Decorating Ideas

DECORATING IDEAS
For your entire home
Inside and Out

QUICK OUTDOOR TRICKS
Fill window boxes with spray-painted pinecones and tie an oilcloth "ribbon" around them.

Wind greens around the gatepost or lamppost and tie with a red oilcloth bow.

Something for the birds -- String cranberry and popcorn garlands on the trees outside your house.

Replace front door light bulbs with colored ones for a quick festive look.

Use clothespins or wire ties to affix outdoor Christmas lights, if their clips have broken.

Greens from your own backyard will look fresh and festive adorning banisters, mantels and outdoor decorations.

Decorate your front door like a Christmas package -- trim it with wide ribbon, then add a bow, some dried flowers and vines, if you'd like.

INSTANT YULETIDE WINDOWSLine up a few potted evergreens on the windowsill and add some tinsel, white mini-lights and artificial snow.

Use evergreen garlands to tie back drapes, decorate windowsills and window panes. You can decorate them with Christmas lights, miniature ornaments, ribbons and, of course, pinecones.

Here are some great ways to put your leftover ribbon to good use: Try tucking some colorful bows onto your window panes; hang some as streamers; use it to hang pinecones, holly and decorated Christmas cookies or cookie cutters.

Pin a few shiny Christmas balls to your drapes and valances

GOOD SCENTS FOR ENTRYWAY
To make sure the impression guests get when they enter your home is a sweet one...

Set out potpourri in decorative dishes on the table in your entryway

Light some scented candles ont he entry table.

Splash a few drops of perfume or cologne on the light bulbs of your entryway lamps.

Place bars of strong-scented soap in entryway closets and in the drawers of the entry table.

Hang clove-studded oranges in closets to banish mustiness

OTHER ENTRYWAY IDEAS
Place a mirrored mat on your entry table. Top with a brightly colored arrangement of candlesticks, votives, baskets and ornaments. Pinks and whites create an especially soft effect.

Gather a large spray of boxwood with an oversized bow and wire it to your banister. Match it with a wreath of greens looped with the same kind of ribbon and filled with an array of red candles of various heights.

Intertwine bright red ribbon with some of your Christmas greens. Wrap it around your banister, decorating the spindles with candy canes that you've wired together in pairs and tied with red print ribbon.

Put your Christmas cards to good use: Punch holes in the cards and thread red ribbon through them, then tie these new "decorations" around the banister spindles.

For a dramatic candle effect on the entry table (be sure to place candles on a metal tray or other flameproof surface), roll an assortment of candles in a hot towel to soften slightly, then quickly roll them in silver or gold glitter and let set. Surround a grouping of these cheery candles with a base of greens.

DECORATING WITH AND CARE OF
POINSETTIAS

JIFFY DECORATIONS
Suspend Christmas balls on ribbon of different lengths and colors from your wall moldings.

Paint a large straw basket red and use it to hold a grouping of plants.

Cover a container with heavy gold foil, then fill it with gold-sprayed leaves, tinsel and pinecones.

For an instant centerpiece, fill a silver or glass platter with a cheery assortment of Christmas balls and strings of miniature white lights.

Tie some bright red ribbon around the necks of vases and lamp shades.

Glue carefully cut pieces of doilies onto the inside of your windows. A helpful hint: Use removable glue, like rubber cement, for easy cleanup.

Weave some ribbon through a wicker basket. Place a plant in it and attach some attractive bows to the plant, using florist's wire.

Decorate a window ledge with holly and ribbon, then stand gingerbread men (real or made from wood) or other tree decorations along the ledge.

Tie a holiday ribbon around glass jars filled with tasty Christmas candy.

Hang holiday stockings all around the house -- along the mantel, up the staircase, on a towel bar, even on the bathroom shower rod

Hang candy canes in different colors on the tree, along wall moldings and from the banister.

Trim the tree with paper-wrapped candies.

Let the kids draw on brown paper and use it to wrap gifts

COUNTRY FLAVOR
Hang hand-crafted cookie cutters from bright red ribbons of different lengths. Attach ornament hooks and hang in your window.

Try sewing calico or gingham fabric to wrap presents. Either fold it as you would gift wrap, or place the gift on a square of fabric, then gather up diagonally the opposite ends and tie with a ribbon or yarn.

Place cheery baskets all over the house. Weave some calico-patterned ribbon through the top of each.

Use an old quilt as a Christmas tree skirt. Cut out pieces of the quilt, then stuff and hang as ornaments

ADD A VICTORIAN FEELING
Use lots of lace, doilies, satin and velvet all over the house.

Find old dolls and toys at flea markets and display them on mantels, in windows and in hutches.

Buy antique Christmas cards (or facsimiles). Use them to make placecards, elegant ornaments and mantel decorations>

Wrap gifts in satin or moiré fabric. Decorate with lace ribbon and baby's breath.

YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE
Buying, Care and Safety

QUICK WAYS TO BRING
THE OUTDOORS INSIDE
Hollow out oranges and fill them with white votives. Tuck these into a flat basket lined with greenery.

Arrange holly and boxwood with loops of aspidistra leaves and bright accents of cranberries.

Add fruit and whole cinnamon sticks to a white basket filled with pine, variegated holly and dusty miller.

Line a window ledge or dining room nook with rows of baskets of all shapes and sizes, each filled with an abundance of dried flowers and ribbon streamers.

Arrange fresh sprays of pine and cedar with green plants from your garden. Tuck in some dried seed pods such as okra and roadside weeds that you've sray-painted red.

GARLAND TIPS
Drape garlands around your mantle, windowsill, banister or from a chandelier

To attach evergreen roping to a door or window frame, staple the center of a length of thin florist's wire to the frame. Wrap this wire along the roping at several points along its length.

To attach evergreen roping to a staircase or banister, use ribbon or fabric lengths to tie the roping onto your rails.

Try attaching dried flowers, ornaments, ribbon bows, pinecones, small oranges, kumquats, apples or nuts to your garlands.

When preparing popcorn for garlands, keep the lid on your pot while the popcorn cools. This way, the steam will soften the popcorn and make it easier to string the kernals

CANDLE CARE AND USAGE
Store candles flat in a dark, dry place to prevent warping

Revive less-than-new candles by rubbing them clean with an old nylon stocking or soft cloth moisetened with salad oil.

Freeze candles for one hour to make them burn longer, drip less.

Char wicks before the party, so they'll light in an instant.

Choose dripless candles; otherwise, set them on a plate.

Never leave a candle-lit room unattended.

If a candle is too small for its holder, wrap the bottom in aluminum foil. If it is too big, gently whittle the bottom down to size with a sharp knife.

To lessen candle wax stains on a tablecloth, lift off as much solid wax as possible, then place the stained area between cleam paper towels. Press lightly with a warm iron.

Place wax-coated candle holders in the freezer for one hour. The wax will peel off.

To remove wax from wooden finishes, soften the wax with a hair dryer and remove with paper towels. Wipe off residue with a mixture of vinegar and water.

To remove wax stains from a carpet or rug, scrape off the excess. Cover with several layers of paper towels, then carefully press with a warm iron.