Blessed is the season that engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
—Hamilton Wright Mabie
Too often, our holiday celebrations are filled with such tremendous effort, chaos, and stress that they cease to be happy. In all the rush, we lose sight of the value of simply coming together with family and friends. We overspend, over-indulge, and overlook the reason we have gathered together. This season, enjoy spontaneous and unexpected gatherings with the best gifts of the season—your family and friends.
DO’s
• have fun
• get creative
• be resourceful
• enjoy your guests
DON’Ts
• get stressed out
• worry
• spend a lot of money to have a lot of fun
Here are some artful and heart-ful tips for creating a party on the spot.
Quick and Artful Decorating tips:
- Make your dining room table a work of art. Fill a large bowl with Christmas balls and use it as a centerpiece. Or, if you have a three-tiered cake plate, fill each tier with colorful balls and place a candle at the top
- When holiday cards start arriving, tie a string like a clothesline above the mantel, above a doorway, or on a wall and hang them with clothespins. These beautiful greetings from the people who love you will make a quilt of colors and a festive work of art.
- Bring the outdoors inside. Gather branches from holly bushes, pine trees or other evergreens. Tie them together with a big red ribbon, and fasten them to your front door, or lay them on tabletops for holiday fragrance and a beautiful look.
- Hang little white lights above doorways, on the mantel, or around the table edge. If your lights are in a ball and all knotted up (from last year), just plug them in, place them on a pedestal, and you’ll have a ball of lights.
- Keep tons of candles handy and fill your rooms with candlelight—candles make every season merry and bright
- ’Tis the season to be jolly—so set the holiday mood with a great CD of your favorite holiday music. If you don’t have any, turn on the radio; you can always find stations dedicated to holiday hits.
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