For decorations that play double duty and look simply chic, savvy decorators are using timeless items that can be dressed up to fit the various upcoming holidays. Trees, wreaths and centerpieces can offer both flexibility and an attractive look.
Bare Trees Invite Holiday Decorations All Year Long
Decorating evergreen trees may be a timeless Christmas tradition but bare branches gathered together in a pretty vase or urn work as an alternative that will adapt to any holiday. Bare branches can be purchased at a craft store either natural or painted, but those gathered from a yard can be just as beautiful. Look for curving or mulit-branching shapes.
Secured in the base of a pot or urn and decorated with small seasonal ornaments to match the holiday, these branches can adapt to a modern and spare, casual, or traditional décor. Ornaments can be fashioned out of items found in nature such as acorns or colorful leaves, or simple crafts representing holiday items made from felt, fabric, or paper.
Wreaths Can Be Reused for Any Season
Wreaths are also found made from evergreen branches in December, but simple wreaths made of dried grapevines can be purchased at the craft store and updated for each holiday. By adding and removing colorful ornaments, the same wreath base can be used to decorate for several holidays.
Options include fall colored leaves cut from scrap booking paper, small Halloween trinkets such as pumpkins or candy, salt dough representations of fall harvest items or a pilgrim hat, and finally, evergreen branches can be added to the grapevine base for the Christmas holiday. These wreaths need not always be placed on the front door either. Over the mantle or on a side table are two other options for wreaths throughout the season.
Centerpieces Begin With Items on Hand
Centerpieces need not be fussy and overworked. Frugal decorators might check their cupboards for an attractive glass bowl, vase or trifle bowl. Filled with acorns, oak balls, or any other natural item commonly found in nature, these regular items can be transformed into a seasonal display. For Halloween, a trifle bowl filled with layers of candy corn, black and orange jellybeans, and set with small, spooky decorations creates a seasonal diorama. For Thanksgiving, a vase can be filled with cranberries floating in water and seasonal blooms such as decorative kale. For Christmas, a broad bowl might be transformed when filled with fragile, colorful ornaments.
Decorations that begin with items already in the home save time and money and offer flexibility not found in department store décor.
Christine Silva - Christine is a Stay-at-Home-Mother of three children under the age of 6 working feverishly to maintain the appearance of order, calm, and ...
