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We just moved into our first home, and of course, it has been voted
the place of choice for our family Xmas gathering. Do you have any tips on
decorating on a “first time home buyers” budget?
First, and best tip of them all, is to start a Christmas collection in
honour of your guests by asking each guest to bring a wine glass that best
suits their personality. This is a lot of fun and a great conversational
highlight as everyone gets to view each others personal choice in wine
apparel. It also saves on buying wine charms and stocks your cupboard with
funky glasses for future entertaining!
Candles are an inexpensive way to create a festive holiday environment. To
create a “PartyLite” impression on a dime, visit your local dollar or thrift
store and pick up a collection of glassware - tumblers or thicker wine
glasses work best. Decorate each glass with ribbon and a unique festive
“sprig” (can also be found in a dollar or craft store). Glue using a hot
glue gun. Drop a tealight candle in each and presto! Arrange your candle
holders in different grouping around the room and dim the lights for a warm
and cosy ambiance.
For a creative table centerpiece, buy a large glass bowl (or two, depending
on the size of your dining table) and a box or two of inexpensive, round
glass Christmas tree ornaments. Carefully arrange the ornaments in the glass
bowl. Try to hide the hanger stems that stick out from the ornaments as much
as possible. To secure them together better, stick together with
double-sided tape. If the stems show too much, hide with a leafy “sprig”.
For a festive centrepiece for each guests serving plate, tie three cinnamon
sticks with a red ribbon. Place like a tee-pee on each plate. You can get
very creative with these simple ornaments by gluing miniature berries or
bells to each bundle. They smell wonderful too!
For fun and very creative tree or window ornaments, make them with white
glue. Empty a large glue bottle into an old plastic container. Add colour
using food colouring, or add sparkle with shaker sparkles. Pour the glue
back into its bottle or an icing piping bag. On wax paper, squeeze the glue
into desired shapes - stars, gingerbread men, candy canes, etc. Allow to
dry. Peel glue ornaments off the wax paper carefully and thread with ribbon
for hanging. This is a fun activity for kids, it’ll keep ‘em busy for hours!
Interested in having your home decorating questions answered by a
professional interior decorator? Send your questions to
experts@risingwomen.com
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