Seven Great Holiday Decorating Tips--Without Breaking the Bank - Answering Service Resources

Home
>
Holiday
>
Seven Great Holiday Decorating Tips--Without Breaking the Bank

Seven Great Holiday Decorating Tips--Without Breaking the Bank

If you're looking for great ways to decorate your home this glorious holiday season--without breaking the bank and losing your sanity in the process--here are seven terrific ideas to get you started.

1. You don't have to concentrate on one sense or the other at holiday time. You've got five senses--so make sure to fill them all with delight at holiday time. Use cheerful warm-colored ribbons to highlight chandeliers, play your favorite seasonal music, fill the air with the smell of cinnamon, cloves, and essential oils, share your favorite recipe, and add sumptuous silky fabrics to table cloths, tree skirts, and pillows.

2. You don't have to use all your decorations every year, especially if you own quite a few. Alternating decorations makes it easier on you, and when you don't see the same decorations year after year, they tend to have more meaning.

3. You don't need to add anything to your Christmas tree's water. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, plain tap water is the best source of moisture for your tree. In fact, the NCTA says that some commercial additives and home concoctions can actually be detrimental to a tree's moisture retention and increase needle loss. So keep your Christmas tree stand filled with plain water and use the savings to buy a few extra stocking stuffers.

4. You don't have to buy the cheapest Christmas tree on the lot. In fact, you can actually save money by buying a fuller tree! Since there are fewer holes to fill in a fuller tree, it will use fewer decorations. You can also save money by buying silk flower boughs, cutting the flowers apart, and using them on your tree, in garlands, and as enhancements to your gift wrapping.

5. You don't have to decorate using generic decorations. Your holidays will be more meaningful if you decorate using your family's heritage as a guideline. Combining ancestral cultures and creating handmade ornaments will also help your children develop stronger ties with your family's unique cultural heritage.

6. You don't need to climb ladders and hang millions of lights all over your house to make a happy holiday statement. You can create an enticing "Welcome Home" atmosphere by simply placing a special emphasis on your front door, surrounding it with colorful lights and garlands of greenery.

7. And finally, there's no need to completely redecorate for your New Year's Eve celebration. When Christmas Day has past, you can recycle your holiday wreaths and garlands for use in your New Year's festivities simply by spray painting them silver or gold.

Jeanette Fisher, Design Psychology Professor, is the author of "Joy to the Home" eNewsletter, interior design, and real estate books. For more information on Design Psychology, visit http://www.designpsych.com/

In The News:

Wall Street Journal
Mattel Gambles on Pricey Elmo for Holidays
Wall Street Journal Blogs, NY - 10 hours ago
By NICHOLAS CASEY For nearly two years, designers at Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price toiled to hide a maze of copper wires and microchips under the plush red fur ...
Wal-Mart Sparks War Among Big Toy Sellers Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 4 news articles

Our ugly experiences during long public holidays –Businessmen
The Punch, Nigeria - 4 hours ago
By David Amuwa Observation of public holidays is a common practice among nations. But the number of holidays observed in a year vary from one country to ...

Seeing Black, Instead of Red During the Holidays: A Lesson in Web ...
TMCnet - 8 hours ago
By TMCnet Special Guest Many North American businesses acknowledge the holiday spirit with various Web site images and statements, in an attempt to warm the ...
Timed to perfection Sydney Morning Herald
all 3 news articles

Single During the Holidays
Beliefnet.com, NY - 2 hours ago
"'Tis the season to be jolly"-but suppose you can't find anything to be jolly about this holiday season? What if you're single, and the one significant ...
Merry Columbus Hashanah Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun
all 2 news articles

Market Holidays Challenging Morgan Stanley Financing (MS, MTU)
24/7 Wall St., NY - 14 hours ago
This is a pretty sad affair right now, but holidays closing key markets on Monday are actually blocking this deal from funding until Tuesday, October 14, ...

Ohio museum brings The Polar Express to life for the holidays
Detroit Free Press, United States - 8 hours ago
Additionally, the museum will be open with a separate entrance fee and the seasonal Candy Cane Lane display will feature special holiday gifts and treats ...

Times Online
6 ski holidays for less
Times Online, UK - 11 hours ago
Sean Newsom knows how to sneak you in the back way No that's not a misprint, we are recommending you take a holiday in exactly the same week in the same ...

Are You Spending or Saving for the Holidays?
Washington Post, United States - 17 hours ago
For retailers, the holiday season is looming and not necessarily in a good way. Given the state of the economy, we're simply not shopping and buying as much ...

Box Office Prophets
BOP 25 of the Holidays 2008: 5-1
Box Office Prophets - 13 hours ago
By BOP Staff "You're a really great actor, and you've just fucked up your career for 15 years and nobody wants to hire you." These are the words of brutal ...

10 expert tips for booking the perfect ski holiday
guardian.co.uk, UK - 17 hours ago
Anyone who has ever headed to the mountains in winter knows that ski holidays don't come cheap, especially when the basic holiday cost – as well as all ...
Scotland's the place for recession skiing Times Online
all 2 news articles

holidays - Google News

Answering Service ResourceAnswering Service Resource