After three tries, I settled upon a Christmas arrangement for the mantle. I'm still not as happy with it as I'd like to be, but I like it better than what came before.
You'll recall this is what I started with:
The balance was off; I felt that the clock didn't balance the "bulk" and height of the three candle holders on the other end of the mantle.
I added a second string of lights, and I added the third deer that had been hiding out admiring the Christmas Star from underneath the Norfolk pine on the coffee table. I tried switching around the tall candle holders, then I added a lantern that I have on the built-in bookshelf. It's a burnished bronze color. The clock was removed. While the lantern looked okay, I thought I still needed some more heft and height on that side of the mantle.
I came up with this as Option 3. Option 2 didn't last long, and I didn't take any photos of it. I put the tall candle holders back where they were originally and added a larger lantern on the other end of the mantle, along with the third deer.
So, decorating for 2017 is officially done. Whew!
