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mistybear11

What is your favourite tip for Christmas Decorating?

mistybear11
15 years ago

Went to another house tour of 5 homes on the weekend. There was really only one house that I loved and it was situated on the river. We had just had a snowfall the night before and the temperature was just right to let the snow stay on the branches. Breathtaking view, but I digress. The homes were definetly not decorated for the season and it was supposed to be a Christmas tour. I would have thought they might have a few more things on display. I came home without the urge I usually get from these tours, to get cracking on my stuff. I have just spent the last two hours straightening and primping all the garland I own and have been at a stalemate as to where to begin. My creative side is sleeping and I thought maybe if everyone could give a favourite tip that they like to do then maybe it would get my "rear in gear" so to speak.

Just one more thing( and I should probably put this on another thread). What do you think about when you do house tours? Or better yet. Why do go to house tours? There sure were a lot of people touring yesterday. So many that we had to wait outside for people inside to leave. I am just wondering if I am expecting too much.

Thanks Linda

Comments (47)

  • Ideefixe
    15 years ago

    Less is more, and anything made by small children is better than mass-produced.

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago

    Christmas items get dated too so it's important to cull the chaff each year. I threw out bags of stuff last week.
    Greenery designs change too- the style now is lighter/wispier and more multi greens than the old pine garlands.

    I had a lot of ornaments from the fifties that I had thought for years were too yucky to use. But this year I piled them all in glass vases and they look wonderful. Like I had bought a bunch of vintage ornaments. The colors are subtle and mottled and have those gorgeous fifties hues: aquas, pinks, golds...

  • nhb22
    15 years ago

    Natural is better than faux.

    However, I have faux garland for both my table and mantle. It was expensive and still looks good, but I am tired of it after 5 years. I think I will go back to, and buy natural after Thanksgiving, since we will only have 3 weeks until Christmas by then. It should hold up since we keep our house cool, and don't use our fireplace.

  • nhb22
    15 years ago

    I love house tours, be it at Christmas time or year round.

    The Christmas tour really get me in the holiday spirit. I have yet to hear about any around here this season. The Junior league normally holds one every other year. This year would be the year. Jonesborough,the oldest town in TN and my hometown, has a tour every year, but it is usually the same houses. I didn't go last year because of that. Curious to see if they add anything new this year.

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago

    I preferred natural over faux until I ruined a table with tree sap.

  • Kathleen McGuire
    15 years ago

    Nothing says Christmas better than natural greenery. I buy fresh garland for the front porch and add white lights. I also drape the garland and lights around the front door and add fresh green wreaths to my two black urns on either side of the door that are planted with spiral juniper! Window boxes get a treatment of fresh boxwood, pine and cedar branches, pinecones and of course holly. Simple and beautiful!
    These are last years pics:


  • mamasalvo
    15 years ago

    Nice picture above. I need to do this with my urns.
    My best tip for festive but easy- I always buy gold and silver ornaments of all sizes on sale and I mix them and attach them to greenery everywhere I have garlands and I pile them up in glass bowls and under big glass Cloches either by themselves or mixed with cinnamon pinecones. They are very easy to gather up and put away into their orignal boxes and they sparkle in night light. I keep them out until after New year's eve- even though my tree is gone the day after Christmas.

  • mrsmarv
    15 years ago

    "What is your favourite tip for Christmas Decorating?"

    Put on your lounge pants and a comfy top, some holiday music on the CD player, light a few nice candles, and drink wine (lots of it) ;o)

  • lacombe
    15 years ago

    Hi newhomebuilder, have you put your wreaths out for Christmas yet, I remember the pictures that you posted of your front entrance this Fall, I started doing some decorating yesterday, I got the wreath on the front door, but not over the lights yet, I do it the same as you over the lights, I'll take pictures when it's all done. oh by the way, I finally know how to do the pictures right from Photo bucket, thanks for your help.

  • igloochic
    15 years ago

    I try to take it in stages. My first change out of the summer decor is to put out fall colors (I buy new every three years or so since they fade over time). I throw in a few "October" ish things (pumpkins, gords, etc) but then after Halloween I remove all jack o lantersn and add to the existing fall arrangements, using silks that are still in fall colors, but have a holiday feel (ie amber and ivory pointsettia's etc). After thanksgiving, the pumpkins will come off and be replaced with snow men and santa, but I keep the colors in those pretty fall tones, verses going red and green, so they look lovely all winter.

    I start drinking in advance of any decorating :OP Nothing like christmas music and good wine to get you in the mood. It is questionable when done in say June...but whatever it takes :oP

  • cattknap
    15 years ago

    My best tip: Do not wipe every surface clean of your everyday decor - incorporate a little Christmas amongst what you already have out - rooms generally look a lot richer when you incorporate Christmas into what you already have rather than strip your mantles/shelves and tabletops of everything and just install Christmas things.

  • tinam61
    15 years ago

    So true Catt!

    Natural is not always best. Many people/pets are sensitive/allergic to pine or other greenery used at holidays. As someone mentioned, sap can also be a problem.

    I use fresh greenery outdoors.

    My best tip is to not overdo it - a little goes a long way. Also don't overdo yourself during this busy season. Make time for enjoying the season.

    Another tip for us is to use what you love, things that have meaning. In our greatroom I do have a smaller tree that somewhat coordinates with our *colors*. However, our large tree (sunroom) is decorated totally with things we love, collect or have special meaning to us. I don't do theme trees or trees decorated just to match our decor.

    tina

  • donnamp14
    15 years ago

    I use artificial greens as the base for my wreaths and outdoor garland. Then I wind live greens through them, secure it, and then add the ornaments and/or lights. This helps them retain their shape better, and I can use whatever live greens I have on hand. It also makes the greens look more full. If you add enough live greens, no one can see the artificial foundation greens at all. I just make sure to use different kinds of live greens, and pack them tightly.

    -Donna

  • nhb22
    15 years ago

    lacombe - Are you serious!!! lol My Christmas decorating never begins before Thanksgiving. We will buy our tree the Thanksgiving Sunday, and I will begin decorating that next week. Four weeks up will be plenty. I take everything down before New Years Eve.

    kmcg85 - I just bought some spiral juniper to put in my front porch pots. Where is your juniper? I will have to remember the fresh wreath trick for the pots.

  • Kathleen McGuire
    15 years ago

    NHB, The pic above where you see the urns with the wreath laid on top and the skinny ugly brown sticks I was desparetly trying to create 'a look' for, lol? Well, I removed the ugly brown sticks and replaced tham with spiral juniper in the spring. You can see them below in my 'Fall' pic. Hopefully I will get 'the look' right this year!

  • ksoxgrl
    15 years ago

    kmcg85, beautiful decor, and I love your junipers in the urns, not sure where you live but i live in the northeast and am wondering if i plant junipers in my urns will they survive the winter on a porch?

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    15 years ago

    I don't like red Christmas decorations (in my opinion too hackneyed and doesn't go with my decor). I cut fresh branches from a pine tree I have growing up our hill, arrange them decoratively on our large fireplace with golden bows that I make up from ribbon bought at Michael's and insert small golden and silver balls. I also fill a large vase with water and tree boughs and put on tiny gold and silver bows on the branches. All done!

  • Kathleen McGuire
    15 years ago

    ksoxgrl, Hi, I live in OH, pretty similar to NE where I am from! I learned my lesson with planting hardy plants in an urn LAST year! I had planted junipers in a different planter, but my mistake was I planted them in 'potting mix'. That light fluffy stuff good for summer flowers! That was not good for junipers! They died rather quickly! This year, I bought junipers and TOPSOIL! I mixed the heavier topsoil with a little of the potting mix and planted the junipers in that. These guys seem to do much better. Every now and then, (read 6-8 weeks or so) I fill a galloon milk jug with water and pour that into the urn. They sem to be doing much better. I can't comment on how they will do over the winter. This will be our first one! Wish me luck!

  • gardenwebber
    15 years ago

    One way I like to pull our current houseplants into the Christmas Spirit is to get artificial sprigs of holiday flowers (you can get them so cheap at the dollar stores around here) and cut them and just stick a few here and there into your already existing houseplants or artificial arrangements. I have a decorative wreath that I keep up year-round and when I add a few cuttings of these artificial Christmas flowers into it, it looks like a "Christmas" wreath. I like to use the red flowers that have a little glitter dusted onto them.

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago

    I love amaryllis and paperwhites. A pot planted with three amaryllis bulbs is so much nicer than faux. Although I have those too.

  • jaymielo
    15 years ago

    I'm really trying to decorate with "kid created" stuff this year. However, I'd like it to look nice, in a "Real Simple" sort of way. Does anyone have some great kids craft ideas that aren't too hard and display well?

    One thing I saw in the magazine just yesterday was "Posts from the Past" where you take the Xmas cards you have sent in years past and hang them with a clothes pin on a branch or twine. I thought that was a GREAT idea. It is so fun to see the kids grow and change year to year. I'm planning on incorporating that into my home this year, as soon as I dig out the old cards!

  • susieq07
    15 years ago

    I always play Christmas CD's which I burned and play for 80min each, they play inside and outside...so no matter where we are working we get in the mood...

  • johnmari
    15 years ago

    I don't celebrate Christmas and the extent of my Solstice/Yule decor is greenery on the porch and front door (we don't have anywhere to put a Yule tree even if I wanted to deal with the hassle and storage issues of Yet More Stuff, so the lack of space does not break my heart), but I just have to throw this in here again this year, as I always do...

    If you decorate with lots of lights outside and you have nearby neighbors, PLEASE put the lights on a timer so they shut off at a reasonable hour, like 10-11pm. Especially if anything blinks, for goodness' sake, or you like to do the "Griswold" style displays with enough lights that could distract planes from nearby airstrips! :-) Not only does it waste electricity to have them on all night but it's extremely annoying to the neighbors. When we lived in the Subdivision From H*ll we had people with these kinds of displays surrounding us and long after midnight you could read a book by their Christmas lights in almost every room in our house! (We also got in trouble with the board for being the only house in the entire SDfH that wasn't decorated, but that's another story for another time.) It's not fair to expect your neighbors to go out and buy sleep-masks or blackout curtains just so you can light up the neighborhood at 3am, either. :-) Here's a nifty one that automatically turns on at dusk and stays on for however many hours you set it for: outdoor photocell timer.

  • annie1971
    15 years ago

    mrsmarv -- you make me smile and say it right. Enjoy yourself the way Christmas means to you for the time of life you're at!
    My advice -- don't compete with the neighbors or anyone else. Make it special for yourself with as much or little decoration that works for the particular year and the amount of effort you want to put into it-- it varies year to year for sure! Most importantly, never forget the true meaning of Christmas. Wish those you encounter a Merry Christmas and be thankful for the blessed event that took place thousands of years ago.

  • mistybear11
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you everyone for your ideas. I have been searching as well and read a few tips. One was to put a wreath on every door, inside and out. I think that is a bit much. I don't have any real garland, but I do have more than I remembered having of very real looking fake stuff. Since I have a black tree, I figured everything should pretty much be fake. I do have 9 year old holly bushes (which look very pretty with the snow stuck to them right now) lining my outside front steps. But that is all I have for real plants. I think I have decided to do my tree this year in golds and purples, since it is in the family room and all the accents are gold. The living room will be left to use white, crystal and silvers to go with the lamps and light fixtures. That way I can tie a silver bow around the chairs and lamps.

    If you have any more tips, that would be great. I pulled everything I own out of the fruit cellar yesterday and I am starting to get some ideas.

    Thanks again.
    Linda

  • patty_cakes
    15 years ago

    Linda, do you put the electric/battery candles in the windows? That's a *must* for my holiday decor, since it helps decorate the inside as well as the outside. I used to only do the front windows in my old house, but will be doing more in my new home in TX.

    Of course a wreath on the front door is a must, or even on a wall next to the door. Lights around windows,doors aren't really necessary.

    I do 'Christmas overkill', having a tree in almost every room, including bedrooms/baths~I know, it's a bit over-the-top, but that's me. I have a black tree w/silver 'spangles'(it was used for display in a boutique)and this will be my first year to use it. I bought all lime green beaded ornaments at 50% off. I've also been doing a Mardi grau tree since Katrina-purple, lime, gold and turquoise, a seashell tree, all crystal tree, Monkey tree, Leopard print tree, all white tree, silver/gold tree, Partridge-in-a-pear tree, and my main tree(9 1/2 ft.)is all pink/gold/white ornaments. All the other trees are 5' or under. I bought a lot of bronze ornaments/decorations after Christmas last year, so that could be a tree in progress.LOL

    Needless to say, besides the decorated trees, I decorate the mantle, tables, kitchen hutch, DR sideboard, vanity tops, and bannister with greenery(faux)and beaded garland, an assortment of bunnies, angels, candles/, ribbons, beaded faux fruit, and just about anything that can be turned into Christmas decor~I remove almost all my everyday decor~whew!!!

    Obviously Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I hate to see it end. Since I put so much time and effort into it, I usually leave everything up until the Epiphany, which falls on Jan.6. Sometimes i'll leave the candles in the windows until the end of Jan., just depends on my mood.

    Decorate 'til your heart's content'. It's the one day a year when excess is forgiven! ;o)

  • Kathleen McGuire
    15 years ago

    Another idea I will be using this year for the kitchen table is to lay a fresh wreath on the table, place a hurican candle in the middle and place fresh fruits and veggies inside the wreath around the hurricane. Things like pomegranites, artichokes, pears etc. Here is a pic similar to what I have in mind:

  • newdawn1895
    15 years ago

    I am making a huge centerpiece out of tons of Amaryllis and paper whites and natural twigs to hold them up when they get really tall. Adding some spanish moss to fill in the blanks.

    Also, a cute tip when making a Christmas display is using a glass dome to put over your favorite Santa Claus. And then adding some fake snow on the bottom. It will look like a big snow globe, it's quite lovely.

    I always go out into the woods here and cut down greenery and tons of Magnolia.

    To make everything look wonderful add tons of white lights and plenty of candels and lots of wine. That will do the trick.

    I am thinking of having an open house too for the historial society. But I don't know if I feel like all those strangers in my house. They wear me out, oh hum bug. So much for my spelling but I think ya'll understand.

    .........Jane

  • ksoxgrl
    15 years ago

    again, a wonderful idea kmcg85, and I wish you luck with your junipers surviving the winter in the urns, i think i'll go with the idea with the "ugly brown sticks," hehe, i think they looked really nice. This may be an old idea but I love using candles so I fill a large clear either vase or apothecary jar and fill with some mixed greens, cranberries, holly, or what have you, then fill with water and place a floating candle on top, looks really pretty, but don't do it too early because the water can get swampy, the cranberries last really long but not so much the greens. you could put that in the center of your wreath for a nice table display.

  • jaybird
    15 years ago

    Misty, my favorite tip would be for you to tie a pretty Christmas bow on your big furkid and then show us a picture!!! :^)

  • Kathleen McGuire
    15 years ago

    ksoxgrl, instaed of the ugly brown sticks, march on over to homegoods, TJM or marshall's. They have a lot of branches in either silver, gold, or white. Now THAT would be nice in the urns! A little sparkle for your front door!

  • kswl2
    15 years ago

    Great tips, everyone, and wonderful pictures!

    I lost my mind about a month ago and agreed to put our house on a Christmas Tour of Homes. It's for our local Rotary Club and is really their only fundraiser. They sell about 400 tickets every year. They NEVER ask a homeowner to be on the tour more than once, so I thought it was "safe" to agree :)

    I am going to start decorating this week and will be posting pictures for tips, advice, help, and fun! I know I will get all of that here on gardenweb!

    Thanks for starting the ball rolling, mistybear :)

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago

    One thing I do is to plant things in my yard for Christmas and Autumn harvesting: Magnolias, Nandinas, Hollies, Camellias, Junipers, etc.

  • utopiankitchens
    15 years ago

    PattyCakes-

    Ok, you simply cannot tease us with elaborate details of these trees in every room and not include pictures! For the sake of all Christmas humanity, post some pictures, woman! :)

  • celticmoon
    15 years ago

    One year I was untangling Christmas light strands outside and discovered they looked really nice just lying along the edge of the curved driveway and walk.

    A ribbon of light up to the door. If we get snow, they have a nice soft glow.

    Way easier than hanging them More time for wine and music!

  • paint_chips
    15 years ago

    I know it is a little thing, but I love floating candles at Christmas that are displayed in clear bowls with crumpled saran wrap in the water. If you haven't seen it, it makes the water look like ice.

    LOL, not much ice here so I take what I can get : )

  • annie1971
    15 years ago

    I'd like to add one more thing. I absolutely love my wreaths on the windows with the candle beneath. Love the window candles (I use electric -- looking for good ones with timers). Last year I hung pre-lit wreaths on the outside of the windows, with the candles inside. The wreaths are battery operated, on timers. They are absolutely lovely and the batteries lasted from Thanksgiving into January -- still working when I reluctantly took them down. The best tip I can pass on here for hanging window wreaths -- the little 69 cent suction hook things you can get at the hardware store. Snow, rain, horrible winds, below 0 temps and a lot of afternoon sun did not cause cause my wreaths to drop off the windows (and the weight of the wreaths with the batteries is substantial). Love them -- can't wait to get them up again this week.
    Another special thing is the ornament display tree that we use to hang special family ornaments from my childhood and past generations. It also makes a great center piece.

  • newdawn1895
    15 years ago

    I've learned you can tell a lot about a person when they handle three things---a rainy day, lost luggage, and very tangled Christmas tree lights.... Maya Angelou

  • mistybear11
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you again everyone for your wonderful pictures and virtual descriptions. I am not sure if I can get a bow around Buddy or for that matter if he wouldn't eat it before I got a picture. Whenever I take pictures of something in the house or outside he seems to get himself right in the way. It will be fun trying.
    I had a very good day yesterday. I put up my fibre optic tree and hung mirror and faux crystal ornaments. Did put my bows on the chairs. Tied bows around my lamps and I will finish the black tree today along with some other things that came to me overnight when I woke up at 2:00am to let the dog out. I even brought out things I haven't used and have had for many years. This year DS's Lego has been relocated per request by him to the Living Room which means that the tree will be in the family room. It will be a little different and as always the Lego will clash with all the purple. lol. He told me he would put it away till after Christmas, but I told him it was okay. It was a minor thing.

    Off to finish the tree.
    Linda

  • alex9179
    15 years ago

    Take a look at the Holiday forum. The ladies are gearing up for Christmas in a big way and there are tons of ideas.

    Karen put together an inspiration album with tons of photos. The link is below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Purplemoon's Christmas Inspiration

  • kswl2
    15 years ago

    Alex, what holiday forum? Is it here on gardenweb? I've looked and don't see it---and would love to get ideas! Can you provide a link? Thanks!

  • patty_cakes
    15 years ago

    Kswl, i've been a member of the Holiday Forum for a couple of years, and it's not just about Christmas. All thru the year you will find ideas for tablesettings and table vignettes, as well as other great ideas for other holidays, and everyday stuff too. The gals are very nice and welcoming, also.

    Hope this link works for you. ;o)

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/christmas/

  • kswl2
    15 years ago

    Thank you so much, pattycakes! I don't know why I couldn't find it... already too stressed out about decorating for the tour, probably! :)

  • lightlystarched
    15 years ago

    I have been overtaken by an anti-clutter, anti-possessions bug this year. I am going to buy a tree, but have the kids decorate it with "disposable" decorations (paper chains made from wrapping paper, crayon pictures, simple fabric bows. That way, when Christmas is over I can take a picture for posterity and throw away everything. We hang paper snowflakes from the ceiling fan and tape them to the window. I buy two of those huge pointsettias from Costco for the outdoors and hang a string of white lights around the door. Viola! done.

  • patty_cakes
    15 years ago

    Kswl, glad you found it. The girls could maybe help you make it easier. They're full of ideas.

    LS, great ideas for the kids to do, and it's all gone in the blink of an eye. Maybe one of these days i'll get over my Christmas decorating addiction. LOL

  • Ideefixe
    15 years ago

    Maya must have written that before lights got so cheap. It's not very green, but I just toss the strings at the end of the season and buy new. I can't be bothered to replace the burnt out bulbs--too fiddly for me.

  • decor64
    15 years ago

    Just wanted to mention that I live in the midwest and I tried to overwinter junipers in my urns and they didn't survive. I bought really good fake ones from artificialplantsandtrees.com and EVERYONE thinks they are real. They've been out there year-round for 4 years now and still look perfect!