Holiday decorating [Archive] - Forums

Breezy

11-30-2008, 08:30 AM

What's everyone doing for holiday decor? I wanted to get a real tree but that was outta the question because THE CAT would try to climb it:p so we got a slim artificial tree and I bought decorations made out of thin wood in case he tackles it nothing will break! I put up some wreaths and garland too & I'm gonna look for those glade festive scented oil candles - I saw a scratch n sniff page in a magazine and they smelled sooo good. I love those holiday scents!

Meridon

11-30-2008, 08:57 AM

I second the artificial tree because of cats--but in my case it's more to cut down on the amount of needles that they would ingest and then hack up and not so much the climbing! I've stuck with a natural or homemade theme for my tree. The ornaments are a mix of tin punched, knitted snowflakes, cross stitched, small baskets, wooden birds, pine cones strung on yarn, etc. My garland is burlap strips layered with cranberry colored wooden beads. I love my tree and like to think it's in the spirit of what a Craftsman Christmas would be--appreciation for nature and handmade objects. I also have a small Christmas village collection (Carole Town series from Lowe's) on top of the entertainment center and a wooden nativity scene on the mantel hung with needlepoint stockings. My other prized Christmas decoration is a ceramic Christmas tree made by my mom back during the ceramics craze of the 1970s...complete with "light bright" lights, of course!

Lisa S

11-30-2008, 09:05 AM

I have three kitties who are fascinated with Christmas trees, but every year I put up my collection of glass ornaments and hope for the best. We usually have a casualty or two.

I hung garland on our white fence in front of the house. I tied big bows made from sage green ribbon on the posts. It looks pretty. (But I wish I had painted the fence last summer...)

We have a tree in the living room and one in each of the kids rooms. My husband's grandmothers were very prolific Christmas ornament makers. I don't have the heart not to hang each and every one of them, so we just keep adding trees. Good thing we live in Oregon and my dear friend has a Christmas tree farm!

I'm cleaning the house this week and decorating next. We should share pictures!

RoseMary

11-30-2008, 09:12 AM

We make a lot of homemade ornaments for our tree. I try to make ornaments with things that family members give me, like scraps of homemade lace, etc. Most of the 'store bought' ornaments are things we picked up on vacations as sourveniers. I also like to put little birds all over our tree. This year I am going to make 'nests' with some honeysuckle vines. I'm also making some homemade 'icicles' out of cut up cans. My husband's grandmother said they are the kind they made during the Depression when it was hard to find ornaments in stores.

Meridon, I'd love to see a picture of your tree! Do you do tin punch? It is such a fun old-time craft to do and looks so pretty!

We have a cat indoors, too, so we have an artificial tree, as well. The main problem is that he likes to get under the tree and I'm always afraid that he will get wrapped up in the light wires. He really doesn't do more than 'bat' at the ornaments. Still, my daughters purchased some glass ornaments this year to go on a small tree, so we'll have to be careful about them.

Breezy

11-30-2008, 09:23 AM

Please everyone post pics if possible - your ideas are wonderful!

Lynzee

11-30-2008, 09:24 AM

I am almost finished with my inside decorating. Am trying to figure out how to decorate outside with a puppy who thinks everything is his toy! :mad:

We have an artificial tree because we put ours up so early--and we put up so many. I do the same thing each year--goes back to the days when I was decorating all of the businesses in town and didn't have a lot of time to spend decorating my house.

The ornaments on my trees are red, white and/or gold, and I use about 1200 white lights. Greens and red velvet bows go on just about anything that can't move out of my way and I put out a ton of candles. Noel from Crabtree and Evelyn is my absolute favorite holiday scent!

RoseMary

11-30-2008, 09:29 AM

You guys are putting me in a very Christmasy mood! If I didn't have a cold (can't smell anything) I'd get some sort of apple/cinnamon scent brewing right now.

Since we heat with wood, we keep a cast iron kettle of water on top of the stove for humidity and I like to put in cinnamon sticks, orange peels, etc. throughout the day. Makes the house smell so nice!

Lisa S

11-30-2008, 09:47 AM

Rosemary ~ I bet your home smells wonderful.

rubyslippers

11-30-2008, 10:05 AM

Hello everyone,

We have a cat; however, he loves having a "live" tree. A lot of my ornaments have a quirky-retro feel to them. I haven't started decorating; however, you are all making me wish I had time to do so right now. Rosemary, I love to do the same thing with a scent on my stove. Cinnamon sticks, cloves, cut-up oranges/lemons, a little nutmeg, a single packet of apple cider mix makes the place smell wonderful. However, you have to be careful not to "burn the scent" - - if you let the water simmer away completely, the stench is AWFUL, so be careful. Anyway, I found some cute "garland" for lack of a better word. I like the way this is strung along the fireplace mantle with greenery garland.

Okay, the cute garland happens to be a string of cute little woolen mittens; however, I cannot copy and paste the image. Has anyone posted pictuers here yet ... is there a trick I haven't figured out?

Anyway, happy decorating!

Breezy

11-30-2008, 11:52 AM

R~Mary - I'm gonna have to try your idea it sounds like the scent would be wonderful and so fitting for the holidays

RoseMary

11-30-2008, 01:39 PM

Unfortunately, I have burned the mixture before, rubyslippers~and you are correct--it's very stinky:eek:!

Meridon

11-30-2008, 02:11 PM

RoseMary,
No, I don't do tin punch myself but I agree that it's a great hobby. I actually bought my ornaments from a "trade days" weekend at our local state park from an older gentleman who does traditional crafts. The cross stitch ornaments were made by my mom, who passed away when I was young, so they're a great keepsake. Working on pics. . .will try to post later. It's great to hear everyone's ideas! Keep 'em coming!

Whidbey5

11-30-2008, 02:21 PM

Our biggest decorating challenge is keeping the breakable ornaments out of the reach of our Lab's deadly tail. One good wag and...

We're going for minimal decorating this year because we'll be traveling most of the holiday. We'll put up the tree and a few decorations but the snowman and santa collections will have to stay put for this year.

The lights are up outside. Now all we need is a little snow! I keep hoping!

I picked up one of those plug in air fresheners at Illuminations. It's pine tree scent and it is awesome! I may keep it going all year round!

Shelley

Meridon

11-30-2008, 03:08 PM

Here's a closeup of some of the ornaments on my tree. Not a great pic, I'm afraid.

Breezy

11-30-2008, 03:46 PM

Meridon - the ornaments are wonderful! So homey and nostalgic - love it!

Lynzee

11-30-2008, 04:52 PM

The ornaments are beautiful, Meridon! I'd love to see a picture of the entire tree. I'll bet it's amazing!

RoseMary

12-01-2008, 03:30 AM

Breezy~you're whole house will smell wonderful!

Meridon, I love the picture you posted. I've thought about making some of those little beaded candy canes. Looking forward to seeing more!

colonialcottage

12-01-2008, 06:39 AM

Hi
Funny about cats. My husband was putting up our (real) tree and sure enough our Siamese tried to climb it--down it came. He now has it secured to the fireplace with string.
We plan to fill a little Amish wagon that we have with fresh pine boughs, holly (if we can find some) and some oversized silver and gold pinecone ornmaents we found at Michaels.

memmey

12-01-2008, 07:20 AM

Now that my son if grown and lives away from home,I can have a "lady" tree. I can put the things I like on it and it is just for me...LOL Emil comes by every once in a while but being 23 he is really b-u-s-y.;)
You can guess that it is white. I have not put it up yet. It won't be long though. This puts me in the spirit to tread about your trees and decorations

Meridon your decorations are so nice. By the way nice to meet you.:D
.

Lisa S

12-01-2008, 07:26 AM

Colonial Cottage,
Hi there ~ Good to meet you! The Amish wagon sounds adorable. Will you post a picture. If you were closer, I'd dig up the holly volunteers that are in my driveway.:rolleyes:

Breezy

12-01-2008, 07:31 AM

Greetings colonialcottage! Love the idea about the Amish wagon it sounds so cute. Would love to see some pics:)

memmey

12-01-2008, 07:57 AM

Hello colonialcottage nice to meet you.

Lisa S

12-01-2008, 08:01 AM

Meridon,

I somehow missed the picture of your ornaments Very nice! Good to meet you too.

Lisa S

12-01-2008, 08:02 AM

Shelley,

When my Golden was a pup, she and the kitties joined sides against my tree. The kitties would swat the ornaments and the stupid (all puppies are stupid, that's why they're made so cute!) dog ate the glass pieces.

RoseMary

12-01-2008, 09:50 AM

Hi colonialcottage! I want to see the Amish wagon, too!

girlonthesand

12-01-2008, 10:16 AM

I used to do the elaborate, stunning and formal trees with just satin bows and fabric or mercury glass red and blue balls. However, the older I get I've returned to the comforting tree of my childhood, filled with ornaments of varied materials, including wood, felt and glass, plus I've added small plastic apples for pops of red and tiny white lights. We have a stylized gold angel on our tree top, and the whole impression is a homey, sit down and have some eggnog and enjoy kind of tree.

I think the holidays are about comfort, friends and family - my desire to impress with the perfect holiday decor has definitely waned. I want friends to lounge about our living room and enjoy the handmade ornaments from my childhood and my craftsy mom's latest projects instead. Ornaments with stories are more fun than an elaborate and expensive bauble with no history.

I'll come back and add a photo once we get this year's tree set up this week!

memmey

12-01-2008, 10:18 AM

Nice to meet you girlonthesand. We love love pictures :D

Lynzee

12-01-2008, 10:35 AM

Hi ColonialCottage and girlonthesand! Nice to meet you both!

I so envy those of you who have ornaments from your childhood. I have none from my childhood and I gave my children all of their "special" ornaments when they celebrated their first Christmas with their spouses. I need to start a collection for the little one now.

Breezy

12-01-2008, 01:58 PM

Hi girlonthesand - nice to meet you. Waiting to see pics of your tree.:)

Lisa S

12-01-2008, 02:51 PM

Hi Girlonthesand!

I know I've told this story before, but here I go again:

When my husband and I were first married, we had less than $50 for decorations (we had none to start with), presents and food for company that stayed with us during December. We put our creative minds to work and decided to emulate the Matisse Gold Fish poster that hung in our living room.

We dyed an old sheet orange and cut out gold fish shapes. We filled the goldfish with the innards of an old pillow. We strung goldfish crackers like garland. It was a really cute tree.

RoseMary

12-01-2008, 03:59 PM

Hi girlonthesand~I second your thoughts on Christmas! I love homey, handmade, and natural decorations, too. I'd love to see a picture of your tree!

memmey

12-02-2008, 06:55 AM

If you all want to look at a home that is so gorgeous for the holidays go to " The Old Painted Cottage" and click on the cottage of the month.
Now I know that it will not be every ones taste but for the sheer excess it is a worthy look.
The owners eye for detail is unbelievable! I love to look at photos and this one makes you want to get up and decorate. DECORATE!!!!

I was thinking :) I don't think I like a home with too many vinettes(sp?). I want the dishes to look used and the sofa to be a little rumpled. The books to look like someone actually read them. You really can't save your things you need to use them. Really use them.

When I was little my Sweet Mama worked and she wanted economy of motion. She was tired. We ate on Melmac. It was grand on holidays but not so much during the week. Somehow we came to have nice manners.

I think a man who is comfortable with a nice table is so wonderful. Not being afraid of a saucer or relaxed with the silverware placement is not a sissy thing. Practice makes perfect.
My hardest thing at our Saturday dinners is the red wine dribbles. Red wine... the bane of my existence. No one wants white wine :confused:.

Good conversation around a nice table is heaven to me.

Lisa S

12-02-2008, 07:21 AM

http://theoldpaintedcottage.wahmweb.com/store/WsPages.asp?ID=3

This is the link Memmey was talking about. What a neat home! I have the "I Wants" really bad at the moment, and that woman has the stuff I love ~ the old fashioned looking snowmen, the glitter words... How beautiful!

chyna

12-03-2008, 04:08 PM

Which tree?:eek: The main tree is ornaments we have collected over the years. Each year we get a family ornament so it is pretty memory filled when unpacking them.:) The tree in my bedroom is old ornaments and old timey looking things, I actually like it better then our main tree just because of the feel of it. My dd's room gets a tree I spray painted last year pink with her choice of ornaments. Lots of girly things. LOL I have one out on the porch that is natural things like birds, twigs, that sort of thing and no lights at all. I let the outdoors twinkle it.

Then of course the mini trees which are just fun to do.

As for cats. I mentioned this last year and probably the year before but a trick I read somewhere is that peppermint extract will keep a cat away. Pretty sure the article or tip was for a scratching cat to save your furniture but it does work for the tree too. And you get a nice smell too. I even unwrap candy canes to keep them off, my drawback there is that my dogs love candy canes so I end up with candy cane bits all over the house. :eek:

Zuzu's Garden

12-08-2008, 05:01 AM

I'm not sure if we will have time to put up a tree this year, but we can have one like my Mom gave my Dad years ago...

They were away for the holidays, and Dad was feeling sad and missing everyone so much. Christmas Eve night, Mom took him by the hand and walked him outside. She said "If you look up this tall pine tree, you'll see the stars twinkling through it - this Christmas tree was decorated especially for you".

Wasn't that sweet?
:)
Zu

memmey

12-08-2008, 06:24 AM

Zu so beautiful. That is Christmas. So beautiful.

Lisa S

12-08-2008, 07:32 AM

Very nice. Love ~ it makes the world go 'round.

ThriftShopRomantic

12-08-2008, 09:11 AM

What a lovely place at the Old Painted Cottage. It's more white than would bear well here in the north, I think, but absolutely beautiful. Like a frosted cake.

Breezy

12-08-2008, 05:22 PM

Lisa S ~ wow what a beautiful place - so feminine (old painted cottage)

Zuzu ~ what a sweet story

Chyna ~ love your natural decorated tree on the porch idea

CohenCottage

12-08-2008, 06:23 PM

Ok ladies, I would like to poll the audience about our decoration situation. We have a very small cottage, and there is no way to add a full sized tree and keep all of the furniture in the room (we have a sectional that can only go in the room one way). Here are the options that I've thought of, but I'm open to suggestions too. Can't wait to hear back on this.

1. Move dining table (we have one big open living dining area that is open to the kitchen) to another room and put a tree in its place. We could eat our meals at our island/bar.

2. Do a small size tree on top of a console table in the living room. I love the magnolia idea from the CL Christmas magazine, but it's probably too expensive and we don't have anywhere to plant it after Christmas.

3. Put a tree on our front porch (like Heather Chadduck's porch tree from last year, also in CL Christmas) and then either add a small tree inside or just do garland and other decorations inside.

Lisa S

12-08-2008, 07:06 PM

Hmmm... I think my vote would be for a tree outside and a small one inside. Will you put a lot of presents under the tree and a small one might not be enough? If you moved the table out of the dining room, would you miss it?

WannaBHomemaker

12-09-2008, 08:23 AM

I agree with Lisa, I like option #3. I think a porch tree would be so much fun! If I put one up though it'd have blown halfway across Texas by now!

BTW, it was blowing snow earlier and yesterday we had a dust wall come through mid-afternoon! Hooray for TX weather!

All this talking about decorating our homes for Christmas and it makes me think how sad it is that my workplace (the director mainly) won't allow the "public areas" of the offices to be decorated AT ALL for any holiday! It's so sad! This is the directors' 6th year and this is the first Christmas he has allowed a tree up but it is not in the "public view". I, however, have an office in back where customers rarely come so I have a tree and garland up and paper ornaments on my wall! The director even told me he liked the decor, but so as to not offend anyone, no one in the public view can put anything up! You would think they could at least put up Seasons Greetings that could be for winter in general or any religious affiliation celebration.

anyway, here are pics of my office decor and tree and then the bigger tree is at my house.

CohenCottage

12-09-2008, 08:34 AM

We probably won't have a lot of presents, and I wouldn't miss the dining table, but DH said he didn't want to move it. Thanks for your help ladies, and I'll post pictures when we are through...

Thanks!

ThriftShopRomantic

12-09-2008, 10:11 AM

Gosh, WannaB, that's so cute! I love it!

I actually have a rather strange little tree in my office here at work.

My coworker a few years ago made me a tree themed in stuff of my favorite actor.

So she made wooden garland of movie posters decoupaged on it, and got little action figures and hung them like ornaments-- it's totally crazy, but very cute.

It, of course, requires a bit of explanation when folks stop by my office, but it's an original for sure. :)

Breezy

12-09-2008, 12:33 PM

Cohen ~ I'd go with #3 also - you could always get a very small artificial tree for inside & decorate it to the hilt:)

WannaB ~ love the decorations in the pics!

Lisa S

12-09-2008, 01:05 PM

Wannabe ~ I love your pictures. Thanks for sharing them. That bench is beautiful.

chyna

12-09-2008, 02:04 PM

I like the idea of the tree on the porch and small one in the livingroom too. Really as far as the presents go as long as they aren't going to freeze it wouldn't even hurt them to be out there and would just make it that much cuter. :) I've also heard of hanging the tree from the ceiling upside down but that has got ot either be a real tree or an artificial tree that is glued together.:eek: I can't really wrap my head around that one so have never tried it. Just a bit too kooky for me. :D

RoseMary

12-09-2008, 05:22 PM

I love the idea of the tree on the porch!

Tanya, I just can't picture the tree hung from the ceiling:confused: It would be interesting to see.

Breezy

12-10-2008, 06:30 AM

RoseMary I read where the Victorians hung Christmas trees upside down from the ceiling & I've seen pictures of them in magazines but I think I'll keep our tree right side up:D

ThriftShopRomantic

12-10-2008, 07:22 AM

Breezy, I've seen it too, and it's just hard to wrap the ol' brain around it... I suppose folks get used to certain things, but the upside down tree doesn't quite work for me.

Heck, I have enough trouble just getting it into the stand, let along stringing it from my ceiling!! :)

chyna

12-10-2008, 10:15 AM

I just keep getting images of Dr Seuss and poking my eye into a branch. Nope there will be no upside down trees at my house. :p

Lynzee

12-10-2008, 11:14 AM

I have done this. Not really as "a christmas tree hung upside down from the ceiling" but as a Christmas "chandelier". Though really, I guess, it's the same thing. :rolleyes:

I take a small artificial tree--about 2' with the branches attached, not the kind that have to be snapped together. I turn it upside down and string lights as evenly as possible, starting with the single branch that is normally the treetop. Then, starting at the bottom (again, the "tip" of the tree) I start draping bead strands in a swag pattern, making sure the swag of the beads of the first row falls just below the light on the tip. I move up the tree, row by row, making sure the beads are spaced evenly among the branches on each row and that the swag of each row of beads overlaps half of the row below it, and I wire those in place as I go. I hide the base of the tree (and the hook for hanging) with a huge bow, then hang it as a "chandelier".

Not sure I have described it very well, but I've made many of them. They were a huge seller when I was doing holiday decorating for businesses.

WannaBHomemaker

12-11-2008, 09:52 AM

Wow Lynzee, I'd like to see a pic of that - sounds pretty!

As far as upside down Christmas trees, I saw some for sale last year that were built upside down, as in it still stands on the floor but the tip is at the bottom. I was not impressed.

ThriftShopRomantic

12-12-2008, 10:01 AM

WannaB- Yup, I've seen those in catalogs. It's a strange sight to see.

CohenCottage

12-14-2008, 05:21 PM

Well, we reached our holiday decorating decision! Instead of doing one big tree and one small tree, we did TWO BIG TREES. Isn't that exciting!? We got a ball and burlap live Arizona Cyperess 'Blue Pyramid' for inside and a Frasier Fir cut tree for outside on the porch. One of our biggest concerns about a real tree indoors is allergies. Cut trees have a ton of mold on them, and I'm highly allergic. Potted trees are supposed to have less mold on them b/c they aren't bundled, kept wet, and transported long distances. I also got a non-toxic mold spray that you can spray on your tree every 4 days or so. Will let y'all know how that goes.

The cyperess is really beautiful...gray blue with neat branches, so I'll be sure to post pictures when it's decorated. The best part was that you don't have to mess with a tree stand. We got a big metal tub from Lowes, put rocks in it to stabilize the tree, and that was it!

Hope y'all all had a great weekend...

rubyslippers

12-14-2008, 08:31 PM

Hello everyone - -

I have to be honest. I have been avoiding this thread ever since I submitted the post about how much I love the scent of citrus, cinnamon, etc. boiling on the stove. I knew this would be a crazy Christmas when we decided to close on our house last Monday. It all happened quickly, but for those of you who know me well, it was not a spontaneous decision.

Well, I am now starting to feel a little zany. I hopped on-line and took care of more shopping than I usually do in that manner. One trip to the gourmet grocery store should top of the gift-list stuff later in the week. I also was smarter-than-the-average-bear and I sent ALL of my packages to my parent's home (about 25 minutes away). They will call and/or meet me with FedEx type stuff over the next few days when they come help with the house. I was scared to death everything would be lost between the two moving locations.

Anyway, it will all work out because it somehow always does. With that said, I really hope we manage to get settled in time to deck-the-halls-with-boughs-of-holly and maybe hang-our-stockings-by-the-chimney-with-care. Things will be quite minimalist this Christmas. That works both financially and with the given time constraints.

I did slip over to the new house and put up a winter flag with a sled and some ice skates. I feel a little better now. Each step I take working to make the home "ours" makes me feel better. It is just slow-going while I am still working this week. I won't be around here very much.

I'll report back - - and possibly be able to surprise you all with some holiday pictures, but for now, it is bed time - - I'll dream about visions of sugar plums and a lot of time to plan for next Christmas. Right now, it is about keeping it simple.

Thanks for listening!

(By the way, all of your homes sound and look beautiful. I look forward to being able to share pictures with you. I am also so thankful to have found this little home. It appears we are moving in rather nicely doesn't it?)

ThriftShopRomantic

12-16-2008, 05:13 AM

Sounds like things are really coming along for you at a good pace, Jenny-- congratulations! :) There's no place like home, right?

rubyslippers

12-16-2008, 02:46 PM

If only I could click my rubyslippers and magically move all my stuff. Anyway, I was again looking (and reading) about the work all of you have put forth in your homes. It all sounds and looks fabulous.

Talk to you all soon,

Jenny

ThriftShopRomantic

12-17-2008, 09:53 AM

I haven't gotten to add these to my photo album here yet, but thought you all might enjoy seeing how Christmas is shaping up around my house:

http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2008/12/hall-decking-and-other-fa-la-las.html

Also some not too bad Voyaging In Snow To Get The Tree pics here:

http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2008/12/oh-christmas-tree-plus-thrift-store.html

It was fortunately a beautiful sunny day in spite of the cold and snow, so it's rather nice to see the sunshine hitting off the snowy branches.

Lisa S

12-17-2008, 10:15 AM

Beautiful! The house and the trip to get the tree!

ThriftShopRomantic

12-18-2008, 09:06 AM

Thanks! It was a lot of fun.

I still have SO much more to do, it's a bit hard to get motivated-- it's overwhelming.

Nikki

12-18-2008, 03:29 PM

I am so unmotivated to decorate this year....my living room still has exposed sheetrock from an arched doorway project we still haven't finished, and we never got around to re-tiling the hearth so it is just a concrete slab. I had such high hopes for getting all of my projects tied up in time for Christmas. This is the 5th Christmas I've spent here, and every year a different part of the house is torn up :eek:. Gotta love fixer-uppers, huh?!

Love all of your pictures & ideas, though, they are lovely :)

Lisa S

12-18-2008, 03:46 PM

Nikki

I can completely relate to how you feel right now. This too shall pass my friend. Back in the old days of Cottage Living, we had a thread going about the before, DURING and after shots that magazines should post.

Lynzee

12-19-2008, 04:08 PM

I remember that thread, Lisa! The during posts were always the most fun! :D

Lisa S

12-19-2008, 04:15 PM

Boas and pearls, right? ;)

RoseMary

12-19-2008, 08:29 PM

Jenn, you made me want snow when I saw your beautiful pictures!

Our decorating is just so-so this year. Our tree looks great, but we are in the process of adding some built-in shelves and re-workig the entertainment center, so that sort of ruins the looks of everything else. I didnt' even get out our Christmas village, as it usually goes in a spot we are working on.

Maybe next year we'll get it all together. Maybe:p.