Decorating With Gonks: Display Ideas for Every Room

The basics of a good gonk display

• Use odd numbers. Groups of three or five look more natural than pairs.
• Vary the heights. Put the tallest gonk at the back or centre and smaller ones around it.
• Repeat a colour. Even a mixed gang looks pulled together if one colour runs through it.
• Add texture. Greenery, pine cones, wood and knitted throws suit gonks' cosy look.
• Give them a story. Gonks "reading" a book, "peeping" from a plant pot or "climbing" the stairs make people smile.

Mantelpieces and shelves

The mantelpiece is the natural home for gonks. Sit a row along the edge with their legs dangling, add a garland of greenery or lights behind them, and finish with a wreath above. Sitting gonks with weighted bases are best here because they won't slide off. Our guide to types of gonk explains the options.

Never place fabric gonks close to real candles, an open fire or a log burner. Battery-operated candles give the same cosy glow safely.

The Christmas tree

• Hang small gonks with loops on the branches, spaced evenly around the tree.
• Sit a larger gonk on top of the tree instead of a star or angel.
• Gather a gang of gonks around the base among the presents.
• Use gonk baubles in glass, felt or wood if you prefer a lighter touch.

See our Christmas gonks guide for the best styles.

The table

Small gonks make great table decorations for Christmas dinner, Easter lunch or a Halloween party. Use one as a place-card holder at each setting, or group several in the middle with candles (battery ones are safest near fabric), greenery and fruit. Gonk crackers add to the theme.

Windows and stairs

• Windowsills: a light-up gonk in the window looks welcoming from the street after dark.
• Stairs: sit gonks on alternate steps at the edge, as if they're climbing, but only if no one is likely to trip over them.
• Bookshelves: tuck gonks between books, with legs dangling over the shelf edge.

Porches and front doors

A pair of giant gonks either side of the front door makes a big welcome. Use only gonks rated for outdoor use outside, and bring soft gonks in when it rains. Inflatable and light-up outdoor gonks need an outdoor-rated socket. Add a wreath, lanterns and pots of greenery to finish the look.

Colour schemes that work

Children's bedrooms and nurseries

Gonks look sweet in a child's room, but choose carefully. Put decorative gonks on a high shelf well out of reach, and keep anything with a hanging loop, long legs or small parts away from cots and beds. A soft toy gonk labelled as suitable for your child's age is the best choice for anything within reach. See are gonks safe for children?

Make a simple gonk wreath

1. Start with a plain wreath base of willow, foliage or a foam ring wrapped in ribbon.
2. Add greenery, pine cones and dried orange slices, secured with florist's wire.
3. Attach two or three small hanging gonks at the bottom of the wreath with wire or ribbon, so they look as if they're sitting in it.
4. Finish with a bow at the top and hang it on the door or above the mantelpiece.

Use an outdoor-friendly wreath and gonks if it is going on the front door, or bring the gonks inside in wet weather. Want to make the gonks too? Follow our sock gonk guide and use a short sock for small gonks.

Photographing your gonk display

If you like to share your displays, take photos in daylight near a window rather than with the flash, which flattens the texture of the beards. Get down to gonk height, tidy cables out of shot, and try a few close-ups of individual gonks as well as the whole display.

Gonks all year round

Keep a small base gang of neutral gonks out all year and add seasonal ones: hearts in February, bunny ears at Easter, witch hats in October. Our guide to gonks for every season has a full calendar.

Decorating safely with children and pets

• Keep decorative gonks up high, out of reach of babies, toddlers and dogs that like to chew.
• Avoid sequinned gonks and gonks with small parts at child height.
• Check battery compartments are screwed shut.
• Give children a toy gonk of their own. See are gonks safe for children?

When the season is over, follow our guide on how to store gonks. Looking for new additions? Browse our hand-picked gonks.