How to decorate your home in one hour or less for the holidays

Look, we're all busy.

Just getting presents purchased and Christmas cards mailed takes days. Weeks, even.

Who has time left for decorating?

Everyone wants to decorate their home for the holidays -- because when it's done, it looks so pretty and festive. But to get it done in a reasonable amount of time, you're going to need to cut corners.

Below are some quick and easy ideas to help you decorate your home for the holidays quickly.

As for putting it all away ... you can worry about that after New Year's.

Time-saving tip No. 1: Outsource

You can hire companies to hang your outdoor lights, decorate your living room, and even clean up after your holiday party.

If you think services like these are only used by rich people, think again. Just as maid and landscaping services were once only hired by the well-heeled, today thousands of suburbanites outsource their decorating tasks for the holidays. It'll cost you, but it's the fastest and easiest way to scratch things off your to-do list.

"If we can do it, then we'll do it," says Rebecca Snider, owner of RSVP Services, a concierge company in Sugar Grove.

Likewise, The Care of Trees offers an increasingly popular "Christmas Décor" service. With a quick phone call and on-site consultation, the company will string lights on your house, bushes and trees. Prices start at $750, which includes putting up, taking down and storing the lights until next year.

"People love how it looks but don't like putting them up, or even worse, taking them down in January when it's sub-zero," said Scott Jamieson, CEO of The Care of Trees. "It can be a pretty labor-intensive thing."

Interior decorators are also getting more requests from people who want guidance or assistance in decorating their family rooms.

"It's a big business nowadays," says Linda Navara, an interior designer from Arlington Heights.

Estimated time: 15 minutes (a phone call and a possible in-home consultation).

Cost: $$$$. Depending on the service, prices start at $30 an hour and often end up in the hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Time-saving tip No. 2: Poinsettias

Buy them, bring them home, put them on the table ... done. They automatically say "Christmas" and you don't have to do anything.

Estimated time: 30 minutes. A trip to the grocery store/florist and back.

Cost: $. At Jewel, a poinsettia is $4.

Time-saving tip No. 3: Dimmed lights, candles and music

You have them, now light them. Scented candles preferred.

Margy Bedyk, owner of Maggie Magoos in Schaumburg, recommends putting holiday candle rings around your existing candles to give them instant holiday flair. Even if the candles are strange colors like blue or orange, you can use silver sparkled rings. Her store sells a wide variety of styles, ranging from $10 to $30 each.

To add even more ambience, dim the lights, light your fireplace, and play your holiday music CDs.

Estimated time: 10 minutes

Cost: $ 0-$30

Time-saving tip No. 4: Minimalism

You've hauled out your boxes of holiday stuff. Now, pick out only a few of your favorite things and put out only those.

Gail Kueker, an interior decorator with Finishing Touches Studio in Barrington, says you don't need to put up a lot of decorations to give a room a Christmas feel.

"It's about making high impact in small areas," she said. "It's all about the art of placement."

Simple decorating ideas include putting shiny matching ornaments or pine cones in a glass bowl, and laying a holiday runner on the dining room table.

If your crunched for time, Kueker recommends decorating just three places: the tree, the mantle and the coffee table.

Navara agrees with this "less is more" decorating philosophy, and suggests switching out everyday throw pillows with holiday-themed ones, putting a holiday rug by the kitchen sink, and adding scented soaps and pretty towels to the guest bathroom.

"Use what you have," Navara says, "but don't use everything that you have."

Estimated time: One hour

Cost: Free

Time-saving tip No. 5: Use a pre-lit Christmas tree, wreath and/or garland

Why waste time untangling lights and running cords around the room when pre-lit Christmas trees start at $50 and can be used year after year?

While there are plenty of cheap pre-lit greenery out there, usually costing around $50, the top-quality pre-lit greens from Niles-based Hammacher Schlemmer range from $150 for a 4½-foot tree to $1,800 for a 16-foot tree.

"These trees are our top sellers during the holiday season," Hammacher Schlemmer spokeswoman Carly Krug said. "You unfold it, fluff it out a little bit and it's ready to go. They're so easy ... and the less maintenance you have to do, the better."

Estimated time: 30 minutes Cost: $$$

Time-saving tip No. 6: Make one trip to the store

If you're too lazy to get your stuff out of storage, do a one-stop shopping spree at your neighborhood grocery or discount store.

The experts advise getting two boxes of matching shiny ornaments (one for the tree, one for a glass bowl), fresh flowers and/or greens, a small fake tree, poinsettias (see above), a wreath, candles and bows.

The downside, obviously, is that you'll now have twice as much holiday stuff for your storage space.

Estimated time: one hour Cost: $$$

Time-saving tip No. 6 Don't decorate at all

Sure, it's Scrooge-like. But just think of all the hassles you'll avoid.

You can decorate next year.

Estimated time: Not even a second

Cost: Not even a penny.