Putting up some gorgeous decorations and getting your home feeling all Christmassy can be one of the joys of the festive season, and planning a striking theme can be part of the fun.

Here are the main Christmas decorating trends for 2018, and my tips for how how to get them on the cheap. Look out for new colour schemes, high street collections with a designer look, and some eye-catching individual items.

Rainbow fiesta

If you want to go all in this season, the full on rainbow look is hard to beat. The biggest festive decorating trend of the year is full of vibrant colours, shiny rainbows and all kinds of fun novelty baubles. Keep decorations simple with different coloured baubles, or take your pick from kitsch flamingos, cupcakes, doughnuts and icecreams, cars, robots, dinosaurs, toucans, rubber ducks, dogs and so on.

• Paperchase’s Christmas Disco is the best place to look if you want a quick one stop shop, with everything from mini rainbow trees to dinosaur baubles, and iridescent ribbons and giftwrap.

• John Lewis’s Rainbow is a classy take on the brights theme if you stick to the plainer baubles, but they also have some over-the-top items ranging from hibiscus flowers to bright pom pom garlands.

• Flying Tiger’s quirky baubles (in store only) are second to none if you want really bold, colourful kitsch at low prices.

• Poundland’s novelty baubles (in store only) and colourful bauble wreaths are a good budget option.

Other budget-friendly rainbow bright collections you might like this year:

• Habitat’s Fiesta collection: full of spicy colours.
• HEMA’s bright baubles: ideal for easy mixing and matching, with prices from £1.
• Matalan’s Pink Fizz: more girly, featuring prosecco and unicorns.

Cranberry & countryside

For a more traditional look, the other massive trend this year is rustic, with deep berry reds, gold and copper. There’s a choice between sophisticated sparkle or more imperfect, natural styles. Look out for motifs such as leaves, fruits, owls, robins, mushrooms, acorns and stags.

If you already own a few traditional decorations then you can dust them off, and mix them with one or two carefully selected new ones to bring it all bang up to date.

• John Lewis’s Ruby and Amber collections are both beautiful, with Ruby being more sparkly and Amber being more rustic and earthy.

• Paperchase’s Black Forest Hotel collection is another strong example of this theme and has some interesting nature-inspired ornaments at good prices, from mushroom baubles to sparkly gold bunnies.

• Dunelm’s Festive Glow leans in a more traditional direction, with wreaths, apples, pine cones and birds.

Other collections where you can get the look without breaking the budget:

• Matalan’s Winter’s Tale: Stags, faux antler ornaments, cosy plaid cusions and more
• Sainsbury’s Woodland Christmas: Wreaths, garlands, stags
• Wilko’s Country Christmas: Rustic, with gold sparkles and woodland animals
• George at ASDA’s Nordic: Cosy, with lots of plaid and rustic cabin-style pieces, plus a few gnomes

Midnight skies

Want a more edgy look for your home? Try this theme with its rich, deep dark colours including dark blues, emerald greens, black or purples, and touches of shiny gold. Details include geometric metallic shapes, and optional outer space themes such as rockets, space suits, and planets as well as the odd flying dog.

• George at ASDA’s Electric Sky is the most fun of the bunch, with spacemen, poodles with antlers and a whole lot more. Prices from just £1 too.

• Wilko’s Midnight Magic is gold, rich blue and purple, with birds in crowns instead of outer space baubles.

Other places to look:

• John Lewis’s Jet is mostly black baubles and white or iridescent rocket and outer space themed items. Selling fast.
• Many of HEMA’s new winter homewares would work really well with this theme too, including their rich blue and dark green throws and cushions, plus their coloured candles with brushed gold accents. Prices from £1.

Blush and bling

Love glamour? The ‘blush and bling’ look is feminine, with shades of blush pink, soft greys, champagne sparkles, and rose gold. Look for pretty, glamorous details such as angel wings, glittering swans, velvet throws and cushions, cut glass, feathers, beads and sequins.

• Wilko’s Winter Wonder collection is the easiest way to get this look together at a reasonable price and without skimping on the glamour. It’s pretty, twinkly and full of lovely shades and textures.

• Poundland also have a few glittery baubles in the shape of angel wings, swans and ballerinas (in store only) you can add to your tree to get the look on a budget.

Also worth a browse for bargains:

• George at ASDA’s Ice Palace: Angel wings, sparkle, rose gold and marble effects
• Dunelm’s Frozen Lake : Beads, stars and ballerinas
• Matalan’s Sno: Sequins, snowflakes and pretty pastels

Frosty white

The ‘frosty white’ look is minimalist but striking, with a simple palette of pure white and frost over pine or eucalyptus. Look for frosted white baubles, touches of silver, twinkling white lights and whitewashed wood.

• John Lewis’s Moonstone is probably the prettiest version of them all, with delicate branches, ice crystals and polar bears.

Other ways to get the look, with lower price tags:

• Sainsbury’s Winter’s Mist: Simple and starry
• Dunelm’s Northern Lights: Scandinavian inspired prettiness with snowflakes and pine

For a much simpler version of the all-white theme, try Primark’s natural and nordic decorations, plus Poundland’s simple scandi style wreaths, candle holders and stars. In store only, prices from £1.

Fun for the kids

If you think Christmas should be all about the kids then you’ll love these cute collections of sweet festive styles aimed specifically at younger children.

• Wilko’s Kids Christmas has everything from cute elves to gingerbread man felt decorations.

Also worth a look if you like a bargain:

• George at ASDA’s Santa’s Vacation : Quirky novelty range with motif bedding, llamas and VW vans
• Dunelm’s Christmas Funfair : Penguins, felt wreaths and wool reindeer
• Primark and Poundland both have cute Nutcracker toy soldier decorations, in store only
• Sainsbury’s Santa’s Town : Snow globes, penguins and cartoon buses

There’s so much to choose from this year! Which collection is your favourite?