by Lindsey Romain
12 Days of Decorating:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … plenty of holiday decorating ideas to make the home beautiful and festive for the season.
From new crafts to updates on traditional staples, holiday decorating doesn’t have to be a chore.
So gather your friends and family and prepare some extra holiday treats to get an early start on holiday decorating. Here are three to get started with, with nine more to follow.
Day 1: Wrapped Frames
Kara Allen, party planning expert and author of “Kara’s Party Ideas” (Cedar Fort Publishing, 2012), has a fun idea for sprucing up a standard item: Wrap it!
“We wrap picture frames in gift wrap and make them look like gifts and then hang them back on the wall,” says Allen of one of her favorite family tricks. It’s perfect for leftover gift wrap that isn’t big enough to contain a whole gift.
Day 2: Celebration Bulbs
Clear glass ornament bulbs are versatile for lots of different projects. Here’s an idea for tree ornaments that double as birthday decorations.
Victoria Hudgins, blogger at A Subtle Revelry and contributing writer for “Handmade Wedding” (Chronicle Books, 2010), came up with the craft when she was looking for a way to incorporate seasonal décor with a festive birthday party. To make the ornaments, start with clear bulbs, which can be purchased at craft stores, and stuff them with confetti or textured ribbon. “A stack of small candles would be a great inclusion, as well,” Hudgins says.
But they don’t have to be birthday-specific – Allen does a similar Christmas version. She fills the inside of the bulb with liquid glue and then pours glitter inside, so it sticks to the sides. Hudgins has also done a version where she fills the bulbs with hot chocolate ingredients.
“The clear ornaments are perfect because you can design them for any style or party you’d like,” Hudgins says.
Day 3: A Tisket, A Tasket
A fun spin on tradition is to use baskets instead of regular ornaments for the tree, says Johansson, who is releasing a new book, “Perfect Parties” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012), this year. They fill the baskets with candy, and when the holidays are over, they invite friends to the house to socialize and eat the candy from the tree. “We call it tree-plundering,” she says.
“People will sneak some pieces during Christmas,” she admits, “but the plundering is a good way to keep the celebration going. We are pretty Christmas-obsessed.”
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