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Information Library
CHRISTMAS DECORATING IDEAS
To ease your Christmas decorating woes, try any of these easy ideas.
- Use what you have. Start by evaluating display pieces and decorations you may already own.
- Be creative. Maximize a piece’s potential. Stacking several antique silver compotes allows for a much more dazzling display than would solo shows.
- Keep it simple. Use simple silver pieces for example.
- Use a centerpiece for your dining table. Use elegant compote or bowl filled with walnuts, pecans, and kumquats to celebrate the season’s offering.
- Decorate a buffet table. Add votives and candelabrum to illuminate the table; twig trees add whimsy.
- Add sparkle to place settings. White china rimmed with gold stands out against gold-hued chargers, while jingle bells add a festive twinkle to each guest’s plate.
- Use your favorite things. Add uniqueness to your decoration by adding a few of your favorite pieces.
- Use holiday china. Use special holiday china patterns to your Christmas gathering and feasts.
- Decide on a theme. There are so many decorations to choose from! But if you have a theme as a starting point—a favorite color, collectible, or holiday icon perhaps—you can instantly narrow down your selections. A theme can help decide everything from invitations to decorations to desserts, and set the stage for a uniquely memorable gathering.
- Plan ahead. Way ahead. You don’t want to be searching for the perfect tablecloths on the busiest shopping day of the year. The first chill in the air is a signal to start thinking about your holiday party and a date for the celebration. Then you can begin stocking up on all the essential decorations.
- Engage the senses. When you think about decorating your home, also consider what your guests will touch, hear, smell and taste during the party. Make the mood inviting with the sounds of beautiful music (played low enough so conversations can be heard), the scent of something yummy like spiced cider, the tastes of classic and new holiday fare, and the warmth of crackling fire. The more senses you engage, the more extraordinary the experience becomes.
- Bring out the heirlooms. Your mother’s china, your grandmother’s tablecloths, your wedding silver… If not now, then when will you use them? Let your guests know this is a special occasion by bringing out the fine china. If you don’t have enough to serve everyone on, simply mix and match it with another set.
- Bring the outside in. Some of the most evocative home decorations come from your own backyard. Evergreen branches, twigs, leaves, and pine cones can serve as centerpieces, mantle decorations, even hand-made wreaths. They can also fill your home with a wonderful, fragrant aroma and bring a little bit of nature indoors.
- Light up the room. Candles can set the mood and create a festive ambience. They also bring warmth to the room—and everybody looks good in candlelight!
- Plan some surprises. Here is your chance to use objects you already own in innovative ways. Drape a table with a hand-sewn quilt instead of a tablecloth, or cover a chair with a particularly soft cashmere blanket. Fill your silver bowls with candy, or your candy bowls with pine cones.
- Your gift to your guests. Wrap small boxes in pretty gift wrap and if you are having a seated dinner, attach a hang tag with each guest’s name to use as place cards. Encourage the guests to take these boxes home with them. Inside you can place the words to particularly meaning holiday poem, tiny chocolate truffles, or a personal wish from you to them for the holidays. This small gesture will mean a great deal!
- Add the handmade touch. Handmade items are a warm and inviting contribution to the holiday atmosphere. And as gifts, they convey your thoughtful consideration to family and friends.
- Devise party favors. Small wrapped boxes inscribed with each guest’s name make unique place cards; inside, include a poem, small chocolate or holiday note.
Country Living, December 2002 issue, Volume 25 Number 12, page 70
Country Living, December 2003 issue, Volume 26 Number 12, pages 60, 112, 114
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