With the holiday rush and busy work schedules, we all could use a couple of tips and laughs to help us accomplish our tasks at this time of year. All of a sudden you find yourself climbing a ladder with a hammer in one hand and a staple gun in the other to light up your roof and then you bury yourself in boxes of ornaments on the floor of your family room.
Many of us own holiday decorations that we have collected over the years. They bring back memories that we cherish. There are no set styles or rules on how to decorate for the holidays even though, every year, we are bombarded by new color palettes and themes. Embrace what you have and embellish your decorations with nature.
My first tip is to use real greenery to liven up your arrangements. Go “green” with evergreen boughs, pine cones or local limes, oranges and pomegranates, walnuts and almonds. Use nature to surround your displays. Take a walk outside and collect small branches – anything to bring the outdoors in. Your decorations will take on a new look and it will cost you nothing.
Birds are a very popular symbol this year, so add a red cardinal to the mix along with sprigs of rosemary and a twisted glittery holiday ribbon.
If you only decorate one spot, the mantle is a perfect place to display past ornaments, antique toys that have been passed down, small mementos or anything that triggers holiday memories. If you do not have a mantle, designate your coffee table or any small area and go for it. Do not display photos here. Use objects and greenery. Create a place where you can dream and remember without photo images.
If you do want photos displayed, take away all the photos you normally have around your home and replace them with holiday photos from past years. Tuck a small photo of you and Santa on your bathroom mirror. Surprise family and guests with ornaments in odd places. Dangle old Christmas tree ornaments on the arms of your dining room chandelier. Hang mistletoe above the cook stove, so the cook gets kissed a lot. One other way to create a calm environment: Designate one area for all your holiday decorations for children.
I hope you will take the time to enjoy your decorated home this season. Have a safe and fun holiday.
Sally Marbry is the owner of Superior Interiors. For the past year, Sally has been the host and writer of “Home Zone,” weekly on KLXR. Send Sally your design questions. She will answer them online in an upcoming edition of Home Zone. Send questions to Earth2Sal@charter.net.
