If you choose your decorations carefully and creatively, they can be an investment that will last for years. Therefore, when you have eaten your last piece of fruitcake for the season, all you need to do is pack up your decorations and store them safely.

I always find that decorating my Christmas table is probably the most exciting activity at this time of year. I can spend hours shopping online, deciding on the colour scheme and the most intricate details, and have my table as simple or as highly structured as I want. You will find that the most important thing you must do is decide on a theme and colour scheme.

You will accomplish two things by doing this. Firstly, it will be easier to co-ordinate, look extremely attractive and secondly, when you shop online for all the necessary items you will find that it will be easy to find just the variety you want, particularly if you plan early in the year. I always find that by shopping online, I can visit various sites and choose what I want and then if I stumble on something more interesting I can change tack.

It's as simple as that. Two of my favourite sites for online shopping are bcl.com.au, where you can buy Australian Christmas decorations online. Christmas table decorations and party supplies can be ordered online all year round and delivered to your door. OzFreeOnline.com is great when I want to login and browse the hundreds of classifieds, order online, and have Christmas supplies home delivered. All you do is join up and begin shopping.

If you don't want to do anything but go with the colour scheme in your home then you will most likely have a very simple task. All you will need to do is choose the main colour in which you wish to highlight the table and then begin from there. You may find that your linen closet has everything you need, but you may want to add a contrasting colour. You can always find bells, angels, candles, snowmen, ribbons and bows, napkins, and bonbons, at your favourite online store.

A beautifully decorated table with a little creativity can really make an impact. If you have no theme in mind, why not go 'alfresco' and take Christmas lunch outdoors. An outdoor setting is the perfect place for bright, gay colours. Choose one colour to dominate then weave it through your setting, contrasting with splashes of opposing colours. Use brightly coloured china, napkins, and 'Australiana' Christmas decorations to brighten up the table even more.

Perhaps you are a traditionalist, and want to use the long-established red, green, and gold. Maybe you like white and silver. Possibly, you might want two particular colours. Say white and purple, or mauve and yellow. Could be that you want the summery colours we are used to here in Australia at Christmas, and have a beach theme and serve crayfish as your main course, with Pavlova for sweets instead of Christmas pudding.

Convincing me to have an all white Christmas in the middle of December would be a tad difficult, but I am sure there are many who would enjoy the elegance and simplicity of white. With starched white napkins, you could use tall white tapered candles, crystal bells, and tall crystal stemware. You could have beautiful glass balls especially decorated with your guests name or your personal message and used as part of the place-settings at your Christmas table. Touches of reflective metal will add extra sparkle, and use softly rounded cutlery and gleaming Christmas decorations. The final touch might be a line of gorgeous long stemmed white roses in single vases down the entire centre of the table.

HINT: Instead of buying your Christmas bells here and glass baubles there, why not allocate an hour or two to visit a Christmas shop online with everything you need in the one shop. You will save time and probably a little money too. First, I went online to visit everythingchristmas.com.au, and then shopped online with OzFreeOnline.com. I found everything I wanted to buy in their classified pages and after searching through hundreds of online ads I felt quite 'Christmassed out' and very happy with my purchases.