Guide To Outfitting Your Home With A Natural Approach For The Holiday Season
One of the most enjoyable family traditions is decorating the home in preparation for the holiday season. From unpacking cherished ornaments, decorations like a butterfly metal wall hanging and all kinds of extra large wall art to choosing the perfect tree at a local tree farm, the holidays seem more meaningful when shared with family members. Whether you like a glamorous look full of sparkle or sophisticated palette of ice blue, silver and white; or whether you are a more traditional soul that loves green and red, Scotch plaid and all the trimmings, adding natural decor to your holiday interiors will add texture, fragrance and dimension.
Boughs of Holly
A walk through the yard or woods may supply you with boughs of pine and holly to accent your interior and your home. Natural greens look wonderful with any holiday decorative scheme, from very traditional to very modern; as a bonus, you get the wonderful fragrance of pine throughout your home. Tuck greens on tops of armories, shelves, soffits, and of course, the mantel above your fireplace. Lend a festive touch by adding red holly berries or cut red branches, such as those cut from redwing dogwood. Greens can be dressed up with ornaments and lights or left natural and interspersed with pine cones and cinnamon sticks tied with red ribbon.
Winter Bulbs and Flowers
Pots of poinsettias are another way to add natural beauty to your holiday decor; either red or white poinsettias are stunning against backdrop of green or pure winter white. Even bare branches arranged in a vase can suggest the stark beauty of winter. Secure them in a vase by pushing them into florist foam, and then run a bead of hot glue around the edge of each branch to secure. Drape a few gorgeous ornaments or crystals from the branches for a luxurious look, or hang small glass vases on a few branches and add a fresh bloom to each vase. Try amaryllis, snowdrops or paper whites. Forced pots of these winter bulbs brings a fresh holiday touch to every room of the house.
Striking Candle Accents
Make your home smell like you have been cooking holiday treats all day with aromatic candles in scents like cranberry, peppermint, and gingerbread. Put safety first, invariably recalling that candles are highly flammable when using them around greenery or fresh flowers. Always use battery-operated candles; they are much safer and you can tuck them right into your wall art arrangements.
Holiday Fun for Children
Small kids love to assist with decorating and a classic paper chain is invariably easy and fun to create. Any decorative paper or heavy weight paper can be used to create a chain for the tree, a railing or a banister. Kids also enjoy stringing popcorn for the tree. Once the holidays have come to an end, take the string of popcorn outside and hang it from a tree branch for community birds to eat. If you use a real tree, transport the whole tree to the garden, popcorn chain included. Twist floral wire around a dozen or so pine cones and let the kids help you smear peanut butter on the pine cones. Then roll the pine cones in bird seed and place them on the tree to provide the birds with a holiday feast to remember. Give safety and cover for birds all winter long by placing your discarded tree in the garden nearby your bird feeders.
Article provided by Roger Merrit who writes for Metal-Wall-Art.com , a site featuring outdoor wall decorations and tropical wall hangings.