A long standing holiday tradition in my family is getting the Christmas tree. We like to go to our favorite tree farm and cut our own, but if you live in a warmer climate then the local tree lot may be your best bet. Or, you can get an artificial tree that can be reused for many Christmases to come and save a lot of trees from being cut while also making it easier and simpler to get ready for the holidays each year.

Whichever method you prefer, finding the right tree for your home is always a fun and sharing family experience, so we’ve put together some useful information on the many varieties of natural and artificial trees to help you find that perfect Christmas tree!

Pick Your Own Christmas Tree

“The experience kids get from the holiday tradition of going out to the tree farm to cut your own Christmas tree is really special” says Jon Schatz, owner of the Sunny Day Christmas Tree Farm in Sherwood, Oregon. “Spending an afternoon with the family to select and cut the tree is something kids remember for a lifetime.”

A few things Schatz suggests you consider when going to a U-Cut tree farm include:

• Think ahead of time about what type and size tree you need
• Look for a tree with a straight trunk and balanced shape
• Do realize that no tree is perfectly straight and that at least one side will go against a wall anyway
• Be sure the trunk of your Christmas tree is long enough and the right size in diameter for the type of tree stand you plan to use

Some farms measure and price each tree, while most farms sell Christmas trees priced by the foot. Schatz has a unique pricing approach at the Sunny Day Tree Farm; “all our trees are $20,” he says. While customers must go out on the farm and select, cut and load their own trees, its all part of the family tradition. “We keep our costs low so that we can make cutting your own Christmas tree both fun and affordable.”
 

Finding a Perfect Natural Tree

Arizona Cypress – a steeple shaped tree, pale-green to gray-green color. The leaves are tiny and plentiful and lay close to the branchlet surface in a scale like arrangement and about 0.1 inches long. Bark is thin and delicate with a reddish brown color. The cones are spherical in shape and woody. The Arizona cypress has a pleasing aroma.

Balsam Fir – a medium-sized tree, it exhibits a relatively dense, dark-green, pyramidal crown with a slender spire-like tip. It has a dark-green appearance, long-lasting needles, attractive form, and pleasing fragrance.

Colorado Blue Spruce – finding increasing popularity as a Christmas tree, with a symmetrical form and attractive blue foliage. It has an excellent natural shape, requires little shearing, and needle retention is among the best for the spruces. Its popularity as an ornamental also makes blue spruce a good choice to plant as a living Christmas tree after the holiday season.

Canaan Fir – a relative new species in the Christmas tree market, it is similar to the Fraser and balsam firs in growth and appearance.

Concolor Fir (White Fir) – produces a spire-like crown with a straight trunk. Needles are small and narrow in rows, usually 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch long, pointed or notched at the tip, bluish-green. The wood of white fir is light, soft and coarse-grained, but lacks distinctive scent or odor.

Douglas Fir – not related to the true firs, the Douglas fir is one of the most popular Christmas tree varieties, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Needles are dark green or blue green, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, soft to the touch and radiating out from the branch in all directions. They have a sweet fragrance when crushed.

Eastern Redcedar – has compact branches forming a pyramidal crown and reddish brown bark, leaves are arranged in opposing pairs along branchlets with a dark, shiny natural green color. Eastern Redcedar is usually available to choose and cut at tree farms only.

Eastern White Pine – the state tree of Maine and Michigan, it is considered the largest growing pine species in North America. The needles are soft and flexible, generally bluish-green to silver green in color, arranged in bundles of five.

Fraser Fir – a uniformly pyramid-shaped tree, the boughs were often used for pine pillows and bed stuffing and this fir grows naturally at elevations above 4,500 feet in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Grand Fir – one of the tallest growing fir species, it is distinguished from other Pacific Northwest firs by sprays of lustrous needles in two distinct rows and needles 1 to 1 1/2 inches long with glossy dark green tops and known for its strong fragrance. Native Americans used this fir to make headdresses, decorative clothing, tea and many other uses.

Leyland Cypress – has become a valued landscape plant and one of the most sought after Christmas trees in the southeastern states. Foliage tends to be arranged in irregularly flat planes with a dark green to gray color, the shoots branch repeatedly in a mahogany color except at the tips. The trees have little aroma. These trees are usually available at choose and cut tree farms only.

Noble Fir – considered an excellent Christmas tree because of its beauty, stiff branches and because it remains green long after being cut, Noble Fir continues to grow in popularity and comprises 25% and 30% of the fresh tree market in the Pacific Northwest. It is also commonly used to make wreaths, door swags, garland, etc.

Norway Spruce – Most common in Northern Europe and transplanted in North America, the Norway Spruce has dark green needles and drooping branchlets, and a dark green crown with a triangular shape. Leaves (needles) are 4-sided (rectangular in section), is excellent, but needle retention may be poor unless the tree is cut fresh and properly watered.

Scotch Pine – widely planted for the purpose of producing Christmas trees, it is a hardy species easily adapted to many soil and climate types and is known for its dark green foliage and stiff branches, well suited for Christmas ornaments and excellent needle retention characteristics.

Virginia Pine – a staple of the Christmas tree industry in the South East, branches are stout and woody with dense foliage. Virginia pine can be commonly found at tree farms or retail lots.

White Spruce – has a nice cone-shaped crown that extends nearly to the ground, making it a great ornamental variety. Needles are 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, with blunt tips and green to bluish-green. With its light grayish-brown bark, excellent foliage color, short stiff needles, natural shape and good needle retention, the White Spruce makes a very good Christmas tree.

Finding a Perfect Artificial Tree

Traditional Unlit – often very realistic in appearance and with built in tree stands, unlit trees offer you the ability to choose the style and color of your lights or even change the lights to give your tree a different look each holiday season. And just think; no needle loss or watering to worry about! Many people are converting to the artificial tree these days with environmental issues and convenience in mind. Lower quality, inexpensive trees often use thinly shredded strips of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) resembling a bottle brush tightly twisted between two tightly twisted wires to form the branches.

Realistic – with branches created out of molded plastic, higher quality artificial trees use molded branches and needles made from Polyethylene (PE). Branches cut from a real tree are often used to create molds, giving the tree a more realistic appearance.

Prelit - the most convenient tree available, some models can have hundreds of lights, carefully arranged for that perfect look when unfolded. At the end of the holiday season, just fold the branches carefully and store it away in the shipping box.

Specialty – available in many shapes, sizes and colors, you can find a specialty tree for almost any purpose or location in your home, whether you want a large tree for the family or living room, a table top tree or topiary-shaped tree.

Flocked – white is the traditional color for Christmas tree flocking, but you can also find pink, red, gold and many other colors. Flocked artificial trees are also available unlit or prelit and in a variety of types and sizes.

Many of us will be ‘nesting’ this holiday season and that means a greater focus on seasonal decoration and getting your home ready for holiday entertaining on the cheap, so we’ve put together a few ideas on how to decorate for the holidays without spending a fortune this year on your Christmas décor.

Creating Family Holiday Traditions

If you want to save money this holiday season, start by creating family traditions that shift the Christmas focus away from material goods and gifts. If you really think about it, which Christmas decorations and gifts stand out most in your memory? Is it the most expensive ones or the ones that started long-standing family holiday events and activities?

Adding a special Christmas angel as a tree topper, some special Christmas bells to adorn the fireplace mantel and letting the kids ring the bell each night at dinnertime or making your own special Christmas greeting cards can create new family traditions you’ll cherish for years to come without racking up huge credit card charges.

While the kids may not be getting all the fun stuff they put on their Santa wish list this year, you can make the holidays more fun than ever by starting some new traditions or reviving ones from your own childhood.

One of my favorites as a child was always marking the days until Christmas on the Advent calendar and another was our annual outing to cut the tree, which always involved having lunch together at a certain family restaurant and visiting the same tree farm where we knew the owners, who always had some special events such as riding the tractor around the farm and milking the cow. For a suburban kid, these farm activities certainly created vivid lifelong memories.

Another family Christmas tradition you might like to start this year is Collecting Christmas Ornaments & Vintage Decorations.

Old-Fashioned Rustic Christmas Theme

One way to keep the cost down this Christmas is to return to the simpler times of old, when families traditionally trimmed the Christmas tree with homemade ornaments. When people had little they relied on their own handcrafted stitchery, baking and woodworking skills to adorn their homes for the winter holidays.

String popcorn and cranberries to make homemade garland, bake cookies and hang them on the tree as edible ornaments and use candlestick tree lights to give your Christmas tree a truly old-fashioned, rustic look. We always made our own ornaments from clay and painted them ourselves when I was a kid; while they may not have been as pretty as Radkos, we were always proud to point out the ones we had created to friends and guests.

Look in dollar stores for inexpensive rustic tree ornaments or rummage through your old boxes of Christmas decorations for ornaments your parents or grandparents may have handed down. Your home will feel comfortable and a little “retro” for the holidays with the old-fashioned decorating approach. This may be just what the doctor ordered during this period when comfort is what we most seek to give some holiday respite from the day-to-day news of financial crisis and hard times.

Many people have stopped using these family-heritage Christmas decorations because they don’t always blend well with the “designer” trees of more recent times, but the old-fashioned Christmas décor should be eclectic, adorning your home with homemade ornaments and sentimental family hand-me-downs in favor of expensive, ornate store-bought decorations.

If you want to give your home a country Christmas feel you’ll want to read Have Yourself a Charming Country Christmas for great ideas and examples of home crafts and decorations for the country style décor.

Modern Holiday Home Theme

If you’re like me, you may prefer the understated holiday decorating approach where less is more. You can give your home a festive look while keeping with the contemporary style so many of us favor when it comes to home décor these days.

The key to modern home holiday decorating is keep things simple and subtle. A good starting place is to forego the traditional natural Christmas tree and buy an artificial tree instead. For more ideas see our story Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree.

Your holiday decorating colors should complement the color scheme of your home interior; if you have a neutral wall color you’ll have a lot of freedom in choosing colors for your holiday decorations but if you have painted the walls with some brighter color scheme, you’ll want to use holiday decorations that accent that scheme and do not clash or compete with the room décor.

Holiday lighting can really warm the modern home interior. White lights are always a great choice for the more contemporary look, but you can also go with all red, blue or green lights on the Christmas tree to add some color.

Putting out Christmas photos from Christmases past can give the modern Christmas theme a cozier look; you can buy inexpensive photo frame ornaments and hang pictures of family members on the tree or create a family Christmas album to put out on the coffee table. This is also a great way to spark conversation and story telling when you entertain during the holidays.

You can always use a few boughs clipped from the Christmas tree to create a holiday tablescape or decorate the fireplace mantel. The scent of fresh pine needles is sure to set the holiday mood. Add some pinecones, winterberries, ribbon and a candle votive to create a simple holiday arrangement. And of course, a fresh wreath on the front door will welcome your guests into your home for holiday events.

However you decide to decorate your home this holiday season, make it your own and have fun with the project, getting everyone involved. Trimming the tree and putting out the Christmas decorations should be fun for the whole family. Have a very happy Christmas!

It is a thrilling moment when the Christmas tree is set up, for it is the centerpiece of the home Christmas celebration. Yet, every year life seems to become more and more hectic, time begins to run out on the countdown to Christmas and you may not have given any thought as to how you intend to dress and display your Christmas tree.

Never fear, our Christmas tree decoration guide covers all the necessary considerations from choosing the type of tree you want, to fresh decorating ideas and reminders of how to look after it.

Selecting Your Christmas Tree

Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree begins a quest for some of us. Others prefer a simpler approach. You may already have an artificial tree in which case you don’t need to consider this point. If you are a traditionalist and prefer a live tree, there are several options for you to choose from. If you have the time, you might want to plan ahead a visit a specialist grower or tree farm to select and cut your own special tree.

Christmas tree growers typically offer you to choose from several species of Christmas tree in a huge variety of sizes from 2ft to 10- 12ft. You will also be able to stand back and inspect the tree’s shape, form and color before making your final choice.
If you don’t have time for this, you will probably have to buy a tree from a high street shop or street seller. To help you with your decision, check out our detailed Christmas Tree Guide to find out about the different types of Christmas tree.

Caring For Your Christmas Tree

Remember to water the tree if at all possible. It was once a living thing and its sap will only nourish it for a short time. Many Christmas tree outlets sell purpose-made tree stands, which hold water, where the tree trunk can be clamped between “teeth” by standing on a pedal or lever.

Container Options for Your Christmas Tree

Toddlers are fascinated by the lights and glittering decorations as well as animals, so it is as well to consider how the tree is contained. You don’t have to be boring. We’ve got some imaginative ideas to help you mask the inevitable soil- or stone-filled bucket with something other than a last minute piece of crêpe paper.

• Seasonal colored cloth – Drape a large tall basket with seasonal red and white thick colored cloth in a swaged fashion and knot it on the side; a very effective look that only takes minutes to achieve.
• Jute hessian – Use jute hessian to cover an old bucket. The lovely earthy color and natural fibers combine wonderfully with the tassel from a curtain tie-back that also can be found made in jute. Twist a long narrow strip of hessian around the top of the bucket or use anything in the same color, such as a clothes line made from natural fibers or a short piece of rope would be just as attractive.
• White and gold paper – On any suitable tree container, even an old coal holder, wrap good-quality, thick white paper to cover the surface. Pretty it up with a wide, wire-edged white and gold ribbon tied in an attractive bow.
• Terracotta – Use a sizeable garden urn made from plastic but with a convincing terracotta finish. Make sure it’s large enough to disguise whatever packing you need to use to anchor the tree.
• Enamel tin – An old enameled bread tin, painted in sage green and white, is perfect for a smaller tree. A checkered effect looks great in a contemporary setting.

Christmas Tree Decorations

Once you have the Christmas tree lights untangled, tested and placed on the tree, it's time to focus on the decorating elements. In part this always depends on your existing store of ornaments, but you can also mix things up with different garland, ribbons, a new tree topper, homemade ornaments, etc.

Christmas decorations are now big business and it’s no longer a seasonal trade; some Christmas shops stay open all year round. So there’s every opportunity to build up a treasured collection of glittery baubles and other trinkets. Once you’ve amassed many different tree decorations, you can play it two ways.

Either mix and match baubles, stuffed and embroidered shapes, beaded decorations for an eclectic, global look. Alternatively, choose a theme each year and use just part of your collection. A single color could be a starting point, or you might choose a particular shape or motif as the basis for a decorating theme.

Baubles, beading and tinsel are only the starting point for a collection of Christmas decorations. More and more ornaments come onto the market each year, allowing you to add to your treasure chest of decorations. Look out for unusual wooden figures, paper ornaments and other novel decorations at Christmas craft markets and fairs: a great many are made in Eastern Europe, though some come from as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Japan.

XMAS Tree Decorating Themes

Today’s Christmas tree can be dressed in so many ways. Some like to hang a diverse assortment of ornaments, glass balls, jolly Santa Claus figures, felt mice, and yards of colored lights, all collected over the years.

Others prefer to restrict their decorations to a particular theme, embellishing the tree with only white paper doves, shiny foil fans, or beach-gathered shells; these trees are especially elegant and sophisticated even when the ornaments are simple paper cutouts.

The purists may forgo any adornment at all. To them, the sweet spicy scent of the pine boughs and their velvety green beauty are adornment enough. However you choose to decorate it, the Christmas tree is a wonder and delight to look forward to every year. Here are some ideas:

• Traditional Tree – A traditional-style Christmas tree can take plenty of decorations, but resist the urge to overdo things or you will conceal the shape and color of the tree itself. Think along the lines of baubles in three different sizes but the same shade of rich scarlet. Supplement them with tiny white crackers, fairy lights and the occasional discreet sparkle of gold.
• Bows – For an elegant, festive and very subtle look simply tie shimmering ribbons in large double bows. A very effective look on a smaller Douglas fir tree in a country setting.
• Gold and Silver – Gold and silver can make a shimmering spectacle beautifully suited in modernist styled surroundings. Adorn the tree in plenty of fairy lights to set of the sparkle of the ornaments. Look for gigantic silver and glass ornaments such as silver stars, glass globes and crystal icicles. Match it evenly with anything gold like large golden pears and golden baubles.
• Natural Ornaments – Nature is a limitless source of Christmas ornaments: Thistles, yarrow, ram’s horns, spiral tops, lotus pods, shells, dried leaves and cane fruit can be sprayed gold or silver and transformed into lusty sculptures. You can make natural-looking decorations also wrapping hops and honey suckle vines into small circular shapes. Be inspired by your kitchen too! Dry cut oranges, lemons or pink ruby grapefruit in an oven for 1 ½ hours at 250degree Fahrenheit. You can also cook some cookies and hang them on ribbon for a tasty treat on Christmas day.

The thanksgiving turkey is gone and its time to get ready for Christmas. Time to spend with your family getting the holiday decorations down from the attic, drinking a little eggnog by the fire and get busy putting up the Christmas tree and outdoor lights!

But for most of us, untangling the Christmas lights ranks as the worst task involved in decorating for the holidays. It's such a tedious chore and one you may avoid by just buying new lights if you’re lazy like me. But with a little preparation and knowledge, untangling the lights doesn’t have to be so difficult.

Read on for some simple tips on how to get your lights untangled in a jiffy:

1. Get relaxed and set your mind on the task at hand. Put on your favorite holiday music or Christmas video and pull up your most comfortable armchair.
2. Get all your Christmas decor boxes out of storage and together. Dig out all the lights, separating them by the location each type will be located in or outside the house.
3. If your lights were stored like mine were in years past, start by laying all the strings out on the floor. If you have new lights in the package, you get to skip this step!
4. Make sure everything is unplugged first and try to find a free end to start upon.
5. Try to loosen the knots, unwinding the free end through the tangles. Never force or rush too quickly or you are likely to break bulbs. Take your time and place the untangled part of the strand on the floor, keeping it away from the tangled strands.
6. As you get more of the strand free, be sure the untangled portion trails away from the bunch to avoid re-tangling.
7. Once you have a strand completely untangled, lay it out in a straight line, away from other strands. You will want to plug it in and test it before putting it in place.
8. When hanging lights on your Christmas tree, it helps to have one person do the actual hanging and arranging of lights, while another helps feed the strands to keep them from tangling.
9. When the holidays are over and its time to put your lights away, don’t cram lights into the original packages or you'll have a huge tangle to deal with next holiday season!
10. The best way to prevent tangling is to coil the strands around a stiff piece of cardboard before boxing them. Wind one strand per piece of cardboard.
11. To protect your Christmas lights during storage, you can wrap the winded strands in tissue paper and put each bundle in a bag. Gently set each bundle into a box.
12. If you label the box, then you can quickly find your tree lights, interior decorating lights and outdoor lights next holiday season without dreading the old “light untangling” exercise altogether!

Holiday meals should be special, memorable occasions, a time to polish our best silverware and china dishes, get out the crystal stemware and embellish the table with candlesticks and centerpieces, fine cloth napkins and a festive tablecloth or table runner and placemats.

But what are the elements that make your tablescape warm and inviting for guests during the holiday season, setting the mood for great conversation and the enjoyment of delicious food and beverage together in the company of friends and family?

Read on for a primer on what to do and not to do when getting your dining table ready this holiday season for those special meals.

Tips on Setting Your Dining Table

For those who never went to finishing school or who don’t set a formal table on a regular basis, let’s start with a quick overview on how to set the table:

• Forks should go on the left and spoons and knives to the right of the plate.
• An easy way to remember the correct order to place utensils is that they go in the order in which you use them; so the salad fork goes on the outside left while the larger fork used to eat the main course goes on the inside left. Turn the blade of all knifes so they face toward the plate.
• Place the side plate to the left of your place setting; if you are serving a cold first course such as a salad, the side plate should be set ahead of time, while warm dishes such as soup should be delivered to the table when that course is served.
• Place the wineglass at the tip of the main-course knife. The water glass and any other glasses should be arranged in the order they will be used with the first one on the outside.
• The napkins can go under the knife and spoon or on the side plate. Alternatively, if you choose to use napkin holders or fancy folds, the napkin can go on top of the main plate for a more decorative place setting.
• A nice touch will be to create decorative name cards so that you can strategically decide ahead of time who sits where. Place cards can go at the head of each place setting or on the main serving plate. You can make your own holiday name plates by downloading a free template and use a calligraphy font or hand write the names yourself if you’re good at calligraphy.
• Finally, for an extra special touch your guests will be sure to remember, you could leave a small gift at each place setting. If you shop around in dollar discount stores you can find all kinds of small gift items such as jewelry boxes, Christmas tree ornaments, etc. Wrap them and use ribbon to give them a holiday look. Opening the gifts will make a great conversation starter when everyone sits down at the table.

Decorating Your Dining Table for Holiday Occasions

Now that we have place settings planned and ready to go, it’s time to embellish our holiday table, giving it some holiday color and style. Should you use a formal tablecloth or decorative placemats? Perhaps you’ll want to try a seasonal table runner and matching placemats?

In part the decision rests on whether you want to expose the natural beauty of your wood dining table top or conceal your less formal dining table from view. Here are a few tips on selecting linens and placemats for your holiday dining table:

• Placemats can be in plain, solid colors or patterned, woven or linen. It’s best to choose something that is heatproof to protect the table surface.
• If you use a tablecloth it should drape about six inches over each edge of the table top. Depending on the material, a heatproof protective mat under the tablecloth may be needed to protect the table surface from spills.
• Choose colors and patterns that complement your table ware; solid color linens work well with patterned China sets while a more festive pattern can really highlight white or other solid colored China.
• Although a white tablecloth is often associated with a formal table setting, for the holidays you may want something more festive such as a deep red, green or gold. A patterned table runner, tablecloth or placemats are fine as long as everything is color coordinated and the patterns don’t look too busy or cluttered.
• Placemats in solid colors like red, blue, green, gold or silver are very versatile and can be reused for non-holiday formal meals too; you can use other accents such as the centerpiece to add pattern for a more festive feeling.
• If you are using a tablecloth, take time to remove creases and wrinkles. If you don’t want to bother ironing it, you can try throwing it in your clothes dryer set to “Air” or “Fluff” setting; put a damp towel in with the tablecloth and it should come out nice and wrinkle-free!

Selecting Tableware for Your Holiday Table

Now, if you don’t have a set of formal tableware, you can find some great deals if you shop around; with the economy being so weak this holiday season, expect retailers to offer great sale prices even before the normal after-holiday sales. Look online at Overstock.com, Amazon or on eBay and you can really save money on luxury items such as China, formal silverware and crystal stemware.

A nice touch will be to add decorative chargers to your table setting; if you are using gold or silver as an accent color you can match your chargers to give your holiday a real designer look without spending a fortune. Chargers don’t have to be high quality or expensive to add a special accent to your holiday table!

Try to choose a color scheme and stick with 2 or 3 colors, picking up the colors you have already used to decorate your dining room. Winter colors that work well as a primary color in your holiday dining room décor include deep reds and greens. You can either choose contrasting secondary colors or use two shades of the same color to keep things simpler.

If your walls are taupe or another warm tone, then gold will make a great accent color in your holiday tablescape. On the other hand, if you have gray walls tinted with green or blue then silver makes a great accent color for accessories like candlesticks and napkin holders.

Setting a Holiday Tone in Your Dining Room

OK, so we’ve got our tableware and place setting plans in place; now it’s time to consider some holiday accents and embellishments to really give our holiday dining tablescape the right mood for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. By simply changing a few elements you can achieve a nice progression with subtle changes to your holiday tablescape:

• For Thanksgiving, you might do a simple fall centerpiece with pumpkins, gourds and fall flowers or fruits. Read our complete story on Fall Tablescapes and Floral Arrangements for lots of great ideas. Warmer accent colors help echo the changing seasons and colorful leaves outside in late November.
• As we move into December the progression moves toward winter colors and patterns. Consider a bright red poinsettia, winter berry or holly berry theme for your centerpiece with matching reds and greens for a Christmas feel.
• An elegant approach is to go with a monochromatic color scheme such as winter white, New Year’s silver, gold, Christmas red or evergreen can give your dining table a unique, classy look.
• For a unique holiday tablescape, you could try using colors such as mustard yellow paired with white to create a star theme or silver, light blue and white to create a snowflake/icicle theme.
• Lights are sure to give any tablescape a holiday feel; try working some holiday LED or rope lights on the buffet or hang elegant crystal icicles from your chandelier. A mirror over your buffet will help reflect light and color into your dining room and open it up, giving the illusion of a more spacious room.

The Holiday Dining Table Centerpiece

The one mistake a lot of people make is to overdo the centerpiece; too tall it will only hinder conversation and separate your dining guests unnaturally. A low centerpiece will accent your table without getting in the way. You can even just lay a nice holiday wreath to serve as a simple centerpiece.

Make a centerpiece using real pine boughs, flowers, pinecones, berries or whatever strikes your own fancy; change the centerpiece once after thanksgiving and again after Christmas to help set the tone for each holiday celebration you’ll be hosting.

Candlesticks and Candles for Holiday Dining

Candles are a natural element in most traditional holiday tablescapes. Whether you have a set of your grandmother’s silver candlesticks or a matched set of China candlesticks that go with your tableware, candles add warmth and ambience to the table setting.

The Kids Christmas Table

We all remember as kids how boring it was to be stuck listening to adults talk all night long during holiday dinners. But whenever there was a special table for the kids we ended up having a much more memorable holiday dinner.

If you plan to have a lot of kids during the holidays then a kids’ holiday dining table is almost a must-have just for the shear lack of space at the main dining table. You can make it fun for the kids too by dressing up a holiday table of their own.

Use an inexpensive vinyl holiday tablecloth, plastic plates and eating utensils to make things easier. Use a white paper tablecloth and set out a holiday bowl filled with crayons as a centerpiece and let them decorate the tablecloth themselves.

All of these ideas are meant to serve as though starters. Get creative and make your dining room a reflection of your family holiday traditions. Don’t be afraid to go outside the lines and make it unique to your holiday celebration. The only important thing is to have fun and spend time with friends and family while sharing great meals and holiday celebrations together!

Making your own Christmas wreath is easy, fun and offers limitless possibilities for creativity.

You can make your own Christmas wreath can be done in an afternoon, and the kids will love working with the fragrant greens and being able to make wreaths even prettier than store-bought ones.

So clear a large space in your kitchen, put on some great Holiday music, and get ready to have fun.

For a traditional greenery wreath, you will need:

• large bundles of Christmas Tree cuttings. You can use ones from your own tree, or     purchase cuttings from a place which sells Christmas Trees
• 1 bundle of holly
• 1 wreath frame (metal or Styrofoam)
• Garden clippers
• Wire clippers
• Spool of fine green wire (florist wire- can be purchased at craft stores or in craft sections of discount stores)
• 2 yards of wide red or holiday print ribbon

1. Prepare the greenery – Take the large boughs and cut the limbs into many 6- to 8-inch pieces (kids old enough to handle clippers can help). Its okay if there are irregularly shaped pieces; you want a natural look and can use nearly everything except the thick central branches. You may want to cut the holly, too, but keep it in a separate pile. It's expensive, so use it sparingly. Also, cut about twenty 15-inch pieces of wire and put them nearby (I suggest a parent do this job). Watch out–they're easily lost as the clutter spreads. I keep our wire in a plastic rectangle container so it doesn’t get lost as easily.

2. Begin to make bunches of evergreens – You should use the sturdy pieces from the base of the branches for the back of your bunch; they provide support but are fairly well hidden. You'll see that the tips of the branches are symmetrical and prettier because they haven't been cut. As you gather, say, four or five pieces for your bunch, place these sections near the front where they will be the most visible. Better yet, offer them to your kids because they look so nice and work with the less desirable pieces yourself.

3. Wiring your wreath – When you have formed a nice, thick bunch of greens, hold them down against the frame with one hand and take a piece of wire in the other. Place the greens in position and lay the wire across the bundle, about two-thirds of the way from the top. Now, holding the bunch in place with the wire (one end in each hand), carefully turn over the frame and tighten and twist the wire. That is the tricky part for kids; it can result in moans of frustration, so be ready to help. If you are using a metal frame, clip off any excess wire. With a Styrofoam frame, you can simply press it into the Styrofoam.

4. Adding the holly – Attach the second bunch of greens in the same way, except add a sprig of holly in the front where it can easily be seen. You can create your own patterns with holly; adding it to every bunch or every two or three. (I don't recommend forming bundles entirely from holly; it's prickly to handle, costly, and the result will probably not be as full as your bunches of evergreen.) Place the bundle in the same direction as the first one; the second overlaps the first so that only about a third of the underlying bunch is visible. If kids put the bundles farther apart in their haste to cover the frame quickly, they'll end up with a thin wreath that has an uneven circumference.

5. Closing the circle – Repeat steps 1 to 3 as many times as needed to work my way around the wreath. A frame 16 inches in diameter will require about 12 bunches. Where my last bunch meets up with my first, there is often a spot that is less full than the rest of the wreath. It's an ideal place to tie a ribbon.

6. Folding the bow – I like a bow with many loops because it shows up well and hangs naturally. (Pre-tied bows are also available in craft stores.) Take two yards of red ribbon, about one to two inches wide, and loop it back and forth, pinching it between thumb and forefinger at the middle to retain the loops.

7. Wiring on the bow – Take a piece of wire, run it once around the bow and wrap the two ends around the wreath, twisting it in the back. Older kids can try this step but may need some help. You can reuse the same ribbon year after year; just remove the wire, iron the ribbon and start again.

Frames & Greens
You can buy wreath frames at gardening and craft stores. Wire frames, ranging in size from about 8 to 20 inches, are cheapest and most durable. A 12-inch frame is a manageable size for a child. Styrofoam frames, though brittle, are handy because you can press wire into them. Use flat rather than round ones; it's easier to mount greens on them.

Greens (such as spruce, hemlock and Douglas fir) are usually available wherever Christmas trees are sold. Once you master the basics, experiment with mixes of white pine, juniper, laurel and holly. If you have evergreens on your property, you can prune small pieces yourself.

Adorning the Wreath
Once you’ve completed the hard work of tying on greens, it's time to decorate your wreath. You and your kids can wire on all sorts of adornments: pinecones (plain, painted or glitter-covered), acorns, small bells, Christmas ornaments, seashells or toy soldiers. You can also use ribbon to tie on decorations, such as cookie cutters, or wrap the wreath with a special garland.

Consider the wreath your palette and decorate it in whatever style suits your family. I let my kids decide for themselves, and every year the final products are different.

To hang the wreath, slip thin red ribbon around the top of the wreath frame (a bit of green wire is less conspicuous), and hang it from a screw, nail or hook.

Creative Wreath Ideas

Christmas wreaths don’t have to be green. Here are a few options for alternative Christmas wreaths. For these projects, I recommend using a wreath ‘frame’ cut out of cardboard, and painted red, or with red tissue paper glued on. When attaching your decoration, a low temperature hot glue gun works best. Using the flat cardboard frame also makes it hang nicely on your wall.

Creative Christmas Wreaths: Candy Cane Wreath
If you’re looking for a popular twist on a traditional wreath, try using candy canes. You can pin, glue, or tape them to the wreath form in order to create a sunburst shape. You can also opt for popcorn to glue to the shape and decorate with green and/or red bows. These look particularly lovely against a backdrop of darker walls or doors.

Creative Christmas Wreaths: Peppermint Candy Wreath

Love the look of red-and-white striped peppermint candy in holiday decorating? Glue together handfuls of individually wrapped peppermint candies and add them to a holiday wreath. You can use a cardboard frame to have a wreath made exclusively of candy (very cute and festive.) – or, if you are using a green wreath, add 5-7 regular and 5-7 small size candy canes in between the bunches of hard candy for a festive and fragrant candy-themed wreath.

Creative Christmas Wreaths: Nature’s Bounty
Go for a walk in the woods while carrying a basket. Collect red berries, nuts, pinecones, dried flowers, and seed pods. Wire together combinations of these gifts from nature into small handful-size bunches, and wire the small arrangements into the wreath. You can use a hot glue gun to attach smaller items. Select a large bow or a strand of battery-operated tiny white lights to add a finishing touch to your nature’s bounty wreath.

Creative Christmas Wreaths: Other Ideas
Be creative. There are all kinds of things you can use to create a unique Christmas wreath. Vintage Christmas cards, silk poinsettias, miniature wrapped gift boxes with pretty bows, or vintage Christmas balls all make gorgeous decorations for holiday wreaths.

Consider making a wreath that matches your favorite holiday theme. If you love snowmen, make a snowflake wreath from inexpensive snowflake ornaments. If you like keeping the ‘reason for the season’ in mind, purchase an inexpensive nativity set and wire the figurines into a wreath. Or make a meaningful wreath out of small framed photographs of your children.

Rain showers come and go, leaving the air crisp and clean. Autumn displays her earthy browns, brilliant reds, liquid amber and orange, pear gold and muted yellow.

Bringing the feel of autumn into your home creates natural warmth and echoes the changing season. As with any seasonal theme, you can go the subtle route by switching out accents, adding a fall floral display and putting up an autumn wreath.

Or, you can really embrace the season and go a little further … read on to learn some fun and inexpensive ways to usher in the fall season.

Fall Colors Have Impact!

Fall is a time of dramatic, vibrant color and pattern. Harvest colors, falling leaves, nuts, seeds, berries, dried grasses, fall fruits and grapes are just a few of the endless possibilities to create a fall display inside or in your garden.

Now I would never suggest you paint interior walls just to decorate for a season, but so many of our favorite colors come in fall anyway. You can safely paint almost any room in warm tones and it works all year round.

Orange is a bold color, but look at the contrast you get when you paint just a single wall in a room in a very bold primary color and leave the rest of the room white? It’s striking and, again, will work well all year. Other ‘bold’ fall colors that work well as wall paint colors include cinnamon, cranberry and burgundy.

Remember to think contrast; a cranberry wall with white chair rail looks great but four cranberry walls and no trim will seem too stark. Blend or contrast colors, generally using no more than 2 or 3 colors in a room, although you can get away with adding small accents to greatly affect the overall look of a room. So, you can add red, yellow or orange to a room that otherwise has none of these colors, creating a focal point in one area or splashing the accent color in several places throughout the room.

Autumn Home Interior Accessories

Pillows, quilts, throws and other textiles are traditionally used to give the home a warmer feel for fall; as the weather gets chilly, we naturally get out the wool and fleece.

Lucky are the crafters who can make their own, but you can also find wonderful blankets, pillows and throw rugs with fall designs in local crafts stores or shop online. Retailers like Pottery Barn have great selection. Black Forest has some really cool fall pieces you can check out too.

Colored glass containers and potpourri dishes make good accents on the fireplace mantel, countertop or window sill. Here’s a great idea we found; fill an apothecary jar with candy corn or M&Ms for a colorful (and tasty) accent piece for your coffee table.

Candles and Vases

Candles are always a nice fall touch. Use copper or brass candle holders for a rustic autumn accent. And of course you’ll want a few pumpkins, gourds, or fruit on a long woven basket or wooden tray. Add berry clusters, seeds and nuts, fall fruits, autumn leaves and flowers to make a colorful fall garnish.

The great thing about candles is the wonderful variety of colors, scents and shapes you can find. Add a subtle scent of pear, grape, or other smells of fall to reach beyond just your sense of sight; you can add a whole new dimension to your room with the right scents.

Cut fresh flowers from your garden to take advantage of that last flourish of the season. Pick up pine cones and pine needles, wild flowers and dried grasses to give your room a rustic fall feel. Put them in a woven basket with some mini pumpkins or gourds to spice up the dining table or a display shelf or countertop.

Throw Rugs and Fabrics Warm Your Home

When the seasons change and winter approaches, we want to soften and warm our home. This is where fabrics become so important in giving a room the right seasonal cues. Fabric is the essence of fall decorating. Use it to introduce a pattern or repeat as well as to warm and soften your interior.

A tapestry softens a large wall in a living room or hallway, deadening sound and warming the room. A handmade quilt draped over the back of a sofa invites guests to come in sit down and relax. A knit blanket at the foot of a bed makes you feel comfortable when you get into bed. A shag throw rug softens the natural stone bathroom floor.

The days are shortening and the nights grow cooler. Autumn is soon arrived in all her natural splendor, and with the crispness of fall the foliage explodes with color.

This is a time to warm the inside of your home with all the brilliant golds, amber oranges and deep reds she has to offer.

Seasonal décor is a wonderful opportunity to play up the change of seasons and set a mood for holiday activities and spending time together with family and friends at home.

Switch out some of your home accent pieces, add a couple of new accessories and put out a couple of nice fall flower arrangements to give any room in your home the look of the season.

Welcome Autumn with Flower Arrangements

Fall is a time to bring color into your home and you certainly have plenty of choices, whether you choose fresh cut flowers from your garden or design a decorative tablescape using pumpkins, floral foam and silk or other floral arrangement supplies that will last through Thanksgiving.

For fall decorating, choose flowers with yellows, reds, and oranges. Roses and Chrysanthemums are always popular. Or, pick lilies in yellow or orange and long-stemmed Gladiolas. Go outdoors and find dried grasses and leaves to give your arrangement the finishing touch.

Mix things up, trying one idea or theme for a fall wreath on your front door, another in the garden and yet others for tablescapes and fall accents inside the home. The variety of plants, flowers, fall foliage and other autumn decorations gives you endless possibilities.

Preparing Your Fall Floral Arrangements

To make your tablescape or floral arrangement last, it’s worth taking time to prepare your materials properly. Fresh flowers should be hardened by re-cutting the stems and placing them in fresh water for at least an hour before placing into your vase or floral foam base.

Stems also need attention. If you use flowers or foliage with thick stems, split them so that needles and wire used to hold things in place can easily penetrate the woody stems. Thin stems can be re-enforced by binding thicker stems to them with floral tape or wire.

And of course, once you have your fresh fall floral arrangement completed, be sure to add water to the container every day and mist with water to keep them fresh; if you plan wisely, you can simply replace flowers in your arrangement to extend the lifespan of your fall arrangements.

Creative Fall Flower Arrangements

Choosing materials and fresh foliage for your floral arrangements and tablescapes can become a fun adventure as you go outdoors to gather grasses, leaves, seed pods, interesting gourds and squashes, pine cones, cattails, goldenrod, berry branches and other fall plants in bloom or turning color.

Seasonal decorating touches like tablescapes and flower arrangements present a perfect opportunity to experiment and get creative; you can always start over if something doesn’t turn out the way you want or just chalk your mistakes up to learning by experience; next year you’ll do even better!

Fall Flower Arrangement Tips

• Display your fall flower arrangements prominently where family, friends and guests can enjoy their natural beauty and get into the spirit of fall and upcoming holidays and festivities.
• A fall tablescape or floral arrangement makes the perfect centerpiece for your dining table. Be sure to keep your floral design low so that people aren’t ‘separated’ by it; this is one of the most common mistakes people make when designing floral arrangements for the dining table.
• Fall bouquets are great for decorating a table in your entry or foyer, end tables and coffee tables in your family and living room spaces, giving your guest bedroom and bathrooms a fresh look for the autumn season or adding a focal point on display shelves in any room in your home.
• A fall wreath will give your home’s front door entrance a nice touch of autumn, greeting guests with color and warmth.
• Pumpkins are a fall favorite and make a great base for flower arrangements; you can cut the top to create a vessel inside which you can place floral foam to support your flowers, using sunflowers, orange or red roses, berry branches, dried grasses, etc. to design your arrangement.
• Fall fruits such as grapes, apples, mini pumpkins, etc. can also make great fall tablescapes and floral arrangements. Use candles or votives to give your fall tablescape an added touch of color and warmth.
• Wicker baskets are also great for fall floral designs; try using chrysanthemums, sunflowers, tiny pumpkins, white gourds, gerberas, acorns, dry ferns and other natural fall plants to create a decorative fall basket.
• Use a mat of moss on a table or fireplace mantel to create a nice base to arrange orange and white pumpkins in various sizes and shapes, using one larger pumpkin as a focal point, with smaller sugar pumpkins, fruits, etc. arranged around it.
• Remember to decorate outdoors also; find a corner on the porch, a bench, pedestal or table in the garden, etc. that you can use to display some pumpkins and fall foliage arranged to fill in the garden as flowers and other plants begin to die out during autumn.
• You can place a pumpkin on any pedestal, urn or container in your garden. Put some rocks or bark underneath to keep if from rotting too quickly from heavy morning dew and fall rain storms.

With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up you’ll want to decorate for the season.

Whether you’re looking for ideas on fall colors in the home, designing an autumn wreath, how to carve a Halloween pumpkin, set your table for the holidays or create a fall floral display in your home, you’ll find plenty of fall decorating photos and ideas in our Fall Home Decorating Photo Gallery.

Last year’s story Make Your Own Christmas Wreath was so popular we decided to bring you some more creative Christmas wreath ideas. Through the ages wreaths have been symbols of peace, victory, and celebration. What better time is there than the Christmas season to preserve this tradition through the making and displaying of a holiday wreath?

The Typical Christmas Wreath

The typical Christmas wreath is made of sweet-smelling balsam evergreen branches in a circle bedecked with a big bright red ribbon tied in a bountiful bow, however, the essence of a wreath is in its shape, not the materials. Therefore, what makes a wreath for Christmas can be concocted of any materials that relate in some way, no matter how remote, to the joyful Christmas season.

The most obvious materials are those colored green and red but certainly not limited to these. Cone-and-nut wreaths and dried-flower wreaths are both popular variations. Miniature toys of any color and shape can be placed on a wreath to relate it to Christmas and also evoke the fun and anticipation of the season.

With our suggestions and a dash of your own imagination, you can make a striking, fun and unique wreath this Christmas; a creation to brighten your home throughout the holidays.

Classic Evergreen Christmas Wreaths

The evergreen Christmas wreath is the most traditional of all Christmas wreath designs and the most popular evergreen for this wreath is the balsam fir. This short-needle, compact branch is sturdy, long-lasting, and exudes a delightful woodsy fragrance, adding a dimension to a wreath not available with most other evergreens. It can be combined with fruits, berries or other accessories but for the most classic Christmas version keep it sparsely adorned.

1. Start by snipping the branches to five- to eight-inch long cuttings.
2. Gathering three or four branches at a time, place them one on top of each other on a wire wreath ring then wrap the wire very tightly around the grouped bottom ends of the branches. You may want to use florist tape for extra hold.
3. Twist the wire to hold the branches tight and then cut off the spool with the wire cutter.
4. Simply continue your way around the ring with groupings of evergreen cuttings so that the new bunch partially overlap the previous bunch.
5. Make sure you arrange the cuttings so that the center of the wreath remains an uncluttered space. Your want your wreath to be big enough to accommodate your evergreen. Do this by angling the branches outward as you go around the ring and trim any wayward branches to keep it symmetrical.

Being the most classic Christmas wreath it doesn’t need lots of embellishment to reflect the holiday season. If you want to stick with a traditional look, a large red satiny bow is essential. If the wreath is hanging outdoors you can heap some fresh snow amongst the boughs. Other options are a simple ring of wild rose hips in circling the center ring or some cones and small bunches of berries.

Change the look more by substituting the materials. Try elegant mountain laurel or if your lucky to live in moist terrain, some beautiful American holly.

Cone and Nut Christmas Wreaths

Unlike evergreen wreaths that can dry out in a season, cone-and-nut wreaths can last generations in a family and become part of your annual Christmas decorating finishing touches.

You can collect your own fallen cones and nuts from the woods or orchards but make sure you treat them properly first. Swirl them in a bucket of water to remove any dirt and sand then lay them on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 200-degrees Fahrenheit to melt the resin and pitch and kill any insects hidden inside. Next, it is advisable to alter the shape of the cones by breaking them in half to make rosettes, this is easier to work with and more attractive.

Putting this wreath together is fairly simple. You can use several different foundations but they need to be sturdy enough to support the weight, a circle of plywood or metal wreath mould is best.

1. Plan your design out first and then attach the cones with either an electric glue gun, or by twisting sections of wire around the cone and the wire wreath mold, twisting it closed on the underside.
2. Give decorative interest to your wreath by varying the nuts you use for textures: almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts and pecans give textures and also a spectrum of browns.
3. You can opt to add a dash of color by gluing in red yarrow and white statice or a central ring of artificial crab apples and leaves. The ultimate Christmas wreath accessory is a large, draping red ribbon.

Grapevine Christmas Wreaths

Grapevine wreaths put striking texture on your front door and there is an abundance of materials for them lying around after the late fall time of year.

Out in the country you will find plenty of non-poisonous vines, without leaves and grapes, climbing tree trunks along streams and other water sources.

Don a pair of gloves and cut them free with pruning shears. On the day you want to make your wreath, soak them in water for a couple of hours and they will be much more pliant to work with.

The construction of the wreath itself is really easy:

1. Take your first strip of vine and form it into a circle by hooking on end under the vine so that it holds by its own pressure.
2. Continue weaving strips in and out of the circle until you achieve the thickness you want.
3. Once the base is finished you can add whatever you like.

Orange-colored bittersweet berries make an appealing combination, they can be inserted into the grapevine at various intervals. You could choose to wire a bouquet of dried flowers to the wreath. More in tune with the season use a plaid ribbon wrapped around the wreath then tie it in a big bow in the corner with a large sprig of holly. Add candy canes, miniature toys, wrapped candies or other Christmas tree ornaments as you please.

Gift Box Christmas Wreaths

Brightly wrapped gifts are an integral part of Christmas, so nothing could be more natural than to make a wreath of gift boxes in miniature. It may be a bit time consuming to make but your children can join in, and best of all, the end result will last for many enjoyable years.

1. Start with a substantial piece of cardboard (about fourteen inches in diameter and a five- inch center hole) and draw a wreath shape on it.
2. After cutting this out, cover it with some colored tissue paper of your choice to hide the cardboard.
3. Prepare some miniature gift boxes by simply using corrugated cardboard to construct boxes in varying sizes then covering them in fun and interesting Christmas wrapping paper or colored foil.

The whole wreath is pulled together nicely when you glue everything down on the wreath base. A great touch is to begin by gluing or stapling flowers or leaves to the base. Once they are in place you just need to glue the gift boxes on top of these. Group them in different sizes and cover as much of the base as you can. The final touch is to glue any miniature toys, figurines, acorns, candy or ornaments anywhere you wish. At last your gift box wreath is ready to dazzle!

Nautical Wreath

If you live near the beach you can make an unusual outdoor wreath with sea shells, driftwood, starfish and other beach-found items you think will go together and tell a Christmas tale about your trips to the beach. Drill holes and use twine or floral wire to put together a wreath of the sea.

The natural looks of your nautical wreath will work great against weathered wood siding and you can leave it up all winter since it won’t seem to "Christmasy". Dress your nautical wreath up with some colorful fish or bird ornaments and ribbon in colors of the sea.

Today we have continued this family tradition, adding many of Christopher Radko’s ornaments and other collectibles, but those vintage tree ornaments are still my favorites. If you’re starting your own Christmas tree ornament collection follow along and learn more about vintage and antique Christmas collectibles.

Starting Your Christmas Collection

Most people who get the bug start out with tree ornaments and other Christmas collectibles handed down from grandparents and parents or else they find a collection at a tag or yard sale and so it begins; you add one or several ornaments each year and slowly the collection builds.

It could even be considered a disease when you get to the point that you have too many to even put them all on display during the holidays or, like my father, you actually begin to collect duplicates! His reasoning was that each of the kids would have one to put on their tree, something that actually makes sense in retrospect, although at the time I thought he must be insane.

But you don’t collect these Christmas collectibles to make a profit; really you either have the passion to invest your hard earned money in them or not. The joy is in displaying your Christmas collection each year and eventually passing them down to your kids and grand kids. They also make cherished Christmas gifts that can last an entire lifetime when given by one family member to another. Like the old saying goes, "buy what you love".

While you can certainly buy a special Radko or tree ornament released each year by your favorite designer, the more serious you become about collecting, the more you may begin to seek the antique/vintage tree ornaments and other Christmas collectibles.

Vintage Glass Christmas Ornaments

Many collectors will choose a theme and try to find as many good examples from their chosen category as possible, while others prefer to collect only a couple of any one type and go very “broad” with their collections.

Glass bulb tree ornaments from the 1930s, 40s and 50s are extremely popular these days with collectors and fetch prices from as low as five, ten, or twenty dollars, all the way up to several hundred dollars for some of the rarer pieces. Striped and indented vintage glass ornaments tend to fetch higher prices than plain bulbs as you’d imagine. Smaller vintage glass ornaments tend to be more popular and fetch higher prices than the larger ones.

A number of vintage machine-blown glass ornaments that are popular with collectors today were made by in Poland under the Fantasia brand. Hand-blown glass ornaments from the 30s and 40s are rarer and more expensive than the machine-blown varieties.

Blown glass tree ornaments made in the shape of berries and pinecones, little baskets, umbrellas and many, many other figural shapes were also popular in the 30s and 40s. These glass ornaments have become very collectible, with prices depending on rarity and condition. As you would expect, many of the vintage ornaments will show wear, with paint worn off or chips in the finish being commonplace; obviously the better the condition, the more valuable a vintage collectible will tend to be.

Figural Christmas Collectibles

In addition to glass tree ornaments, Christmas bells, Santa figures and angels are all collector favorites. Musical instruments, animals and birds are also very popular. The glass bird ornaments with feet clips and tail feathers are fun tree ornaments to collect and originals date from the 1920s through the 1950s.

You’ll find a wide variety of Santa and snowmen ornaments. Fairytale figural ornaments are another great category. Angels are always popular among serious Christmas collectors. One of my dad’s favorite Christmas collections were figurines handmade by German company Koestel, which began in 1907 and still continues to make these angel figurines today with distinctive molded wax faces that are hand painted. The clothing is amazingly detailed and unlike anything else I’ve seen. In the 70s, Koestel offered literally hundreds of fairytale figures, from the Pied Piper to The Three Kings and many others, all made using the same fabrication techniques as the angels.

Some of the figurines were made to hang as tree ornaments, but the larger ones stand ten to fifteen inches tall and are displayed on a table or shelf every Christmas. Just coincidentally, my father would buy these Koestel figures on sale after the holidays every year, paying ten or twenty dollars apiece for the smaller figurines. Today, they are probably worth many times that price, due to being handmade and no longer manufactured. The collection will be handed down to my brother’s and my own kids to enjoy with their own kids for many, many years to come I hope!

Like the Proverbial "Kid at Christmas"

Perhaps with more anticipation than a kid dreaming of gifts under the tree, the serious Christmas collector waits all year for the holidays to roll around and they can unpack everything. While most of us buy ornaments during the holiday season or at after-holiday sales, the truly serious collector is on the lookout year round, watching eBay listings, looking through collector magazines and browsing antique shops, flea markets, estate sales and tag sales looking for new additions.

It isn’t uncommon for an avid collector to put up multiple Christmas trees, add display shelves or commandeer a table, buffet or even a whole room of the house just to make room to display the entire collection. A big part of the fun is in designing the display for a different look every year. Dad used to like to do one tree sometimes that featured only silver and crystal tree ornaments, with red ribbon and candlestick lights to give the tree an elegant and classic look.

Another approach some collectors like to take is to display only a specific portion of their collection, so that the home gets a different Christmas theme every year. Yes, it is a real obsession once you get the bug!

Specialty Christmas Collectibles

Now dad didn’t just stop with the tree ornaments. His collection also included a number of hand-carved figurines from Italian company Anri. Since 1912, four generations have perfected and handed down the Groeden Valley, Italy tradition of woodcarving and hand painting. Dad collected a complete Nativity scene set of the Anri carved pieces that makes for a dramatic display every Christmas.

Whether you prefer reindeer or snowmen, Santa Clause figurines, angels or stars, collecting Christmas specialty decorations other than tree ornaments becomes the next step in many collections. Materials range from hand carved wood to papier-mâché and a wide range of others.

My grandmother had a vintage 1920s collection of houses made with paper or cardboard, including a church, complete with steeple. The rustic hand painted Christmas “village” that made a great display under our family Christmas tree every year when I was a kid. Later, Dad was inspired by that original tree village and started collecting the popular Dickens Christmas Village, another collectors’ favorite.

Collecting Vintage Santa Claus

Vintage Santas comprise a separate category of antique Christmas collectibles. Antique Santa Figures are always popular, as evidenced by the prices they bring at antique shows and shops. You need to do your research if you decide to start collecting the rarer, more expensive pieces. Many older pieces were made using materials such as papier-mâché, little pieces of cotton batting, chenille, die-cut scraps and even twigs and grasses. Many of these pieces are now being reproduced, so you really want to know what you’re buying!

One way to tell if an item is authentic is to look for signs of normal wear and age. While many of the vintage Santas and other Christmas collectibles can be in good condition, signs of wear are normal. The reproductions are fine as long as you aren’t unknowingly paying the price an original could command.

Handing Down the Christmas Collecting Tradition

Collecting Christmas tree ornaments and decorative items is fun if you have the passion. Start with pieces you love that aren’t too expensive and add to your collection as your knowledge and interest increase over the years. You’ll have something special to display every year during the Christmas season and pass down to your kids and grand kids. It’s something the family can enjoy from one generation to the next, passing down the Christmas spirit and tradition.

If your family has some special and unique Christmas collectibles please leave your comments below and tell us what types of collectibles and ornaments you like to add to your own family collection!

Crafts are a great way for kids to feel welcome at a holiday party- it keeps them busy, entertained, and they can show off their creations to a roomful of adults. These Christmas crafts are easy to make, inexpensive, and lots of fun for everyone.

Handprint Wreath

Supplies needed:

• A lot of green construction paper
• A piece of red construction paper or a red ribbon
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Optional: Glitter or glitter glue

Steps:

1. Trace the child’s hand on a piece of green construction paper.
2. Cut out the handprint. Make about 10 paper hands for each wreath
3. Glue the handprints together in a wreath shape, with the wrists overlapping a little bit.
4. Glue on a red ribbon bow (or make one from red construction paper).
5. Decorate your wreath with glitter or glitter glue.

Hand and Foot Reindeer

Supplies you will need:

• Brown and tan construction paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Googly eyes (or you can draw your own.)

Steps:

1. Trace around the child’s foot using brown construction paper. This will be the reindeer’s head.
2. Trace around the child’s hands using tan construction paper. These 2 pieces will be the reindeer’s antlers.
3. Glue the handprint "antlers" to the top of the reindeer. Add a bright red paper nose, a paper (or drawn) mouth, and googly eyes (or paper eyes) to the reindeer’s head. Other ideas are drawing the face with crayons or markers, or using red pom pom’s for the nose.

Candy Train Ornament

This candy train is made from a roll of hard candy (like Lifesavers), wrapped peppermint candies, a wrapped caramel, and a wrapped chocolate kiss.

Supplies:

• Hot glue gun
• A roll of hard candy (like Lifesavers)
• 4 wrapped peppermint candies
• A wrapped caramel
• A wrapped chocolate kiss
• A short length of yarn or string

Steps:

1. Using a hot glue gun, glue four wrapped peppermint candies to a roll of candy; the peppermint candies are the wheels of the train.
2. Glue a wrapped caramel to the top, at one end the train. Glue a wrapped chocolate kiss on top of that.
3. Glue a small length of string to the top of the train.

Handprint Christmas Tree

Make an adorable Christmas tree from your child’s handprints. This makes a really neat decoration to put on your child’s bedroom door, or the door to a playroom.

Supplies needed:

• A lot of green construction paper
• A piece of brown construction paper (for the tree trunk)
• A piece of yellow construction paper (for the star)
• A large piece of brown paper (or use another color)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Scissors
• Glue
• Glitter, glitter glue, or paper ornaments to glue on the tree

Steps:

1. Trace the child’s hand on a piece of green construction paper.
2. Cut out the handprint. Fold the wrist over.
3. Make a lot of paper hands (the number you’ll need depends on the size of your tree).
4. Draw a tree shape (long triangle shape) on a large piece of paper.
5. Cut out a small rectangle of dark brown paper (this will be the tree trunk).
6. Glue the rectangle below the tree.
7. Glue the handprints together in a tree shape, gluing the folded part of the wrist to the background. Start at the bottom of the tree. Starting with the second row, make the fingers overlap the next hand a little bit.
8. Cut out a yellow star for the top of the tree. Glue it on the tree.
9. Write a Christmas message around the tree.
10. Decorate your tree with glitter, glitter glue, or paper ornaments.
11. You can also make the tree on a triangle shape (so there is no background showing).

Snowman Necklace or Ornament

You will need:

• White Elmers Glue
• Paper clip
• Waxed paper
• Scraps of construction paper: black, and orange
• A hole punch (for cutting eyes, and buttons)
• Scissors
• Googly eyes (from a craft store) – optional
• Tiny buttons – optional
• 2 very tiny twigs (for arms)
• String or yarn (for hanging from branch, or longer to wear as a necklace)

Steps:

1. Working on waxed or parchment paper, spread 2 or 3 blobs of white glue in the shape of a snowman. Unfold a paper clip into a V-shape (to use as a hanger).
2. Cut a tiny hat from black construction paper and put it on the snowman on top of the paper clip hanger. Put the ends of the paper clip into the glue at the top of the snowman. For the snowman’s eyes, use black paper circles cut with a hole punch, or use googly eyes. Put the eyes on the snowman. Add a tiny orange (carrot-shaped) nose. Add a few paper buttons (or small real buttons) down the front of the body.
3. Let the glue dry – it will take a few days. When it dries, the glue will become transparent. When it is completely dry, peel it gently off the waxed paper.
4. String the snowman on some yarn for a cool necklace or use a shorter string to use as an ornament.

Pine Cone Christmas Tree

A easy-to-make pine cone Christmas Tree. Use it as a Christmas decoration or as a tree ornament. This is a simple craft that even young children can help make.

For each Pine Cone Christmas Tree you will need:

• A large, open pine cone (pick one that is tree-shaped and stands upright easily)
• Glitter
• A few cotton balls
• White glue (like Elmer’s)
• Dental floss and a needle
• Small beads
• A small bow or star to top off your little tree

Steps:

1. Glue a few cotton balls to the bottom of the pinecone. These look like snow and help the "tree" stand upright.
2. Put a little dab of glue at the tips of the pine cone and then sprinkle on glitter (spray glue works best and gives more, and even coverage)
3. String some small beads onto dental floss (about 1 to 1 1/2 ft or more, depending on the size of the pine cone). To string the beads easily, tie one bead securely to the string. Then give the floss to the child for stringing. Older children can use a needle to help with the stringing. When the stringing is done, tie off the last bead with a knot. Wrap the beads around the pinecone and glue them to the tree.
4. Top off your tree with a small bow or other decoration.

Pine Cone Bird Feeder

Don’t forget our feathered friends. This craft is easy, even for the smallest ones.

You will need:

• Pinecones
• String or yarn
• Peanut Butter
• Wild Birdseed mix (best if poured into large bowl)
• Plastic spoon or knife

Steps:

1. First you need to tie string or yarn to the top of the pinecone, so you can hang it from a tree branch.
2. Then, using a plastic spoon or knife, spread a thick layer of peanut butter all over the pinecone.
3. Once done, roll the pinecone in the birdseed.
4. Make sure to press hard, to get the seeds in deep and firm.
5. Now, go hang it outside as a present for the neighborhood birds.

Halloween has past again and so its time to start planning your outdoor Christmas display for this holiday season. Of course, we all have our own ideas about how elaborate, what theme and how much to budget when it comes to decorating the front yard for Christmas.

We’ve got some great ideas, whether you just want to put a wreath on the front door, string up lights around the front window and call it quits, or if you want to get really creative and do something that gets passersby to stop and gawk a little!
From lighted candy canes to giant snowmen, flying reindeer, outdoor energy-saving LED lights, window decorations and more, read on to find everything you’ve ever dreamed your outdoor Christmas decorating could be.

Know Your Neighborhood Rules and Consider Safety First

Start by investigating what is allowed in your neighborhood; if you have a Homeowners Association, be sure the display you’re planning won’t be considered a nuisance or you could incur an unwanted fine. Most neighborhoods are fine with lights and other yard displays but check it out just to be on the safe side.

Not to frighten you too much from doing outdoor decorating, but the statistics on visits to hospital emergency rooms due to people falling off ladders while decorating for the holidays are staggering, so be cautious! Also, it should go without saying that all lights and yard art you use in creating your display should be designed for outdoor use. Decorate at your own peril and use some common sense; if you can’t reach that eve to hang the wreath or lights either get professional assistance or rethink your plan.

Planning Your Outdoor Christmas Holiday Display

Do you want your display to be understated and traditional, or do you want something glitzy that will be the envy of the neighborhood this Christmas? The myth is that it costs a lot of money to decorate your yard for the holidays, but with a little planning and wise shopping you can actually operate on even the tightest of budgets.

While the best time to shop for outdoor decorations is January, if you missed last year’s sales, start early and you can still find some great deals. Another way to save money is to make your own outdoor holiday decorations; a little creativity and ingenuity can go a long way to making your holiday display a true one-of-a-kind showcase.

Make a drawing of your yard and plan the placement of your holiday display items, taking advantage of your home’s architecture and landscaping. Decide what you want your focal point(s) to be, whether it’s a specific area in the yard, a large picture window you want to light or even a complete Santa’s sleigh and flying reindeer on your roof.

Try to group your yard art and lights to create one or a couple of focal points; if you place things without grouping them according to theme, color, etc. your display will attract the eye with a pleasing result rather than distracting or ‘fight’ with each other for attention.

Remember to plan for lighting; if you want to put up a lot of lights you may want to add a circuit to your electrical wiring and run a few outdoor receptacles; nothing is more frustrating than having your outdoor Christmas lights continually trip the circuit breaker.

Traditional Outdoor Holiday Displays

A wreath on the door, some electric candles in the window and white lights are typical of a classis outdoor Christmas display. You can find great prices on lights and electric candles for the windows over at Christmas Depot; for example they have 12×9-inch Electric Candy Canes on sale for only $12.

If you’re lucky enough to have a front porch with railing, you can use red bows and garland to give it a nice holiday touch. If you like the candy cane theme, check out the Lighted Holographic Candy Cane Yard Art, available online for $69.99.
Snowmen and Santa are also classic yard display items, or you could put up a nativity scene. Any of these traditional holiday yard art displays are easy to make from plywood and paint yourself; Free Woodworking Plans has links to lots of great outdoor Christmas displays you can make yourself.

Adding a Little Christmas Bling

Now, if you want something a little more glitzy, you may need to increase your budget a little. Flashing lights and animated Santa Claus figures will add character and a bit more ‘wow’ factor to your outdoor Christmas decorating project.

If you really want to go all out, look at the Animated Santa’s Workshop display sold by Holiday Lighting Specialists (hang on to your wallet when you see the price tag on this set up) or go to Walmart and pick up a few of their Animated Reindeer Light Sculptures for only $34.96.

Outdoor Christmas Lighting

Now, the centerpiece of most outdoor Christmas displays is the lights. Whether you like the old-fashioned colored large bulbs, candle lights, icicle lights or classy white Christmas lights, the variety available these days is truly amazing.
One trend in recent years has been LED lighting; they cost more but they don’t tend to burn out as quickly as traditional incandescent lights and they help conserve energy.

You’ll find a great selection of outdoor Christmas lights and accessories available online at Holiday LEDs. Outdoor lighting controls are another consideration; you don’t want to have to wander all over the house plugging in various strings of lights if you can avoid it, so you might want to consider timers or remote controls to make things simpler.

Lighting Walkways and Driveways

Candy cane lights are a great way to decorate walkways, adding color and form and giving your guests a little extra light on those dark winter nights. You can also string lights in trees or shrubberies to help light the way from your driveway to the front door.

Tie your lighting together with the overall theme of your display; for instance you could use all white lights or lights all the same color blue, green or red. Or, you could use the classic multi-colored lights to outline a large front window and hang white icicle lights along the roofline.

Decorating the outside of your home for the holidays can be great fun for the entire family. It’s a great creative outlet and something that will add joy to your holidays and provide lasting memories of the holiday season.

Letting your kids decorate their room for Christmas can be a great compromise. When letting your children decorate their room for Christmas, let them have the most say in what they do. As long as there are no safety or fire hazards, let them have fun. Let them express how they think the holidays should look.

Here are some of the ideas my nine year old daughter incorporates in her room every Christmas:

• Miniature Christmas Tree – Every year, she places her miniature Christmas Tree on top of her dresser. Sometimes she puts colored lights on it, and sometimes white- but I always let her choose. She also enjoys picking out new miniature ornaments to place on her tree each year. For the ultra girly-girl, there is a ‘Barbie’ Christmas tree available. This tree is pink, and stands about 2-3’ tall, if I remember correctly, and comes with pink lights and Barbie ornaments galore. While my daughter has never shown an interest in it, I know many little girls that would.
• A Christmas Bedspread – One year, after much begging, I finally broke down and bought her a Christmas comforter set for her room. Her set has giant quilted ornaments on a Christmas tree, and matching throw pillows in the shape of ornaments. I must admit, it IS cute. We even have a matching area rug.
• Christmas Window Clings – These are inexpensive and can be found in numerous patterns and themes. My daughter uses a mix of snowflakes and Santa’s, and reindeer and all sorts of other Christmas patters. During the holiday season, her bedroom window looks like a very strange stained glass window pattern. Yes, it’s a little gaudy in my mind, but it’s her room and she enjoys cramming as many on her window as possible.
• Garland, Bows and Lights – For her room, I buy the inexpensive fake garland, and hang it around her door way as well as around her closet door and windows. Sometimes we include lights, sometimes not, but she loves seeing the pretty garland and bows hanging.
• Paper Snowflakes – Every year, my family room turns into a confetti factory when she and her friends make what seem like hundreds of paper snowflakes. After they are completed, I have the joyful task of hanging them from her ceiling. I use clear fishing line and a dot of glue to secure the line to the snowflake, and then clear glue dots to secure them to the ceiling. The benefit of those glue dots is that they come off easy and don’t leave any residue.

Decorating a child’s bedroom for Christmas can be a wonderful way to bond. We spend a day together and get her decorations together and then have fun putting them all out.

Letting your child choose how to decorate their room for the Christmas holiday lets them feel a part of the festivities, and lets them explore their own sense of style.

There’s nothing that says cozy holidays like a house decorated with country Christmas charm. How do you countrify your Christmas décor?

Country style can range from primitive to elegant, but it is never overly fancy or fussy. It is a straightforward style that uses a lot of natural elements.

Keep a few essentials in mind when planning your country Christmas decorations and you’ll be sure to have the coziest home in town:

• Keep it simple. Keep it family friendly. Not everything has to match.
• Bring the outdoors inside.
• Use natural materials; rustic rules!
• Handmade items, family heirlooms and collectibles take center stage.

Country Christmas Colors

Although most country holiday decorations will center on traditional red and green or red and white, you can create a unique feel with teal and gold, white and gold, or red, white and blue. Whatever you choose, your décor will have more impact if you go the extra mile and match your tree decorations to the gift wrap you use for goodies underneath the tree.

Even if your tree is multicolored mix of ornaments that were made by your children or collected over the years, you could pull them together visually by using raffia to hang them and then use the raffia as package bows, too. Or, hang them with matching ribbons.

Bring the Outdoors Inside

Bringing the outdoors inside is an essential part of country decorating; especially at Christmastime. No matter what part of the country you live in, you can find elements in nature that will add to the warm, welcoming feeling in your country home.

Natural decorations like evergreen swags and wreaths can be purchased, or, if you enjoy doing Christmas crafts, make them yourself with special elements from your own back yard.

Decorate your mantle piece with fresh oranges and other citrus laid in among the greenery. You could even add a pineapple for the center of the mantle. These were rare holiday treats shared in colonial times and make very appropriate country Christmas decorations. Punctuate this with tall ivory pillar candles and tapers mixed together to give it height.

Country Christmas Swag

Gather any evergreens you have in your local area, or find some of these at your local garden/Christmas tree center: holly, mistletoe, magnolia leaves, boxwood, eucalyptus, pine boughs and spruce all mix well together. There’s really no limit to what you can use for a swag; any sturdy evergreen that won’t wilt quickly will work. If you want to create swags that will last from year to year, purchase silk greenery.

Then, select your embellishments: pinecones, dried flowers, cinnamon sticks—your imagination is the only limit here. Create a kitchen swag by adding antique kitchen implements or fruit and vegetable shaped ornaments, teacups, or homemade gingerbread men. To make this country holiday swag you will need:

• 3 lengths twine or jute cut to desired swag length
• 12” green florist wire
• Pruning sheers

To make your country Christmas swag, just follow these easy steps:

1. Loop and tie your three lengths of jute so that you have a loop on either end.
2. Cut all of your greens into 10” lengths, and bundle them into attractive groups.
3. Attach each bundle to the jute with floral wire, making sure to overlap the previous bundle.
4. Add your embellishments. Add lights if desired.

Pinecone Wreath and Swag

String pinecones of various sizes for a naturally beautiful garland, or hot glue them to a foam wreath. Add red holly berries and a gingham ribbon and you have a beautiful country statement.

Be Country Christmas Crafty!

Country Christmas decorating and holiday cheer are all about crafts. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get your home ready for the holidays if you use a little of your own creativity! Here are a few more ideas to get those country creative juices flowing this holiday season:

Little Red Wagon

Do you have a child’s red wagon hanging around in the garage? Dust it off and use it at Christmas time! Fill it with pine boughs or place a small fir tree in the back end. Round up all those teddy bears (or other stuffed animal) and dress them up by putting a simple red or green gingham ribbon around their necks. Add them to the wagon and you have a charming display.

Gingerbread Houses are Sweet

If your family enjoys doing Christmas crafts together, making gingerbread houses is not only a great family tradition, but provides you with the perfect country table centerpiece. If you don’t want to make one from scratch, many stores have kits that step you through the process. Making gingerbread houses has been a longtime tradition in our family and one that kids remember and look forward to every year!

Put your Christmas Cards to Work

Find vintage ones in antique stores and display them on a windowsill. Flower frogs make a unique easel for displaying special cards.

Take the cards as you receive them and display them. You can either create your own simple ribbon hanger (hang a 2-3” wide ribbon next to a doorway and clip cards onto it as they arrive) or purchase a card hanger or cardholder for the tabletop.

Make Your Own Christmas Cards

Everyone loves to receive a hand made Christmas card, and a country Christmas card should, by definition, be simple. The easiest thing to do is to purchase blank cards and decorate them. Have your children draw simple pictures of Christmas trees or Santas on paper that is smaller than the blank card.

Back the image in red and white gingham (cut the edges with pinking sheers or fray them) and mount the gingham behind your picture, creating a frame effect.

Then, mount the picture and gingham onto the cardstock. Use red ink to write Merry Christmas below the image, and you’re done. It’s simple and beautiful.

The Country Christmas Tree

As with all country decorating, your country Christmas tree shouldn’t be formal or fancy.  But it can be unique, elegant and whimsical!

Put those collectibles to good use: many smaller collectibles can be hung on the tree. Old fashioned tools or kitchen utensils can be hung using matching ribbon. If you have a lot of ornaments you’ve collected over the years, they probably don’t match very well, but you can bring them together visually by hanging them all with the same kind of ribbons. You can use a variety of pattered red ribbons, mixing dots, stripes and solids for a stunning overall effect.

You can make ornaments yourself, or pick them up at holiday fairs and fundraisers or shop for them online. If you purchase ornaments, make sure they have a homemade look. Country ornaments shouldn’t be too flashy or fancy. These inexpensive felt XMAS ornaments are perfect.

If you don’t have enough of treasured handmade ornaments or collectibles for your tree, you can still get a fantastic effect by decorating with cookies and candy, and filling in with matching balls.

Create a sweet Christmas tree by baking your own ornaments. Pick three or four favorite cookie cutter shapes (such as stars and moons, or trees and Santas.) Make holes for hanging before you bake them! Frost all of them in the same color royal icing (royal icing sets up firm and won’t be messy). Hang with gingham or raffia. Try a variety of red patterned ribbons: the red will hold the theme together and you can mix dots and stripes, plaids and solids for a stunning overall effect.

No time to bake? No problem! Purchase old-fashioned swirled lollipops and mix it with traditional ribbon candy to create a classic old fashioned enough to make the perfect country tree. Hang them with coordinating ribbons, fill in with glass balls.
Garland adds the finishing touch

Many country Christmas trees aren’t sparkly since the ornaments are typically handmade and simple. You can either garland your tree with the very traditional strings of cranberries and popcorn, or add some sparkle by purchasing glass or lighted garlands.

Halloween is such a great holiday, a night when goblins rule and the timid better be wary!

It’s guaranteed you’ll get all the trick-or-treaters at your place on fright-night if you create a sparkling bat-windowed Spook Haven.

Make a fun haunted house for your kids by decorating your back yard shed, complete with a creaking off-the-hinges door (of course this is temporary), or follow the same theme for the whole house.

Add a finishing touch of the Gothic with a lighted metal topiary ball that we include easy-to-follow instructions for below.

Plan Your Halloween Lighting Display

Halloween is a holiday with so much decorating to do but very tight on time before the trick-or-treaters come knocking. When doing a large installation like this, it’s essential that you take the time to plan.

Measure how much of the structure you want to cover with your lights and match it to the light lengths of the cords, which you will find listed on the package of the lights. Factor in the length of the cords’ unlighted leads so you don’t have any gaps in coverage. Always have more light than you’ll think you’ll need, just in case.

Outdoor icicle lights (the same kind that are so popular for winter lighting) in white or orange, and strings of orange lights, also designed for outdoor use.

In case you were expecting fancy guests (Count Dracula, perhaps?) you could exchange some of the orange bulbs with gold and give the ghouls a touch of glitter.

Depending on the weather, and how long you want the lights to stay up, attach the cords with mini-light clips, hooks, nails, or thumbtacks.

Freak out the Windows with Spooky Halloween Lighting

• To give dimension to the windows, cover them with strips of purple cellophane, which will contrast eerily with the orange lights.
• Make bats by drawing bat shapes on black construction paper, cutting them out and taping them to the window. You could also create ghouls or fang-toothed monsters in the same way.
• When you hang the lights, focus on lining the windows, the orange glow will make a super spooky atmosphere. Also dangle short and squiggly strings around the guttering of your roof. You’ll have no trouble finding Halloween-themed lights too.
• Manufacturers love coming up with all kinds of creepy-crawly light forms and shades. Would you like a giant jack-o-lantern? Or how about skeletons on string or a huge spider?

Great Balls of Fire Halloween Topiary Display

This style of topiary can add a touch of humor to the Halloween House, but in a different setting can be an elegant and versatile seasonal garden accent. You can easily change the mood by simply choosing bulb colors that reflect the time of year: orange for autumn, white for winter, green for spring, and red for summer.

With your Halloween House, or any garden setting, you can make a pair of these topiaries and have them flank a walkway or stand sentinel in a night garden.

The topiary form can be placed directly in the ground but you may need to steady it with a stone or brick. For a more permanent installation, anchor the form in a decorative terracotta pot filled with soil and planted with annuals.

Directions to Make Lighted Halloween Topiary

1. Floral tape is a great aid to wrapping strands of lights around topiaries and other garden structures. Especially on round shapes with many sections, you’ll use lots of tape.
2. Apart from this, you need a wire globe topiary form (try a garden shop or you can even make one yourself), 1 to 2 strands of mini lights (orange for the Halloween theme), and an extension cord.
3. Decide the best arrangement for the mini-lights before starting to place them on the topiary form. Consider how tightly you want to string the lights and determine whether or not you need more than one strand.
4. Wind the plug end of the mini-light strand at the base of the form, using the floral tape to secure it.
5. Place the lights evenly around the ball, securing the strand with floral tape. To keep the lights evenly spaced, you may need to change the direction in which you wind the mini-light strand. If so, use the floral tape to reinforce the strand in places you change directions.
6. Plug the strand into an extension cord. If you want to camouflage it, wrap it with floral tape.

Other than having to climb up and down a ladder to hang lights up high, outdoor Halloween house lighting should be really easy, and best of all fun. The hard part is always trying not to eat all the Halloween candy! Happy Halloween.

Lighting has a intrinsic connection to the Halloween holiday. A season dedicated to the night and the dead, so lighting not only is essential but also provides the spooky atmosphere.

People decorate their houses in mini-light displays to give an eerie glow, and the age-old tradition of Jack o lantern carving can be seen glowing along the street. With all the competition its hard to stand out from the crowd.

We’ve put together some Halloween lighting ideas that provide some fresh ideas for lighting at Halloween. All can be made easily with items from around the home.

Halloween Luminaries

Luminaries are an easy and dramatic way to light your driveway or walkway on Halloween evening for your parade of trick-or-treaters.

This is so easy to do. You simply need some brown unprinted paper bags, cardboard or foam board, sand and small candles and some craft tools to put them together:

How to Make Your Own Halloween Luminary Using Paper Bags

1. Any brown paper bag will work fine as long as it is unprinted. First, fold down the top of the bag about 2 inches to give the luminary a nice neat rim and to help the bag keep its shape.
2. Choose which side will be the front and lightly draw your design on in pencil. You could trace a Halloween motif from another source or just freehand the design. Lettering works really well and will show up clearly. A great idea is to use the bags to form a message that must be read in sequence down the driveway such as: “be” “wary” “it’s” “scary” “in the” “night”.
3. Put your piece of cardboard or foam board inside the bag to separate the bag from the front while you use a craft knife to cut out your design. Be sure not to cut the back! Take the cardboard out and tape a piece of tracing paper against the inside of the front to diffuse the candlelight and provide an extra glowing effect.
4. Last step, simply place a scoop of sand in the bottom of the bag; this will make the luminary sit flatly and give the candle a sturdy base. Be wary to position the candle in the middle of the sand, well away from the sides of the bag and your luminaries will give a spooky glow on a lovely still fall night.

Soda Can Votives

Recycle your leftover soda cans and make these adorable candleholders. It is a great rainy-day project, since very few materials (and very little time) is required. These holders can also be used as napkin rings for a Halloween dinner party:

1. Start with a thoroughly clean and dry soda can. Cut off its top with a sharp pair of scissors. Be careful of those sharp edges!
2. Next, cut along the seam of the aluminum can, and use your palm to press the can flat. Wash and dry the metal here if need be.
3. Trace or sketch the jack o lantern design onto the clear side with pencil then cut out with a craft knife the inside portions of the design first. (Depending on the design, a paper edger or hole puncher may prove useful).
4. Next, carefully cut around the outside of the pumpkin with scissors. Cut a band around the bottom of the can, and shape the band into a circle.
5. Secure the band in place with a stapler or duct tape. Make sure the circle is wide enough for a votive candle which now you simply need to position inside it.

Gourd String Lights

1. A string of colorful ghosts and jack o lanterns makes a playful adornment for a porch railing or entranceway. Ornamental gourds have a thin shell that is easily cut with a craft knife or a wood-burning tool. For this project you need some miniature gourds about 2 to 4 inches in diameter in bottle shapes and round shapes, white and orange watered down acrylic paint, and general craft supplies.
2. Cured gourds are widely available year-round at farmers’ market and floral supply stores. Ornamental gourds are among the most common gourd varieties and best for this project.
3. Draw a jagged line around the bottom of each gourd and cut the bottom out with a craft knife. Drill a hole in the top of the gourd large enough for the light bulb.
4. Soak the bottle-shaped gourds (that are going to be your ghosts!) in water for 15 minutes, then use a craft knife to cut two armlike slits in each gourd. Use your fingers to gently pull the arms away from the body of the gourd, and wedge toothpicks between the arms and body. Allow it to dry with toothpick in place, then remove toothpicks.
5. Sketch eyes and mouth on the ghost gourds, and cut these out. (Wood-burning tools are better for detail work).
6. Sketch jack o lantern faces on the pumpkin gourds, and cut these out.
7. Paint the ghost gourds in white watered down acrylic paint (or you could use leather dye) and allow it to dry thoroughly. Do the same in orange on the pumpkin gourds.
8. Now for the final step, if you take a sting of colored lights, white or orange are best for the Halloween theme but orange gives off more color. You can secure the gourd to the light by: Cutting one small doughnut-shapes washer our of cardboard or plastic for each gourd. Remove the light bulb from the socket, and gently push the cardboard washer over the threaded end of the bulb; and with the light bulb and cardboard washer on the inside of the gourd, screw the bulb back into the socket.
9. Use some floral tape or craft clay on the outside of the gourd to hold the socket in the correct position.

Halloween has become a holiday that is enjoyed by people of all ages. Children contemplate their costumes and look forward to scoring lots of candy. We adults get to release our inner child by decorating the home and stocking up on treats.

It’s a rare decorating opportunity to ignore functionality or sophistication. So let yourself go wild and all out with some great devilish decorating ideas for both inside and outside of the home.

Outdoor Gravestone Halloween Decorations

If you’ve always yearned to turn your yard into an eerie graveyard for Halloween, then you’re in luck; all you need to make remarkably convincing gravestones in polystyrene (or insulating) board, paint and a few simple tools:

1. The size and shape of your gravestones will depend, to some degree, on the polystyrene or insulating board you have available. If the board is not thick enough to stand alone (most will not be), glue the pieces together with wood glue and let them dry. (A hot-glue gun will burn through the board).
2. For each gravestone you need to build a foundation by gluing together several pieces of board. Anchor the gravestone to the foundation with wire if necessary. Use a steak knife and a rasp to shape the board. Experiment with the sizes and shapes to vary the look of each gravestone.
3. Paint your gravestones with watered-down acrylic paint or you can transfer the paint into a spray bottle to give a speckled, weathered effect. For best results, use combinations of black, gray and white paint. Make sure it is thoroughly dry before you use a blunt tool to make the lettering on the gravestone. You might want to research for some suitably spooky styles.
4. To anchor the gravestones into the ground, stick 5-inch bamboo stakes (easy to find at floral supply stores) into the board, then into the ground. Two per piece should be enough, but additional stakes may be needed for larger gravestones.

Spooky Spoon Centerpiece

Follow these steps to create your own unusual decorative Halloween arrangement:

1. Create your centerpiece using twigs fastened in a pumpkin base that are then adorned with mismatched vintage spoons which can be found in plentiful supply (and for very little money) at thrift stores.
2. You could wrap the twigs and branches with small white lights for a particularly frightening effect. The painted spoons also make fun Halloween necklaces; slip the bent spoon on a ribbon or a chain.
3. Hold each spoon with the beveled side (or back of spoon) facing you, and gently bend the handle toward you so that both the decorative side of the handle and the beveled side are facing outward. Coat the back of each spoon with gesso to create a base to paint on.
4. Paint the pumpkin shape on each spoon first with orange acrylic paint and let it dry thoroughly before adding the Jack-O-Lantern face details with green and black fabric paint.
5. Carve the top off a pumpkin clean out the seeds and pulp just as you would when preparing a jack o lantern.
6. Cut a polystyrene block to fit inside the pumpkin, and press the ends of the jagged twigs and vines you have chosen. The more crooked the better. A dab of hot glue will hold this all in place.
7. Arrange Spanish moss or dried leaves around the base of the arrangement and then hang the spoons with black ribbon from the twigs and vines.

Glow-in-the-Dark Window Decorations

Greet your guests with spooky glow-in-the-dark window decorations. Don’t worry about the mess, these designs are actually executed on wax paper (not your window) ahead of time; experimenting with colors and styles is half the fun. You simple need some glow-in-the-dark fabric paints in yellow, blue, and ordinary black and some wax paper.

1. First, sketch your design on a piece of white typing paper with a pencil, and then a heavy black marker.
2. Lay your wax paper over this and trace over the design with fabric paint. (They can be found in squeeze bottles which are perfectly easy to use).
3. When using several colors, paint first with the color that uses the largest area, let it dry thoroughly, then apply the remaining colors for accenting. A tip: the thinner the coat of paint, the more easily the decorations will stick to the window.
4. To mount the decoration, simply wet the front of the design with a small amount of hot water (a small paintbrush works well for this purpose) and press the decoration against clean window surface. Apply pressure for a few seconds. The design will stay in place on the window but is easy to remove.

Vampire ‘Velcome’ Mat

We are using a Dracula design I made as an example but this idea can be created with any design to extend a memorable greeting to your trick-or-treaters with this painted doormat:

1. You need a coir doormat, acrylic paints and acrylic sealant. It is easy to do but has a great devilish effect.
2. You should plan out your design then transfer it to the doormat with a black marker. Mine had a vampire face against a moon with the letter VELCOME printed across the bottom.
3. Pour the paint of the bottom layers out and apply them to their section with a natural sea sponge. Define the lines first, then fill between the lines with generous amounts of paint.
4. Continues to paint following the order of the bottom sections first so that the final layers will be reserved for the defining details.
5. Use black paint in a squeeze bottle to paint the final details in thin lines such as the facial expressions. Let all the surfaces dry thoroughly.
6. If you have lettering such as in my doormat, use stencil letters on poster board to make stencils that you can fill in easily to make a crisp effect.
7. Once all the layers have dried thoroughly, cover the entire doormat surface with an acrylic sealant to savoir your creation for Halloween seasons to come.

Fall really is a family season; the time of year when the holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and New Year’s are looming and family get-togethers are frequent.

Autumn is a time when we put away fruits, nuts, vegetables and other natural stores for winter and celebrate the season’s harvest bounty.

The weather begins to chill outside, and so everyone huddles warm together indoors. With so many family gatherings fall naturally is time for the age old American tradition of the wreath display.

Mounted either as a door, wall or table ornament, wreaths symbolize the welcome we extend to others and are part of a tradition that goes back more than 2,500 years.

While the weather is cooling and the plants are welting, bring a fresh, natural and welcoming touch back into your home with a creative and easy fall wreath design.

Fall Wreath Basics

If you keep the foundations simple you can spend more time on the fun creative part. Purchase either a straw wreath base or a wire wreath frame with clamps, floral wire, tape, glue and other basic floral supplies you can purchase at your local crafts store.

You will find floral wire to be an invaluable tool for subtly and securely attaching your arrangement. A glue gun can also come in handy for holding the design securely. Quirky and cute accessories can effectively add a humorous personal touch, and lavishes of ribbon are always helpful.

Finally, try to remember to keep your wreath out of direct sunlight and to mist it frequently with water, it will endure for longer.
Pick design aspects that appeal to you but don’t be afraid to add your own touch or substitute any materials for something you prefer. After all it is the personality that wreaths express that makes them so charming.

Sages and Mints Wreath

Make use of herbs to bring back fresh floral scents into you home. This fall wreath highlights herbs of one botanical family. Vary the proportions based of the herbs you have easiest at hand. This wreath is so easy to make but also so pretty, you could make a matching series in a fairly short sitting.

Pick out an assortment of dried sages or mints. Consider the color scheme of your chosen material. For example, a sage wreath you could chose blue, gray and clary sage for the base with scarlet sage for decoration. A mint wreath could utilize mountain mint and spearmint for the base and lion’s ear and lemon mint for decoration.

On your wreath base, simply first wrap the base herbs in clusters of roughly three to five stems, with the clusters facing in the same direction. Use a hot glue gun to fasten the decorative herbs around the wreath in a pleasing pattern.

Wuthering Heights Fall Wreath

Roadside crews will go to the countryside and mow down wide swaths of wildflowers and grasses. However, you can consider any roadside beauties to be free pickings and stay ahead of the mowers. They have potential for a beautiful fall wreath design.

Collect bunches of air-dried wildflowers and berries. Think along the lines of Joe-Pye weed, black-eyed Susans, ironweed, wild black raspberries, staghorn sumac, goldenrod, butterfly weed, yarrow, viper’s bugloss and peppergrass.

You will want to lay this wreath design out in advance to check its appeal. Alternating a base material like Joe-Pye weed with clusters of other materials is effective; save the most vibrant to work as an accent.

Cut the stems of your wildflowers and berries to 8 to 10 inches to work with and then simply pin each cluster as you have planned facing in the same direction all the way around the wreath base. Just whimsical!

Highland Fling Fall Wreath

With purple heather, Scottish broom, and thistles, this wreath certainly conjures up the fall atmosphere with its visions of the Scottish Highlands.

You can work with either fresh or dried materials with this wreath. You’ll need to find some purple heather, Scottish broom, flower heads of Scottish thistle, globe thistle and globe centaurea.

Make the base pieces of the wreath, the purple heather, slightly longer than the broom. Wrap these base materials with spool wire to the bottom of the wreath. If you use a wire base, perhaps make it’s a triangle shape to emphasis a Scottish theme.

With this you can simply glue the remaining materials all in a single bottom corner and add a plaid ribbon and heather tweed bow to complete the Scottish theme.

Modest Materials Fossil Wreath

In fall your collection of plants is usually small, you can use this wreath to make a theme out of the limited collection. It is demonstrated with preserved ferns, dried fern spore pods and some pieces of fern fossil but you can use another collection of your own.

Glue fern fronds around the base of the wreath. Optionally, you could glue a bundle of dried horsetail to the side to break from conventional wreath shaping. Otherwise simply glue on top of the base your collection of fossils, minerals, then flowers and pods.

The trick is to nestle these treasures amongst the fern which together a small limited collection of materials will appear more luscious and full in the fall season.

Thanksgiving Harvest Wreath

Fall is the season that welcomes in Thanksgiving, a great family holiday to conjure memories of in your wreath design.

A collection of fruits, nuts and berries will create the harvest feel. This wreath looks beautiful with its restricted palette of brown, red and orange with touches of green for contrast and freshness.

Find four sticks roughly 15 inches long and 1inch thick. Collect an assortment of dried berries, fruits, nuts and flowers.

Some ideas include: natural canella berry, small pomegranates, nuts, smooth sumac, safflowers, flower heads cut from lion’s ear stem, and love-lies-bleeding.

Lay out two of the sticks parallel to each other then put the other two sticks across them to form a square for your wreath base to rest in the middle. Nail through these where the stick join and bind the corners with spool wire.

Then you can simply use a glue gun to glue on the assortments of berries, nuts and fruits with the heaviest on the bottom and the lighter attractive accents on top.

Get creative and use any of these ideas to create a unique fall wreath to warm your the home and welcome guests.

The Christmas season is perfect for using fresh greenery and flowers to brighten your home.

To put the finishing touches on your home for the holidays with fresh flowers, try thinking outside of the vase and using this rule of thumb; if it can hold water, it can hold flowers.

Look around the house or yard for inspiration. You can hold flowers in favorite collectibles (think china animals, sugar bowls, etc.), and pitchers. Holiday collectibles such as candleholders make terrific small vases.

Here’s a short list to get your creative ideas going and to help you add flowers to every room of your home:

• Old watering cans, enamelware pitchers, cast-iron kettles, and antique teapots make great vases.
• A row of champagne glasses with a large blossom in each makes your holiday dining table an elegant place to eat dinner. Place a poinsettia bloom in each glass, and put holly or Garland accented with tealight candles around the glasses.
• Use holiday bowls and shallow dishes for floating flower heads.
• There are as many Christmas and holiday flower-decorating possibilities as there are flowers.
• The kitchen table and counters are a great place to display flowers, because it’s where people often gather together.
• For an easy, elegant holiday table decoration, set a series of alternating crystal vases on a fabric runner. Place fresh roses in each of the vases and surround them with fresh garland.

You will need a base for your flowers to ‘anchor’ to if you are going to choose a more traditional flower arrangement style. You can use a ball of willow branches, grapevine, or floral foam that you can buy at a local craft store. The floral foam is called Oasis, and comes in many different shapes and sizes! It can also be cut, so if you have a tiny teapot you are placing buds in, you can place oasis in it to fit!.

When cutting fresh flowers from your garden for floral arrangements, try to do so early in the day or morning. This is because the stems have more water in them at this point of the day and the flowers are not drooping. Be sure to only use cold water in the flower arrangement because warm water tends to make the flowers open up too soon and not last as long.

If you want your holiday flowers to last longer, you can places apple and lemon wedges in the water at the bottom of the floral arrangements. The apples have nutrients that will help feed the flowers, while the lemons prevent premature rotting and browning. It also adds a more decorative touch to your flower arrangements.

When designing your flower arrangements, try to pick colors that go with the theme of the room. Red Poinsettias are classic Christmas flowers, but roses offer an elegant substitution! Both come in red and white, and can coordinate with most holiday themes.

When arranging your flowers, use taller flowers to create the vertical part of the arrangement. Then use full blooming holiday flowers with bright and bold colors for the center and sides of the floral arrangements. Then fill in the small gaps with tiny flowers.

Last Christmas on my buffet in the dining room, I used Red roses and poinsettias and baby’s breath. I alternated the roses and poinsettias in a cone shaped piece of Oasis placed in a piece of pottery I have that is not really a plate, and not really a bowl- so it had an odd shape, but was perfect for this arrangement.

Once I had my alternating rows of flowers, I inserted sprigs of baby’s breath to decorate it! It looked like an expensive, designer floral arrangement, but was homemade and a lot less expensive than pre made arrangements. I used poinsettias and roses bought from the grocery store.

When arranging your Christmas flowers in a round container, think of the face of clock. Start with the greenery: First put the "hour and minute hands" in the center of your imaginary clock, which is really the center of the container. Next arrange additional greenery at the "quarter hour" and then fill in all the hours of the imaginary clock with more greenery.

The great thing about holiday floral displays is you’re only limited by your imagination! Now get to work — and happy holidays!

Color palette plays an important part in setting the theme for your winter look. Warm tones are best for winter, so try accenting your decor with deep reds, oranges, golds and browns.

You can keep a fire going in your fireplace, with your most comfortable chairs and perhaps ottomans facing the hearth so that people can cozy up with a favorite book or craft project. Use throws and pillows with fabrics like wool or velvet that feel warm and cozy to the touch.

Decorative light strands, used moderately, can help add drama and accent light to your interior. Try draping them along doorways, window sills or cabinetry to add a warm glow to your home, but be careful not to overkill.

Changing slip covers and window treatments is an inexpensive way to give your home a seasonal décor, and can be reused each year.  You may want to keep draperies airy to let the winter light into your interior. Chiffons and silks are good choices.

Area rugs are another great accessory to add color and warmth to your winter décor.  You can often find excellent deals online.

Artwork, of course, is one of the best elements to change your interior with the seasons. If you are a crafter, show off your favorite winter-patterned needlepoint or cross stitch pieces. You can also display fine art prints or posters nicely framed to match your décor’s color palette.

Family or Living Room
You can hang crystal snowflakes, icicles or colorful sun catchers in your windows to mimic the winter season and bring light and color into your living or family room. Throws and pillows slip covers are the best way to establish your palette. Paisleys, plaids and other bold patterns help set a more formal tone for your winter décor.

If your room has a fireplace, make it the centerpiece, decorating the mantle with garnishes of the season; poinsettias, winter berries, evergreen, firs, pinecones, sprigs of holly, twigs, pomegranates, persimmons, tangerines, cranberries, etc.

Set the mood of the winter season by putting some dried leaves or branches on your coffee or side tables. Keep cards and board games handy for members and friends to enjoy together.

Bedroom
Nothing warms a sleeping body for that “long winter’s nap” like a nice, thick down comforter and flannel bed linens. Let your guests rest their head on fluffy, soft down pillows. Since we tend to sleep longer in winter its important to be sure beddings are warm and comfy.

Candles are also a great way to add accent light in the bedroom. You can find many colors, shapes and sizes online at discount prices or in your local designer showroom or craft store.

Bathroom
Scented candles and votives are a great way to set the winter theme in bathrooms. Try some creative scents like pine, holly berry, peppermint, pomegranate, and winter berry.

Bath rugs are another great way to decorate bathrooms for the season. Try matching bath towels and rugs to pull your bathroom décor together and add nice seasonal artwork to the walls.

Kitchen
Winter is also a time when people gather for special meals, so the kitchen often becomes a primary gathering place.

Accent pieces for the kitchen include fruit bowls with apples, tangerines, pomegranates, holly berry and pinecones making good choices for your winter theme.

Dining Room
Floral arrangements are a great way to set a seasonal theme in the dining room. Go to your local craft store to find ideas and materials for your arrangement. Many times people will make the mistake of creating an arrangement that is too tall and prevents that intimate, conversational environment appropriate to the dining table. Keep your arrangement spread low so that people can easily see and converse during meals.

Dining room linens that use a fabric like damask will make good choices in winter. These fabrics shimmer and change color with the light from your chandelier and candles. Table runners or full length tablecloths will add warmth and color to your table. Winter is also a great time to set your table with your best crystal stemware and silverware.

With a little planning and preparation, you can make your home warm and comfortable for the long winter months so that family and guests enjoy the time together indoors. Nothing feels better and keeps people cheerful through the cold months of winter than a cozy winter home décor.

Time to get your favorite Christmas collectibles, decorations and ornaments out and deck the halls!

Everyone from children and adults love to partake in Holiday decorating parties and festivities.

Everyone is preoccupied with trimming their home and tree, and some even go as far as decorating their car for the holidays with antler or Christmas light bulb magnets and wreaths on their front grills!

But the spirit of the Holidays lies in many old traditions. Vintage Christmas ornaments, handed down from generation to generation are carefully unwrapped from their tissue paper and placed in spots of honor on the Christmas tree.

Christmas tree skirts are placed carefully around trees, and Christmas tree lights sparkle in the branches. The Christmas tree decorations are each inspected carefully, with tender touches and nostalgic feelings.

Let’s take a look at some old, and new, ways to decorate this holiday season!

Your Christmas tree is usually the centerpiece of your holiday decorating efforts. Vintage ornaments, crafts made by children and personalized ornaments with names of loved ones sparkle in the glow from the Christmas tree lights. Your Christmas tree topper may be one handed down from generation to generation, or you may purchase a new tree topper every year or so! Letting kids do crafts to decorate the tree is a time-honored tradition in our home! We actually have a ‘kids tree’ where they can make loops from red and green construction paper, and strings of popcorn, and rearrange their own ornaments, without causing any risk to the ‘official tree’. Your Christmas tree skirt may be one your grandmother made decades ago, or purchased at an after Christmas sale!

Each year the children do crafts, which include making personalized Christmas ornaments…names and years written in glitter paint paired with school pictures and drawings of Santa! There are so many easy Christmas Crafts for kids available in craft stores and online that the possibilities are limitless! The children’s’ Christmas crafts are as much fun for the adults to supervise over and hang, as it is for the kids to make! Encourage your little ones to make crafts to give as gifts to their friends, family and neighbors! Easy kids crafts are fun, and cater to the ability of our littlest family members, who sometimes feel left out in all the decorating hubbub!

Fireplace mantles are decorated with garland, lights and bows, and stockings are hung with care! Candles and other heirloom decorations are arranged carefully on accent tables and wherever space can be found for these Christmas keepsakes. Staircases are adorned with more garland and holly, and mistletoe is strategically placed for chance encounters!

For many people, decorating the outside of their home is just as important as important as the inside! From Christmas light ropes or icicle lights along rooflines and window, to larger than life inflatable decorations that glow all night long, and lighted decorations of Santa and his reindeer on the rooftops, creativity is endless! Many neighborhoods have competitions for the best decorated house! Others opt for a more elegant and low-key style, opting instead for a simple wreath on the door, and perhaps some electric candles in the front windows!

Perhaps you will be spending your first Christmas away from home and are looking to start your own collection of keepsakes? Online auctions are a wonderful place to find terrific deals on vintage Christmas tree decorations. Yard sales and flea markets also offer wonderful opportunities to add to your collection. If you buy a few unique items every year, instead of stocking up on mass-produced holiday fare found in popular discount stores, you will soon find you are on your way to having a stellar collection of your own! Let your family know you are starting your own collection, and you may be surprised to find that you are given some! And if there’s a particular vintage ornament you desire, ask for it! The worst they can do is say no, and oftentimes you’ll find that the ornament that has the most sentimental value to you has little value or meaning for the owner!

Most of all enjoy the Holidays. Take the time to do some crafts with the children, and to hang the Christmas tree lights. Take the time to reminisce over vintage ornaments and collectibles, and to make homemade ornaments with friends and family! After all, it is the memories of Christmas that we take with us, long after the gifts have expired!