The countdown to Christmas is officially on, and if you haven’t started decorating already don’t despair as there are many quick and effective ways to get your home into the spirit of Christmas.
One of the things I love the most is finding some rustic tree branches, spraying them with white paint, adding simple bows to the branches in different colours and placing in a tall vase on the table as your centerpiece. You could also use baubles as an alternative to ribbons or why not use both! Try and choose a colour scheme that tones with your dining room.
Another idea is to entwine sprigs of fresh pine, holly and some small twigs that have been sprayed white with fine wire. Tie a ribbon around the wire so it’s hidden and tie it around your table napkins, adding a special touch to a Christmas dining table.
Those of you that own a mantel piece have every opportunity to have garlands of fresh flowers adorning your home for Christmas. This idea can also be used along the centre of a table. Now this takes some work, but the end result is well worth it. Once again you need to spray some small twigs in white and gather lots of fresh pine and any other green foliage. Try and use foliage that doesn’t fall apart too easily or you could use gum leaves and gum nuts to add that creative Australian touch.
Start wiring them together in lots of small bouquets. You will need a piece of thick cord measuring the width of your mantle piece plus 80cm for the sides. With fine wire it’s best to start attaching the small bouquets to the thick cord, making sure you overlap each bouquet, as you do not want to see the cord. I find tying one end of the cord to a chair and the other end to another chair helps as it makes the cord taut.
It’s a good idea to make this garland 1 or 2 days before Christmas Day so it still looks fresh when you unveil it. When the day arrives you can poke some fresh flowers or wrap some fairy lights through the garland to give it an extra special touch. To be extra festive, other items you can use include cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices and silver ribbons.
There will be more Christmas decorative tips in next month’s Phoenix.
By Kim Lowe