Category Archives: Holiday Decorations

Christmas Wreath Ideas

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A wreath on your front door is a warm and subtle way of saying, “Welcome to my home.” But aside from displaying them on the door to greet your guests, there are many other places indoors where you can use your Christmas wreath as an elegant decoration for the room.

Consider hanging a wreath inside the guest bathroom or the living to extend the warm, festive feel. Decorate it with red, gold, and green ornaments like poinsettias, holly berries, and artificial gold feathers, or choose a wreath that matches the color scheme of the room where you intend to hang it.

Children love it when their rooms are especially decorated for the holidays. Turn the wreath-decorating into a crafts project with the kids by getting a bare wreath and allowing them to personalize it with their names and decorate it with a theme like sports, pets, or good old Christmas. Hang the wreath above their beds or on their doors.

Fresh wreaths are also a great way to add a Yuletide scent in any room. You can make your own by getting eucalyptus leaves, fresh evergreens, pine cones, or berries and attaching them to a wreath frame. If you don’t have time to create a homemade wreath, you can order a fresh one from your florist. Alternately, you can also place a drop or two of cinnamon and apple-scented essential oils on an artificial wreath.

Christmas wreaths provide an instant decorative touch that can be placed in any room and on unexpected places. They’re so easy to customize according to your home’s color scheme and if stored properly, artificial wreaths can last you for many Christmases to come.

Decorating Your Apartment for the Holidays

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Just because you have no lawn and no tree in your apartment, doesn’t mean you can’t capture the warmth and fuzziness of the holidays. Don’t let the limited amount of space limit your creativity. Here are a few decorating ideas you can use when you jazz up your apartment for the holidays.

Hang items like wreaths on your walls in order to save floor space. The idea is to avoid cluttering your apartment with holiday decorations. Think up of ways to creatively arrange other decors in a vertical capacity so your apartment doesn’t get too overwhelmed.

Put garlands on your door frame and decorate it with pine cones, ribbons in Christmas colors, and little decorative balls. You can also wrap Christmas lights around it too.

Centerpieces are a holiday staple; create or buy a centerpiece for your dining room table or the coffee table in your living room.

If you’d like to have a Christmas tree in your place, get one that’s only two or three feet tall and decorate it with miniature balls, lights, and small ornaments. Place it in a corner of your living room so you don’t stumble into it. A balcony also makes a great place for a Christmas tree, if you have one at your apartment.

Guidelines for Safe Decorating

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Before you string up those Christmas lights on your home, there are a few things you need to consider when it comes to safety. Here are some safety tips you can keep in mind while decorating your home for the holidays.

Check all your decorating gear before going up the roof. Make sure that your ladder is in good shape and that all moving parts (like the rope and pulley) are in working condition. If your ladder’s about to fall apart, don’t bother fixing it because it’ll take more effort than it’s worth.

Before climbing up, carry all the tools you in a tool pouch. Use only the tools appropriate for the job. For instance, aluminum ladders are conductors for electricity. If you’re stringing up Christmas lights, it’s better to use fiberglass or a wooden ladder instead because they’re non-conductive as long as they remain dry.

When attaching cords to the eaves of your house, use a staple gun instead of a hammer. It’s easier to use a gun because you’ll only need one hand, plus it’s less likely to cause you to lose your balance while you’re high off the ground.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when setting up lights, especially outdoors on wintry days. Lights, even low-wattage ones, can be an electrical hazard so make sure you plug them in a weather-proof outlet.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help for bigger decorating jobs. Consider making a trade-off with your neighbors and giving each other a hand for annual decorating chores.

Happy decorating! And stay safe.

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Decorations

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Sometimes we wait until the last humanly-possible second until we figure out what type of decorations we want for a certain holiday. Well, by dinnertime tomorrow everyone in the home will be stuffing themselves with turkey and other Thanksgiving goodies (as if you needed any reminding). What do you do now that you’ve realized you’ve wasted all this time and your home isn’t decorated at all for Thanksgiving?

First things first–don’t panic. Follow some of these suggestions and your friends and guests won’t even know that you waited til the last minute to put these decorations up!

Get some fabric in fall colors (reds, browns, dark oranges, golds) and cut them according to the size of your throw pillows. Attach them to your throw pillows using safety pins (make sure the fabric is pinned at the back of the pillows). A huge color-coordinated ribbon tied around the throw pillows will add an instant facelift to your living room.

Get some of your glass balls for the Christmas tree and arrange them in a decorative bowl or basket together with pine cones, dried leaves, and berries. If you have Christmas balls that come in fall colors, that will do the trick too.

If you have any left over ribbons from the pillows, use them as napkin-holders or tie them around table utensils for a festive look. You can also purchase ribbon in a different but complementing shade to add variety to your decor.

Enjoy the holidays and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Decorating Your Stairway for the Holidays

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If your home has a second storey, you can use your stairway to create a dramatic holiday display.  All it needs is are a few garlands. swags, and lights, and you’ll have added some Christmas sparkle to your home.

You can buy artificial garlands from a store or make them yourself out of ivy, pine, and pine cones.  Secure the garlands to the staircase with thin wire and wrap Christmas lights around it before adding ornaments, ribbons, and other decorative items.  For more color to your decoration, create a ribbon garland by selecting three ribbons with different textures and finishes.  Attach them at various intervals to the railing then add a cluster of ornaments or a bow at each top point.

Place wreaths at intervals up the stairs and decorate these with ribbons that match your home’s color scheme.  For a more interesting look, get wreaths of different sizes.

If your stairway is wide enough for potted plants, place small pots of poinsettias and other greenery on the side of the stairs.  Tie matching bows around the pot for a more festive look.

Thanksgiving Mantle Decorations

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Reds, golds, and yellows give a very warm and cozy touch to your home, and this is probably why so many people go all-out on their Thanksgiving decorations. You don’t need to spend so much money on an elaborate and elegant Thanksgiving mantle, though. Here are some simple mantle decoration ideas that you can enjoy even after your guests have left with full bellies.

All you need for a great Thanksgiving mantle are easily found materials and some imagination. Start by picking up pine cones, berries, leaves, and twigs from your yard or in the park. Wash them well and scatter them all over the mantle, or use them to embellish candles, dishes, and small vases. Add Indian corn, gourds, and mini-pumpkins in different shades of orange and yellow. For finishing touches, use wood or brass silver candle holders, or different-sized candles in fall colors. You can also include combinations of potted topiaries and beaded fruit.