Christmas Table Decorations Even a Beginner Can Make
A holiday table is not complete without festive decorations. While you
can find a plethora of suitable displays for sale at any store, it is
the homemade Christmas table decoration that means so much to a family.
When a family is sitting around the table, enjoying one another's company, it is
the little decorative touches that add atmosphere and makes all the difference.
The glow of a candle, the scent of flowers; these are all memories in the works.
Simple Christmas table decorations even a beginner can make are
plentiful. Here are some of the most popular ones:
* Candle holders can make a wonderful addition to the table. Individual
candles placed by each plate create a lovely ambience. To create your
personal candle holders simply purchase gallery glass in an assortment
of colors and several leading blanks to go with it. Once you have
created the ornaments, you can apply them to clear glasses and glue them in
place. The effect will be stunning! Use scented candles that underscore
the color scheme you have chosen.
* A beautiful holiday decoration that may be loosely draped
around the table arrangements is a garland of individually crafted
snowflakes. Use craft sticks of varying shapes and sizes to mix up the sizes of
the snowflakes and paint them white. If you will be using a white table
cloth, consider a silver or very light blue color. Apply a sparkly
glaze and add rhinestones to the snowflakes. Attach the snowflakes to a
silver garland or wire and then arrange them on the table as you see fit.
* As a serving platter for rolls or cookies, use a wooden tray and
paint it white on the inside and a Christmas color of your choosing on the
outside. Apply star stencils to the outside of the tray and inside
place a plate or shallow bowl that will hold the rolls or cookies. Place
fake greenery or white batting around the bowl to obscure it.
Christmas table decorations add a personal charm to your Christmas décor. Make sure to include plenty of
crafts the children helped to make, or made in school. Older
children may be entrusted with the responsibility of crafting the place cards
and also decorating them. This is a wonderful way of getting the kids
involved while at the same time keeping the young ones busy enough so
you can put the finishing touches on the holiday feast.
In some cases you may not have as much time as you would like to make
your own decorations from scratch. In these instances you may wish to
take existing decorations and then put your own spin on them. For
example, a vase is a beautiful adornment for the middle of the table; add some
Christmas colored beads to the vase, loosely drape a silken scarf
around the vase and then add your favorite dried holiday bouquet to the
vase. Another idea is to take a take a decorative glass bowl, add some water, crannberries, and the some floating candles.
Tips For Making Your Christmas Merry & Bright
Make December the most magical time of the year for family and friends. The following array of tips will help transform you, your home and your activities with holiday festiveness for the upcoming celebrations. While you may already fondly enjoy your old traditions, these tips can help you add extra holiday touches here and there for a most wonderful time of year.
Stock up on lots of red and green ribbon. You can use it for gifts, bows for the tree and wreath, braid a holiday collar for a pet, add bows to lampshades and cabinet handles, replace white shoelaces, etc…
Likewise, load up on yards of red and green felt (velvet if you can afford it). You can use it to cover some paintings, craft a tree skirt, wrap presents, make coasters and placemats, and much more.
Accompany your Christmas china and dishes with red and green glassware. Antique glass goblets and vases will catch the lights and transform any table.
Replace your china cabinet with special displays of holiday items like a snow village, antique ornaments, a Santa collection, a collection of angels, a Nativity scene, snow globes, etc…
Giving gift certificates? Be sure to add a little extra to personalize your present such as a red rhinestone candy cane pin, an ornament, a box of gourmet candy, some holiday cocoa in with a mug, a picture frame, a photo album, a scented candle, an engraved key chain, etc…
Place candles in colors of red, gold and green throughout your home for cozy candlelit evenings.
Replace your coffee table books with holiday books. Look for volumes about the History of Christmas, antique Christmas postcards, how to make holiday decorations, holiday cooking, winter activities, etc…
Stock up on holiday films. The Nutcracker, Scrooge, It’s a Wonderful Life, animated holiday cartoons—these can be playing during your get-togethers or during blustery afternoons. Look for books on tape as well that feature holiday stories. Try A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.
Don’t have time to make an old-fashioned gingerbread house? Make a wall of candy even Willy Wonka would admire. Adorn temporary shelving with glass jars of sugar plums, gumdrops, fudge, Turkish delights, red and green jelly beans and more!
Display your Christmas cards. Cover a door with them.
Want something other than stands of lights in the window? String stands of large glass beads in shades of red, gold or green and drape them horizontally across your windows for a great Victorian touch.
Replace all your house plants in new pots of glazed red and green.
Replace your washroom soaps with decorative holiday soaps in shapes of evergreens, ornaments or wreaths.
Redo your answering machine message with a Christmas carol like “Jingle Bells” playing in the background. You might also add jingling bells to all your door knobs—if you don’t mind the noise!
Transform cookies, mashed potatoes, white bread, angel food cake, eggs, drinks, etc…with red or green food coloring.
Transform the beds in your home with holiday quilts or red and green blankets, sheets and pillow cases.
Use your creativity to ring in the holidays with some great new ideas to mingle with beloved old traditions. When you make the most of the holidays—it rubs off on all who draw near.
Corporate Holiday Gifts - Tips To Make You Look Good!
Every year we do lots of gourmet gift baskets for our business customers to give as corporate holiday gifts. Food gifts are just as popular as ever and always appropriate. Most of our corporate clients choose non-religious, classic looking gifts, to say "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings." Of course, we do offer Christmas and Hanukkah gift baskets speficially, if this is appropriate for the recipients. A great way for businesses to keep their name in front of the client and not get lost in a sea of gifts, is to take advantage of our ribbon imprinting service. We can add your company name, in your corporate colors, to the bows of your gift. We've also incorporated our customers' own promotional products, such as logo mugs, inside our baskets. To keep things fresh and new each year, try alternating between a stand alone gift - like a delicious cake inside an imprinted gift tin - and baskets. Alternative containers or gifts without any container can also be provided. The possibilities are endless! Another way to get more marketing bang for your buck - food products within a basket can be personalized with your company name and logo. We can even order custom Fortune cookies for you! Most important: for large, corporate orders, start planning early! Our suppliers often sell-out of the most popular holiday items by October and by December, we'll be up to our necks in ribbons and shred trying to get all our orders out. So, the earlier you order, the more likely you are to get just what you need and get it there on time.
Make The Most Of The Holiday Season
With all the hustle and bustle, it's easy to forget what this time of year is really about. This wonderful time of year is meant to celebrate life, love, family, and the joy of giving. Some ideas to get into the real spirit of Christmas: volunteer your time for a good cause, instead of cramming it all into one day - extend the holiday to "Christmas Week" and visit different friends and family throughout the time between Christmas and New Year, have a "cookie swap" and get together with friends to exchange your favorite holiday recipes, or take the kids to a holiday movie, local event, or drive to check out decorations and lights on everyone else's house. If money is tight, have a grab bag or exchange small gifts Christmas morning and have a big brunch. Some families even wait for those big after-Christmas sales and shop together
Christmas Gifts You Can Make
What is more thoughtful than a Christmas gift you made yourself. So here's a quick list of ideas to spark your creativity and make your holidays more festive:
Customize clear ornaments:
spray-on fake snow
glued on glitter
glued on ribbon strips
cover the whole ball with glued on fabric
fill the clear balls with a pine branch, mini pinecones, or ribbon
paint the outside with small dots, stripes, or snowflakes
Whichever you make, use a pretty ribbon hanger
Make a tin of homemade fudge
Arrange silk flowers, branches, and berries in a beautiful holiday centerpiece. Use a pretty pot or other container.
Decorate a styrofoam topiary form with bunchies of artificial berries or use picks to stick in glittered fruit. The base can be a clay flower pot spray-painted gold, silver, or red.
Craft a lovely candle centerpiece using a glue gun to add poinsettias, ribbon, berries, or pinecones to a pre-made pine wreath. Craft stores sell candle holders for the middle. You can even glue a glass container in the center, using the inverted candle holder, as a base.
Use an inexpensive pine wreath and embellish it with florals, berry sprays, pinecones, glittered fruit, or whatever else you can dream up for a gorgeous wreath you won't find in any store.
Make The Most Of The Holiday Season