Here are a few tips from the Salhany Caird Team on how to decorate for the holidays without spending a fortune on your Christmas décor.
Focus on fun and activities
Start by creating family traditions that shift the Christmas focus away from material goods and gifts to warm events and activities. While the kids may not be getting all the fun stuff they put on their Santa wish list this year, you can make the holidays more enjoyable than ever by starting some new traditions or reviving ones from your own childhood. For example, making your own Christmas wreath is easy, fun and offers limitless possibilities for creativity and joy that is shared among all family members. A Christmas wreath can be made in one afternoon, and the kids will love working with the fragrant greens and being able to make wreaths even prettier than store-bought ones. Adding a special Christmas angel as a tree topper, some special Christmas bells to adorn the fireplace mantel and letting the kids ring the bell each night at dinnertime, or making your own special Christmas greeting cards can create new family traditions you'll cherish for years to come without racking up huge credit card charges.
Keep it simple
A little imagination goes a long way when it comes to holiday decorating ideas. Common items can be used to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a country farmhouse or even a log cabin. Go for a simple way of decorating in the living area and use wide ribbon to "gift wrap" throw pillows like packages to give your couch a festive feel. Adorn your walls with indoor wreaths created from scarves and a little boxwood. Dress up dining room chairs by attaching gold tassels to colourful fabric and draping it over the seat. Create a festive centerpiece by filling a crystal bowl with fresh cranberries and topping it with fresh flowers with cut stems. If your dining room features a chandelier, decorate it with ornaments to round out the holiday look. Give your kitchen a touch of the Christmas spirit by putting your Christmas cards on the refrigerator door with magnets, or adding an advent calendar. If you are hosting the Christmas dinner this year, you can use old fashioned recipes for beverages and snacks that can be used as part of your holiday decor as well. Add candy canes to your cabinet handles, and drape a festive Christmas towel from one of your cabinet doors.
Go the Old-Fashioned way
One way to keep costs down this Christmas is to return to the simpler old times, when families traditionally trimmed the Christmas tree with homemade ornaments and relied on their own handcrafted stitchery, baking and woodworking skills to adorn their homes for the winter holidays. Look in dollar stores for inexpensive rustic tree ornaments or rummage through your old boxes of Christmas decorations for ornaments your parents or grandparents may have handed down. Consider adding a new twist with glittery snowflake ornaments that combine the majestic look of cream and gold. Or try out the innovative musical instrument ornaments showing up this year, including gold trombones, clarinets and trumpets. Your holiday decorating colours should complement the color scheme of your home interior; if you have a neutral wall colour you'll have a lot of freedom in choosing colours for your holiday decorations. However, if you have painted the walls with a brighter colour scheme, you'll want to use holiday decorations that accent that scheme and do not clash or compete with the room décor.
Holiday lighting can really warm the modern home interior. White lights are always a great choice for the more contemporary look, but you can also go with all red, blue or green lights on the Christmas tree to add some colour.
However you decide to decorate your home this holiday season, make it your own and have fun with the project, getting everyone involved. Trimming the tree and putting out the Christmas decorations should be fun for the whole family.
www.MyOttawaRealEstate.com wishes you a Happy Holiday Season!
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