ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

All I want for Christ­mas is…

1. Beau­ti­ful­ly Dec­o­rat­ed Tree
2. Show Stop­per Mantel
3. Big Hit Centerpiece
4. Wel­com­ing Front Door
5. To Enjoy the Sea­son and World Peace

Who won’t want this list for Christ­mas? It’s is pop­u­lar Hol­i­day List con­sid­er­ing the stress and expec­ta­tions that sur­round the hol­i­days. When did the hol­i­days become so out of con­trol? Sea­son­al dec­o­ra­tions hit the stores two sea­sons ear­ly. Real­ly we are in the mid­dle of Hal­loween and Jin­gle Bells is play­ing in the store. It’s no won­der we feel the pres­sure to plan, pur­chase and dec­o­rate like Martha Stew­art. Does it real­ly mat­ter if we make our own pie crust? We string our own pop­corn gar­land? The answer is “It Shouldn’t!”. My new phi­los­o­phy, if some­one com­ments on my lack of or infe­ri­or decor, my aver­age meal or the use of paper plates, they may not make the guest list next year. This could be a prob­lem if it’s a fam­i­ly mem­ber com­ment­ing. It’s so hard to keep up with Black Fri­day, Cyber Mon­day, Small Busi­ness Sat­ur­day, Super Sat­ur­day and Green Monday.

Here are a few tips for mak­ing the most of your holidays:
1. Dec­o­rate with a pleas­ing col­or har­mo­ny. Just like when we dec­o­rate our homes through the year, the col­or har­mo­ny cre­ates that bal­ance and per­son­al feel.
2. Intro­duce a new col­or into your hol­i­day col­or scheme for a update. Don’t see that char­treuse, moody blue or neon pink? Spray paint is your friend. Tak­ing Dol­lar Tree can­dles, spray­ing them your new col­or will give you that pop and is an eco­nom­i­cal way to intro­duce that col­or. When the can­dles are burnt the col­or stays nice­ly on the exte­ri­or. The tops will be remain white but unnoticeable.
3. Group orna­ments and sprigs togeth­er for a big­ger impact. The tree is only a back­drop for all the inter­est­ing orna­ments and elements.
4. Dimen­sion adds inter­est and reduces the need for extra orna­ments and décor which will save you money.
5. Use a com­mon foun­da­tion ele­ment allow­ing for a small focal area. Mix old­er and new gar­land togeth­er for an updat­ed look.
6. Buy a pre-lite Tree. You can always add more lights if time and ener­gy per­mits. Con­sid­er an uplight from a Big Box Home Store to add extra ambi­ence. Costs range from $5-$12. Set the light on a timer.
7. Use log­i­cal but unique tree con­tain­ers or planter.
8. Pur­chase rib­bon with wire for your bows and pack­ages. Cost­co, Sam’s and whole­sale ven­dors pro­vide beau­ti­ful and struc­tured material.
9. Keep it Sim­ple. Fes­tive arrange­ments don’t have to be com­pli­cat­ed. Fill an apothe­cary with orna­ments, fake snow, a list of your favorite things, geo­graph­i­cal orna­ments, etc.

Learn from the pro­fes­sion­als. Watch Kir­by Holt, a Mas­ter Lev­el Flo­ral Design­er, share a few tips to make the sea­son beau­ti­ful and easy. https://www.facebook.com/sandra.h.racz/videos/10220891645663905/

Want to earn your Sea­son­al Dec­o­rat­ing Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion? Vis­it https://the-decorating-and-staging-academy.thinkific.com/courses/decorating