As spring and summer end, it’s time to break out your creativity and get ready for the upcoming holidays with new decorations. It’s not an easy task if you want your decorations to stand out and be memorable. Gear up by taking a look at these four decorating tips to get you through the fall and winter.
Halloween Decorations
Image via Flickr by wwarby
Halloween is really a holiday for kids, so get them involved in the Halloween decorating. Go to a pumpkin patch to handpick a pumpkin for your front porch. If your kids are a little older, let them carve a nice jack o’ lantern face on the front. Next, pull out the paper and start crafting Halloween decorations for your home. It’s easy to make spiders, ghosts, witches, and other cutouts to place around your home. Remember to have fun with Halloween because snow is not too far away and your kids will start spending a lot more time indoors.
Thanksgiving Decorations
Image via Flickr by dolcedo
The point of Thanksgiving is to get your family together for good food and company. Therefore, base your decorations around your food because that’s what everyone is looking for. For instance, create a beautiful table centerpiece surrounded by candles or buy lovely placemats or dinnerware specifically for Thanksgiving. If you’re worried about a budget for Thanksgiving, focus entirely on the food as your decorations. For instance, make leaf-shaped sugar cookies and place them on a tray near the entry of your home. It will be the first thing everyone sees.
Christmas Decorations
Image via Flickr by Nieve44/Luz
When Christmas comes around, all you see is red and green decorations. Challenge yourself with a new color palate this year. There’s no reason why you can’t use frosty blue or royal purple to decorate for the holidays. Also, don’t waste your money on expensive Christmas decorations. Instead, make your own or buy some inexpensive strands of Christmas lights and ribbon. Then, string them all over your home to create a festive look. Ribbon and lights look great along a banister or over a fireplace mantel. If you’re looking for rope lights, ChristmasLightsEtc.com has some inexpensive options.
New Year’s Decorations
Image via Flickr by warrenski
There’s not much time between Christmas and New Year’s, so it makes sense to decorate to accommodate both holidays. You’ll save yourself time if you avoid the Santa decorations and instead opt to use snowflakes, pinecones, and other items that fit with a winter theme. Then, you can just take down the Christmas tree and leave all your other decorations up to be ready for New Year’s. Of course, you’ll probably want to add something sparkly to finish the look before guests come over to help you reign in the New Year.
These are just a few ideas to get you going with your holiday decorating. Use your creativity to make your home beautiful and festive. There are no limits, so try to do something different this year.
David Richards and his family have put up 502,165 Christmas lights around their home in Canberra, setting a new world record.
The Australian family set the record for the most Christmas lights on a residential property, Guinness World Records confirmed.
David Richards told reporters he had started working on the display in October.
The family first held the world record in 2011, before losing the title to a family in New York.
David Richards and his family have put up 502,165 Christmas lights around their home in Canberra, setting a new world record
The Richards family had put up 331,038 Christmas lights in 2011.
“I took a week off in [the] October school holidays and then have worked every weekend since,” David Richards said.
“I have always loved Christmas. Having the Christmas lights with the community coming in and sharing it is a time when you get to know people you probably should know better,” he added.
David Richards did not rule out doing this again in the future, but said he would need a generator to get any more electricity for his home, AP news agency reported.
The Richards family will open the display to visitors in the coming weeks, to raise money for a children’s charity.
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American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season.
American First Dog Bo is upstaging the Christmas decorations at the White House in 2011.
This year, the Obamas’ Portuguese water dog is in almost every room of the ground and State floors, ranging from a miniature licorice and marshmallow version to a felt design four-and-a-half feet tall.
Michelle Obama welcomed military families to the first viewing of the decorations.
American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season
“Shine, Give, Share” is the theme for the Obama family’s third Christmas in the mansion.
The theme translates throughout the public viewing space from gold foil leaf trimming to shiny quartz ornaments.
First Dog Bo made a special appearance in the State Dining Room as military children created holiday ornaments and decorated cookies.
Several decorations honour military families including a Gold Star Families Tree with ceramic gold ornaments carrying personalized messages by families. Tour visitors can also create handwritten notes for the troops.
The usual masterpiece of Christmas at the White House is the official tree, an 18-and-a-half-foot tall balsam fir in the Blue Room. The Christmas tree at White House is decorated with holiday cards created by military children, medals, badges and patches from all the military branches.
“I want to thank all of the troops, all of our veterans and all of our military families,” Michelle Obama said at the unveiling.
“Your service and sacrifice inspire us all.”
The Red Room of White House features fruit, foliage and flowers set in pepperberry- and cranberry-covered vases and a nine-and-a-half-inch tall Bo replica made of buttons.
Denver caterer and event planner David Bondarchuck, who designed the Green Room decorations, said he wanted to enhance the “simple beauty” of the room. “I didn’t want to overdo it,” David Bondarchuck said.
The room was decorated with various hues of green with a bit of “sparkle and shine” including pine cones, twigs, and clear and silver ornaments, David Bondarchuck said.
Bo made a special appearance in the State Dining Room as military children created holiday ornaments and decorated cookies with the White House chefs Cristeta Comerford and Bill Yosses, and White House florist Laura Dowling.
Michelle Obama drew a laugh from the crowd when she said Bo, “the most famous member of the Obama family,” has been a little confused walking around the house and seeing himself in “gigantic form”.
A total of 37 Christmas trees and a 400lb White House made of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan also decorate the executive mansion. Some of the handcrafted decorations are made of paper, felt and recycled cans.
Approximately 85,000 visitors are expected to tour the Christmas decorations this December, the White House said.
Nearly 100 holiday volunteers from across the country assisted with the decorations, transforming 16 distinct spaces into works of art.
Tomorrow, the Black Eyed Peas and Kermit the Frog will join the festivies, and the lineup of performers who will help light the National Christmas Tree near the White House.
Carson Daly will host the lighting ceremony, introducing performers including Big Time Rush, Ellie Goulding, the band OneRepublic, country star Rodney Atkins and singer Marsha Ambrosius.
President Barack Obama and his family will officially light the tree.
This will be the 89th year for the holiday tree lighting. The tradition began with President Calvin Coolidge in 1923.
This is the first lighting of a new National Christmas Tree that was planted in March.
It’s a 26-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce from a New Jersey tree nursery. Strong winds in February toppled the last tree that had stood on the Ellipse since 1978.
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