5 Easy Christmas Decoration Ideas
5 Simple Ways to Make your Home More Festive This Christmas
1.Popcorn and Cranberries Strung Together. — a classic.
This is simple, and it can work either with elegant simplicity or utter decadence, or even with a more rural look.
All you need to get started is :
- Quilting thread (or something approximately as sturdy)
- Popped popcorn — Natural, so you don’t end up with butter and salt everywhere — and microwavable is just fine, as long as it meets that requirement)
- Cranberries — Uncooked
- An appropriately sized needle — an embroidery needle might work here, see what works best for you, but obviously you may have problems with anything too small
- You’ll want to double-thread the needle — this could get pretty long, depending upon the look that you’re going for— and anchor a cranberry to the end with the thread with your initial knot.
- Then, all you have to do is thread one after another. Remember, the longer you make each strand, the greater length you’ll have to push each cranberry or popcorn down — so it may be best to knot shorter strands together if you have a lot of area to cover, when hanging.
2.Paper Snowflakes — another old favorite.
Here’s how you make a classic paper snowflake, but really, the only limit is your imagination.
- Start with a square (usually white) piece of paper.
- Fold it in half so that it makes a triangle.
- Fold it in half again, making another triangle.
- Take the triangle you just made — and place it so that its longest side is the closest to you, with the (approximately) right angle facing you. Fold the two “arms” of this triangle over each other — left, and then right— you should now have a shape that approximates a rocket-ship, like that on the Star Trek communications badge.
- Cut off the two legs of the “rocket-ship” you just made, making a triangle again.
- Now, snip away at the shape, before unfolding a beautiful snowflake!
3.Floral Christmas Color — and this doesn’t have to mean poinsettias!
Use a combination of red and white flowers and greenery to invoke the Christmas spirit. For an elegant look, you can float flowers in a bowl of water, perhaps adding (with adequate safety precautions, of course!) floating candles.
4.Garlands of Christmas Candy — the decoration that keeps on giving.
- Bend a clothes hanger into a circle.
- Attach brightly colored candies to it using string, so that they form a candy garland.
- Hang, using the top of the clothes hanger.
Later, it can be given as a gift. Take note that although this is very easy to do, it can be time-consuming, so it is best done over a period of time, say while watching television in the evening, or it can easily be delegated to the kids (who always seem to enjoy working with candy…).
5.One Word — Mistletoe.
Whether you’d rather hang a few sprigs tied together with a pretty ribbon, or would prefer the more ordered shape of the mistletoe ball — made by pressing sprigs into a floral foam ball, this makes a lovely ornament.
Read More»How to Grow Beautiful Indoor Herb Gardens Throughout the Year
How to Grow a Herb Garden all Year Long
Fresh herbs are a flavorful addition to any dish, and growing them is the best way to ensure that you have them. In order to start your exciting new herb garden indoors, (you can always move it outside later, if you have the room), just follow these simple instructions. Nine simple tips to help you grow beautiful indoor herb gardens throughout the year:
1. Plan which herbs you’d like to include in your garden, preferably herbs that you regularly use in your cooking. Some of the easier herbs that are more recommended for people just starting out include: Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, Chives, Dill, Mint, and Sweet Basil. Pay close attention to the requirements of these herbs — some may grow with a better flavor in a sandy —or poorer— soil.
2. Select a spot in your house that is exposed to sunlight, and isn’t subject to huge temperature variations. A south-facing window is best. Look for a spot that allows for installation of a growing light. (Hint: directly in line of a heating or air-conditioning vent is probably a bad idea.)
3. Figure out how best to install a growing light in the area that you’ve selected. Note that a grow-bulb is different from an ordinary light bulb. It may be necessary to repeat steps 2-3 several times to ensure that you’ve found the best spot.
4.Pick up some good potting soil, compost, and some growing pots, if needed. Ensure that you buy pots with a hole in the bottom for drainage. Eight-inch-diameter pots about eight inches high are generally a good size for this.
When selecting your plants, of course, you’ll want to ensure that they look healthy. If you start from a packet of seeds, ensure that the packet is fresh and not old.
5. Arrange your plants according to how much light they will need. Cilantro and basil require more light than many other herbs, so if you’re growing them, you may wish to keep them to the side, so that you can easily expose them to the additional light that they require.
6. Plant them in their new pots that the same depths that they were in their old pots. If using compost be careful not to get it on the leaves, or anything that may end up on your salad plate!
7. When watering, it is better to water them less than over watering — check the dirt in the pot to see if it feels dry before adding any water. If the dirt feels dry, it is time to water. (Many indoor plants die from over-watering, so don’t let all your work go to waste that way.)
8. Nutrients and other growth aids such as seaweed extract can be added to the soil to really help your plants to thrive in the long run.
9. Remove clippings from the outer part of the plant, once the plants have grown large enough for you to harvest without endangering the plant, being careful not to remove too much.
For more tips on gardening and much more please visit GKLife.
Read More»How to Plan a Christmas Party on a Budget
How to Host a Christmas Party on a Limited Budget
Christmas is a time of celebration, or at least it should be. However, with all the money stressors that come with the holiday season, you may be tempted to forego a holiday party or gathering because it is just too expensive. It doesn’t have to be that way. Follow some of these strategies and learn how to host a Christmas party on a limited budget.
Eliminate Gift Giving From Your Christmas Party
Eliminate gift-giving and door prizes at the party. It will not only reduce the financial pressure on your budget, but will also be a relief to those who attend the party. Let guests know in advance your Christmas party will be a gift-free zone. Guests who insist on bringing a gift should be steered in the direction of bringing something that everyone at the party can enjoy, like a bottle of wine.
Make Your Christmas Party a Potluck
Consider a potluck party where each guest brings a dish or dessert. This will not only help you extend a limited budget at a party, but it has other benefits as well. The party spread will end up more diverse than a typically catered party, it will take much of the cooking pressure off you, and those with dietary restrictions will be able to make sure they have something to eat at the party, making the evening more enjoyable for everyone.
Super-size Your Christmas Party Supplies for Savings
Buy supplies at a cost-saver warehouse. Places like Sam’s Club and CostCo offer deep discounts on paper plates, plastic cups and napkins, as well as on soda and parties foods like chips and pretzels. They also offer savings on deli-trays of lunchmeats and cheeses, fruit and pastries. If you don’t think you will need the quantities you may have to buy in non-perishable items, team up shopping with a friend and you can take advantage of the savings and split the purchases.
If you plan to supply all the food at your party, make as much of it as you can. Chop your own vegetables for crudités platters. Arrange your own fruit. Bake your own treats. The more you can make yourself, the more you will save over catering or even less expensive party trays.
Theme Your Party With Your Existing Decorations
Select a party theme that revolves around Christmas decorations you already may have. Make your Christmas tree the focal point. If your holiday décor revolves around certain colors, involve them in the party décor. Spruce up what you already have and use it instead of purchasing party-only décor items.
Use Online Invites for Christmas Party
Don’t spend money on invitations and the stamps to mail them. Instead use online e-vites, which also have the added benefit of allowing you to nudge those guests who never seem to RSVP. Call those guests you know may not be Internet-savvy.
Throw a Duel Party With a Friend
With so many parties thrown around Christmas, people’s calendars can get filled very quickly. Consider throwing a party with a friend. It will allow you to share costs, and your friends may secretly thank you for eliminating one other party they would have to attend.
Offer a Limited Drink Menu
Alcoholic drinks can be expensive. Instead of having many drinks, amounting to what sometimes ends up as a near-open bar, offer a couple of Christmas-specific drinks, like warm cider or eggnog.
For more interesting articles about entertaining at christmas and much more please visit GKLife.
Read More»Ways to Celebrate Christmas in a Non Traditional Way
New Ways to Celebrate Christmas in 2009
Tradition is important for Christmas and most people have established traditions for their holidays. Most Christmases begin with a gathering around the Christmas tree to open gifts, followed by a big Christmas dinner and some football on the television. Some begin Christmas by attending midnight mass. Others travel to their grandparents’ house every year. However, it’s never too late to start a new tradition. Many people are thinking outside the Yuletide box and are looking at new ways to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Here are some new ways to celebrate Christmas in 2009.
Christmas is About Giving so Take Some Time to Give
Rethink the reason for the season. Charities report that Christmas time is when they experience their bulk of charitable giving, and indeed, the Christmas holiday inspires many people to give. However, instead of relying on your checkbook to share your goodwill in 2010, consider spending Christmas day in charitable work. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen. People in hospitals and nursing homes can feel very isolated during Christmas time. What better way to engage in the spirit of Christmas than to spend the day with them? There are any number of charities that could use help on Christmas day and serving others could be an excellent new way to celebrate Christmas in 2009.
Travel Deals For Christmas
Consider traveling above and beyond a trip to a relative’s house for turkey and presents. Plan your family vacation around Christmas and shake up your family traditions. Travel can take you to many places that will create engaging memories for years to come. Families with children may find going to Orlando to Disneyworld for Christmas an excellent change of pace. Some people opt for energetic vacations on Christmas, going skiing in Vail or snorkeling in the Caribbean. Others may just want to get away from the cold Christmas weather many experience. Regardless of where you go, traveling can be a fun, new way to celebrate Christmas.
Experience Another Countries Culture at Christmas
Look into how other cultures celebrate Christmas. In 2009, you can re-enact Christmas in a way that is traditional in other parts of the world but utterly new to you. In Denmark, people celebrate with a Christmas feast at midnight and children leave out saucers of milk and rice pudding for Santa, who is called Julemanden. In India, homes are decorated with mango leaves and often banana or mango trees are decorated instead of fir trees. In Japan Christmas is a mostly secular holiday but an important one nonetheless. Most of the celebration occurs on Christmas Eve and people are more likely to eat chicken and cake than turkey and pie. By discovering the customs of Christmas in other countries, you can celebrate in new ways for not just 2009 but for years to come.
Cut Commercialism Out This Christmas
Sometimes changing the way you celebrate in small ways can make a huge difference. Just removing some of the commercialism from your Christmas may be the best new way to celebrate the holiday. Insist that presents be handmade to avoid the stress of shopping and to create one of a kind items that will be imbued with far more love and sentiment than anything purchased at a store.
For more articles about celebrating Christmas and other holidays please visit the GKLife.
Read More»Bad Christmas Decorations You Should Avoid
10 Tacky Christmas Decorations You Should Avoid
It’s all too easy when decorating for Christmas to have plenty of Christmas Spirit without any observable Everyday Brains. A few quick pointers, before you look at this list to see if any of your neighbors are represented…
If you’re wondering whether your decorations might be a bit too much, they probably are… and yes, we can tell if you just threw the lights up there.
1.Wrapping doors is fine for in the office, but at home… it’s best avoided. (And if you absolutely must, leave it on the exterior of the house — say the front or back door, where it’s not quite so glaringly blatant as it is within the interior of your home. Please.
2.No inflatables for the yard! Unless they’re jumping castles, no one wants to see them. Seriously. It’s really hard to make these look good, EVER.
3.Cheap-looking plastics with the glowing center. While there are some acceptable-looking plastics out there, the general appearance is on the obnoxious side. So they’re best avoided.
4.Those easy-to-apply bush “nets” of lights? Often a mistake. Sure, you can make it work, but rarely will your yard look exceptionally good using them. So why waste the time and money applying them?
5.Obnoxious combination of colors. Yes, they’re bright lights, but this doesn’t mean they have to be ugly and obnoxious. Plan your color scheme before you start. And if you want to go monochrome with the lights, choose something less glaring, like white.
6. Overdoing it on the lights. Too many lights, too many lawn ornaments, too much of just about anything and it’s going to look pretty tacky. ‘Nuff said.
7. Under-doing it with decorations. So this is actually a pretty rare problem, compared to overdoing it. And we’re not talking about not putting up any decorations — that’s a lifestyle choice, a personal decision, and we respect it as such.
No, what we’re talking about is a single, one-sided, bright decoration, such as lighting up the big tree on the left side of your large front yard, or running a row of lighted candy canes almost all the way across the yard. If it’s big or bright enough to look “Christmas gaudy,” but not big enough to balance out the entire yard, it will likely look lopsided and awkward.
8.Santa is a perfectly fine lawn ornament. So is baby Jesus — but having them both holding hands is tacky and jarring, not to mention offensive, to some. Just don’t do it!
9.Different versions of Mary and Joseph or of Santa within the same yard. It’s jarring to see the same figure more than once, not to mention that it doesn’t quite make sense, unless your yard has a sci-fi theme.
10.A cluttered interior — your friends and family visit to spend time with you, not your cluttered collection of Santas and assorted figurines, not even the teddy bears. If you want people to notice your decorations, ensure that they are visible, first!
Find more great Christmas tips like these and many more here at GKLife.
Read More»How to Choose a Pet for Your Apartment
The Best Pets for an Apartment
Where to find pet friendly apartment rentals? So you’re thinking about getting a pet for your apartment. The first step is the simplest, although its results can be disappointing: check with your landlord or front office clerk about what pets are allowed. (This is often included in your contract, but it’s still good to verify that nothing has changed since the signing of that initial contract.)
How Much Space & Time Do You Have for a Pet?
Your next step is to think about what you want from your pet and what you’re capable of doing for it in terms of time and space. Be honest with yourself; it’s not fair to make an innocent animal suffer for your errors in judgment.
While sometimes giving up a pet can be best for everyone, if it’s a probability that’s easy to foresee —for example, you got a dog, but are rarely home and often don’t have much energy for playing— it would be better to admit that up front, and not put the animal through a traumatic change of ownership after being stuck alone in a tiny apartment for months.
So really think about what your capabilities are now, rather than what you’d like for them to be, in order to be fair to the animal. As far as what you want from the pet, an informed decision is useful here as well. If you’re adverse to smelly hamster cages, they may not be the best choice. If you crave physical contact with your pet, fish won’t do much for you. For a pet that will ornament your living space rather than leave hair all over it, and urine, an aquarium or terrarium may be the answer.
Try Being a “Foster” Pet Parent
Working as a “foster” pet owner for the humane society can be a helpful tool for examining what it’s like caring for a specific kind of pet, although often fostering is limited to pets with special needs, it still can give you an idea.
3 Things to Consider Before you Commit
The big concerns people run into with pets in an apartment are: damage to the apartment, enough space for the pet, and noise from the pet disturbing the neighbors.
What Kind of Dog Could Stay in an Apartment
In general, dogs may not be the best apartment pet. Whether large or small, they do tend to be noisy, and if they’re difficult enough to train or you run late, you may discover just how difficult it can be to get the urine scent out of the carpet. Perhaps most important though, they tend to need more space than an apartment can give, also they do need a lot of attention.
Do Cats Make Good Indoor Pets?
Cats don’t need the same amount of space that dogs do, and seem content indoors, as long as they get plenty of attention… when they want it, that is. But they are prone to some of the same apartment damage problems that dogs are, albeit, normally to a lesser degree.
Alternative Pet Options for an Apartments
Fish and terrarium animals tend to be quiet and produce little odor. Birds can get quite noisy, so that’s something to be aware of. A hamster or a gerbil can be an excellent pet for snuggling and then returning to its cage, where it can do no damage.
For more articles on pets and other home related items please visit our Home and Garden section on GKLife.
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