Are you looking for some creative ways to spruce up for the holidays?  I have come up with some ways to take“everyday to holiday.”  I believe that the easiest way to do this is to recognize that you don’t have to decorate in red and green to make your home say “the holidays are special in this house.”  With the availability of decorations in every color, you can simply incorporate what you use every day and add a little sparkle, holly or evergreen.[slideshow id=16]

One quick and easy way to add sparkle to a living in space is take your everyday accent pillows and tie them up just like a package. Use colors that complement your existing furnishings.  Put a big bow on it and there’s instant festivity.

 
I love taking a small sprig of everyday flowers, such as Alstroemeria, and placing it in wine glass filled with cranberries.  Alstroemeria is inexpensive, readily available, (I buy mine at Kroger), long lasting and comes in a variety of colors.  The cranberries are colorful and hold the sprig upright.  (Go ahead and put water in the glass.  After all, the cranberries can take it.  They’re grown in a bog.) Place the glasses along the center of the table or one in front of each seat. Use gold or orange flowers at Thanksgiving and white for Christmas. The result is simple and elegant.

Along the same line, take a small tumbler or rocks glass; add the Alstroemeria, some ivy, holly, boxwood and/or juniper that you cut from your yard, with a small stem of two of glittery sparkle and you have holiday arrangements.  Again, you can line them up on the dining table or mantle, put one on the breakfast table or place them on end tables throughout the house.  They look festive and you can choose colors that go with your existing furnishings. 

To hear more of my ideas for holiday decorating, come by FYI at 3097 Main Street in Historic Duluth on Saturday, December 5 between 11 and 5. I’ll even teach you how to tie a bow!