorations (pictured) give the handmade look without all the hard work. B&Q have teamed the white with a classic Christmas red and used raw string to hang the decorations. The felt tree and the knitted pudding baubles are £3 each. If you already have homemade items that you'd like to update, you could introduce white by replacing hooks or ties with a white ribbon or raffia. And there's no need to go overboard or throw out all your old baubles, the top designers say your statement colour should be only about one third of your decorations.

If you want to continue your white theme through to the dining room, why not try these design ideas from Ikea (pictured)? This is the perfect colour scheme if you've already got white crockery! The stunning candelabras along the centre of the table are £25 and hold eight candles each. They're made of a sturdy steel so could always be used at other times of the year, perhaps as a glamorous centrepiece to an evening barbecue. The white doves sitting on the back of each chair are actually paper tree decorations. Ikea have removed the string and cut a slit in the bottom of each bird to hook it onto the chair back, a great idea at just £2.29 for a packet of four. For maximum impact Ikea have teamed the white decorations with a black table cover, but the look could work just as well with red and maybe a hint of silver.

However, for the ultimate white with plenty of sparkle and shimmer, then visit the Harrods Christmas World which this year has a “Crystal Christmas” theme (pictured). Following customer demand, London's most famous department store opened its Christmas shop back in July – the earliest opening ever. The department has more than 250,000 decorations for sale from a £1.99 bauble to a lifesize Father Christmas decoration costing £2,999. This year Harrods expects to sell more than 4,000 boxes of crackers and enough tinsel to wrap 20 football pitches.

For further details please visit www.diy.com, www.ikea.co.uk or www.harrods.com.