Here's Your Stress-Free Holiday Decorating Plan

The holiday season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year -- but for some people, it can be downright stressful!

In the case of one of our viewers, Mara D’Amico, decorating, in particular, can be rather overwhelming (even though she LOVES celebrating the holidays).

"When it comes to Christmas," she admits, "I just don’t know what to do."

From a lopsided tree to broken ornaments, she’s seen every decorating disaster under the sun. So, naturally, we had to send our friend -- and designer on the upcoming TLC "Trading Spaces" reboot -- John Gidding to help!

John gave Mara four ingenious ways to accomplish stress-free Christmas decorating -- and you can use them, too!

OPT FOR A FAKE TREE

If decorating stresses you out the way it does Mara, stick to a fake tree! Taking care of a real one will only give you more to worry about.

For starters, John notes, "You don’t have to worry about the trunk size fitting into the stand."

Plus, you'll be avoiding the mess caused by tree sap and pine needles!

Not to mention that fake trees have come a long way.

"They don’t look fake anymore," John points out.

STICK TO ORNAMENTS AND LIGHTS

No garland, no problem! Keep your tree simple by making the most of ornaments and lights.

John suggests spray painting tree light wires gold, so you don't have to worry about hiding them inside the tree! Just remember to remove the bulbs and fill the sockets with paper towels before painting.

As for ornaments, make them fancy by replacing those standard (ugly!) wire hangers with pretty ribbons.

What a nice, simple touch!

HAVE YOUR KIDS MAKE NON-BREAKABLE ORNAMENTS

Kids and pets tend to run around the Christmas tree, so encourage your little ones to make non-breakable ornaments for the bottom of the tree.

This way, you can keep your delicate, glass ornaments safe at the tippy top!

LET A DEVICE DO THE CLEANING FOR YOU

Now, as hard as you may try to avoid it, mess is inevitable -- especially around the holidays!

One way to get ready for holiday entertaining and quickly clean up the messes associated with decorating? A Shark ION Robot Vacuum. All you have to do is push a button (which you can do via the Shark ION Robot app) and sit back and watch it work its magic!

"You don’t have to worry about anything," John stresses. "Its smart sensors seamlessly navigate floors, while proximity sensors adapt to surrounding obstacles, so it can clean all on its own."

Voila!

Want more nifty tips from John? Watch the video below for decorating ideas that take advantage of vertical space!