Free Holiday Ideas » Christmas Decorations

Christmas Decorating Idea for the Kitchen

kthomas — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:39:07 +0000

In the kitchen, I like to throw a garland up on top of the cabinets. Instantly festive and it doesn’t get in the way of food prep. I also like to put a centerpiece on the kitchen table. This year, it is a bowl of ornaments from my grandmother’s attic.

Decorating the Fireplace Mantel for Christmas

kthomas — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:02:01 +0000

I’ve been doing a bit of decorating this weekend and finally got around to the fireplace mantel. This year, Putz houses are still hot, especially if you refurbish them a la Inspire Company. If I already wasn’t blessed with several shabby Putz houses to work with, I would have purchased one of her adorable little frosted cottages! Little cone trees are also popular. I glued a zillion red buttons on mine and now have 4 red buttons to my name. I’m sure I will be tearing the button boxes apart looking for more as I work on Valentine’s projects. These adorable ceramic trees are also getting popular again. Mine is an original from an elderly family member.
How are you decorating your mantel this year?

Putz Houses are Back

kthomas — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 13:27:13 +0000

Everywhere I looked, I was seeing those adorable little cardboard Putz houses this year, so I broke down and bought some. Both of mine are fixer-uppers, but at least they still have their windows in them. By the way, seeing this renovated house at Inspireco is what pushed me over the edge. All of their houses are sold, but there are a ton of other amazing things available. (And I thought I was done Christmas shopping…)

(Photo and renovated house are by the very talented Inspireco.)

Simple Templates aren’t Just for Kids

kthomas — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:11:40 +0000

I used my moon template to make a very grown up Christmas tree ornament. Use exotic papers, metallic rub ons, rubber stamps and vintage images to turn an ordinary template traced onto a piece of cardboard into an elegant handmade gift any adult would love to receive.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with tin, matboard, or other backing materials. Embellishments such as charms and glass beads can help glam up your ornament even more.

For even more fun, grab materials for the whole family and sit down together to make enough ornaments for the whole tree.

Fun Christmas Decorating Idea for Preschool,etc

kthomas — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 21:03:25 +0000

We put up our Christmas tree and didn’t put a single decoration on it. Instead, we put out a ton of paper ornaments and stuff to decorate them and had the kids make their own ornaments to hang on the tree. It’s starting to look very colorful and they are so proud of their work!

Star and Moon Paper Ornaments

kthomas — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 21:03:24 +0000

This printable template for star and moon paper ornaments is a quick and easy Christmas craft for kids. We printed ours onto heavy cardstock for more durability. Using cardboard backings would also work.

Simply cut ourÂ the ornaments, punch a hole in the tops for a hangerÂ and then give the kids stickers, glitter, crayons and colorful bits of paper so they can decorate their stars and moon.

Alternative idea – cut the stars and moons from aluminum foil for added shine.

starmoon.pdf

Look for more printable holiday ornament shapes soon.

Quick and Easy Christmas Centerpiece Ideas

kthomas — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:46:36 +0000

Company’s on its way and you just realized you never made a centerpiece for the dining room table. You don’t have time to create an elaborate Christmas centerpiece. You need a quick and easy Christmas centerpiece idea, and fast. If you have a pretty bowl and a lot of artificial fruit, you’re all set. Just arrange the fruit in the bowl and you have a lovely centerpiece.

By the way, if you don’t have any artificial fruit, you can arrange Christmas tree balls of different sizes in the bowl instead. Tiny boxes wrapped in foil of different colors are also attractive when they are piled into a bowl. (The boxes can be made with small wood scraps.)

If all else fails, stick a jar candle or candle in a large votive holder in the center of the bowl and pour cranberries around the jar or votive holder. Light the candle and you have a festive, elegant centerpiece.

Simple Christmas Centerpiece Idea

kthomas — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:17:12 +0000

This Christmas centerpiece is very easy to make and my family loved it. We simply took three empty boxes of various sizes and wrapped them very carefully with shiny foil wrapping paper. We used gold, green and red. We used the really pretty gold organza ribbon to make bows. Then, we hot glued the three packages together in an attractive grouping.

Now for the fun part: We took our favorite photos from past Christmases to a color copier and made copies of them. Then, we arranged the photos on the presents until we were satisfied with the way they looked and glued them down. We added a few sprigs of holly and evergreens and we were done. It was like a 3-D memory album and it really looked great in the center of the table.

Christmas Centerpiece Craft Idea

kthomas — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 23:34:17 +0000

This simple Christmas centerpiece is easy to make, looks great, and smells terrific. I actually use mine all year round.
You will need:
Large glass vase (approximately 10 inches high and 7 inches across)
Bag of potpouri
Small string of clear Christmas lights (50 lights or fewer)
To make it:
Insert the string of lights into the vase, leaving the plug end out. Pour in the potpouri, arranging it so that it hides most of the light cording. Now, plug in the lights. They will give off enough heat to gently warm the potpouri, filling the air with a wonderful fragrance. In addition, they will sparkle through the petals and decorative bits of dried foliage and look fabulous.

Make a Christmas Centerpiece

kthomas — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 13:42:28 +0000

Your dining room is the focal point of Christmas parties and dinners. A beautiful Christmas centerpiece on your dining room table can turn that room into the perfect seasonal gathering place.

Of course you could buy a centerpiece, but what fun is that? Besides, you want to add your own personal touch, and creating your own centerpiece is the way to go.

A good basic idea is to take a ceramic pot and some acrylic paints and stencils and hand paint the pot. You can then put a Christmas plant like a Poinsettia in it for a living centerpiece. With a little more effort you can create a beautiful bed of flowers around the pot and even add some candles to create a special atmosphere. Just go to the craft store and get some cloth flowers in light colors. Also, you will need a large aluminum cookie sheet or pizza pan, which you can pick up at the grocery store or department store. Set the pot in the center and arrange the flowers and candles around it. You can also use a hot glue gun to attach the flowers to each other and mound them up around the pot. Just be sure to keep the candles a safe distance from anything flammable and never leave the candles lit while unattended.