• Home
• Links

The Evergreen Traditions of Christmas

September 3rd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Price: $11.88 USD

Christmas Decorating for the Home

Most people base their Christmas decorating around that spruce little pine we like to call the Christmas tree. Stemming from nineteenth century Germany, it has captured the imaginations of generations throughout the world like no other Christmas decoration. Not surprisingly, over the years, people have come up with a gazillion ways to adorn their Christmas trees. Just a few of the more down-to-earth decorating ideas are featured on this page with a view to making your Christmas decorating for the home fun and effective.

More than a Purchase

First of all, unless you own a pine plantation, you’ll need to buy a tree. If you’re lucky enough to live near a farm that grows Christmas trees, this step will entail a trip to your local shopping hub. We always try and make this as cosy and festive as possible. We go at twilight when the kids have finished school, sing carols in the car and when we get the tree home we prop it against the wall in the kitchen and drink hot chocolate from Christmas mugs – the same mugs that come out every year at this time. We are marking the moment of the house’s transformation.

Once the chocolate has been drunk, the real work begins.

The Evergreen Party Piece

My sister holds a Christmas tree decorations party every year for the kids. They love getting together, rolling up their sleeves and enjoying Christmas decorating for the home. The children each take turns choosing ornaments to hang and they love arranging a hideous collision between Santa’s toy train and his renegade elf-driven sleigh, half buried in mountains of cotton woo – er - snow underneath the illuminated evergreen.

Price: $14.97 USD

The Artificial Art

There are many kinds of artificial evergreens available on the market and you can work with a colour theme as well. Many people like something a little unusual so they may choose a silver or white version of the ultimate detail. Christmas decorating for the home is about character and personal taste. You don’t have to go green.

The Christmas Tree in Miniature

Actually, one of the Christmas decorating activities I enjoy most is to make a special miniature tree for the little ones. My daughter has a pink tree that she decorates with small, shiny pink and silver ornaments. She loves doing this and the tree is so cute and girly that it just has to make you smile.

Topping it all off

My nephew has a mini white version that he decorates with blue lights and details. He is getting older which means that he may be ready for taking on new Christmas decorating for the home activities as well. The biggest moment for him is putting the star on top of the family tree in the living room.

Evergreen Moments

If you pressed me for my choice of tree, I’d have to go with the traditional evergreen. I love that fresh pine fragrance, the warmth that introducing all that living wood brings into your home, the splinters you get setting it up and the countless needles that get trodden into every rug and carpet in the house. Starting Christmas decorating for the home means always starting with these fundamental elements. This year, I think I might base my decorating around a red and white theme – very Danish - and work around that. I close my eyes and see lots of evergreen branches bowing under the weight of red bows and the twinkle of white fairy lights.

Sharing the Christmas Spirit

Christmas decorating for the home is the best way to launch your family into the festive season. In the coming weeks, the atmosphere you create around your home will be something your children will carry with them for the rest of their lives. The Christmas tree can become a symbol of security and inspiration for all of us.

(You are welcome to use this article on your web-site or blog as long as the resource box and the links it contains remain intact.)

Eoin Beckett is a freelance author and editor. Although he stems from Ireland, he currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more about Christmas Decoration for the Home at Juletide - the ancient and magical word for Christmas.

Christmas Decorations

September 2nd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Price: $9.95 USD

Christmas Begins and Ends in the Attic

Christmas is my favourite holiday and my favourite time of year. As soon as the radio stations begin cranking out the old evergreen Christmas numbers, I am in the attic picking through the assortment of dusty Christmas decorations, pausing now and then to relive precious moments from the year before. There are plenty of boxes of stuff to wade through. It takes a few hours but I get those decorations scattered all over the house. A few weeks later and I’m back in the attic again, packing the delicate survivors into their tissue wrappings to hibernate until next year.

My wife hates the moment I charge up to the attic, taking the steps two at a time, because she knows she’ll most likely be recruited to do some tedious decorating or else be abandoned to look after everything I’ve dropped in my mad rush to start XMAS DECORATING. She often escapes to visit a friend, and if I’m lucky she’ll take the kids with her. Then I’m alone, and as I prise one of last year’s fragile silver angels out of it’s box, I feel close to heaven.

A Good Way to Illuminate your House (while your partner is in the attic)

Last year, I handed her a box of Christmas lights and asked her to decorate the outside bushes and porch. She looked a bit relieved to be getting out of the house. Later she admitted that I might as well have handed her a bucket of mud and asked her to clean the windows. But she’s a clever and resourceful woman. One phone call, unbeknown to me, and the whole house was illuminated by nightfall.

The Spirit of Christmas

Over the years, I’ve collected many Christmas decorations that belonged to grandparents or other relatives. The kids have chewed/snapped/mislaid/fed the cat with some of them over the years, but I still have a sizeable working collection left. I’ve purchased antique Christmas decorations as well, often on E-bay. I like to think that the previous owner it gets to pass on some of their Christmas spirit when I display those once cherished Christmas decorations. My grandmother used to love Christmas. She would decorate her entire house, inside and outside, and had some of the most beautiful pieces. Once she passed away, I inherited them, and they still form the core of my collection of antique Christmas decorations. I make sure that I display some of her favourites every year.

USB Powered Miniature Christmas Tree with Multicolor LEDs

Price: $3.95 USD

The Magic of Christmas

I put my Christmas decorations up right after Thanksgiving and display them until New Year’s Day. The holiday season is such a wonderful time of the year and the decorations only enhance its happiness and joy in my family. We make a big point of decorating the tree as a family and putting the stockings out. While my children no longer believe in Santa, the magic of Christmas still exists. Their stockings are one of the first things they rummage for when the boxes of Christmas decorations are brought down from the attic

Christmas Berserkers at the Mall

Once the holiday season has officially arrived, trips to the mall can resemble Viking raids. Many shoppers don’t even bother to pay attention to the time and effort that people spent decorating, but I do. I try to not get upset when the stores are more crowded and people aren’t being as polite as they normally are. I take the time to admire the Christmas decorations and enjoy the hustle and bustle of life around me.

Next time you are standing in a queue, arms full of gifts, wishing the person in front of you would hurry up or be dragged off by Christmas gnomes, take some time to glance around. Admire the beauty of the season. It’s not all about shopping, you know. There are still those who want to express their inner joy at being alive, and Christmas fills them with the inspiration to do just that. Perhaps this is what we mean by Christmas spirit.

(You are welcome to use this article on your web-site or blog as long as the resource box and the links it contains remain intact.)

Eoin Beckett is a freelance author and editor. Although he stems from Ireland, he currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more about Christmas Decorations at Juletide - the ancient and magical word for Christmas.

Copyright © 2007 Jule Tide

Xmas Cooking: Gourmet Xmas | Xmas Cookware | Home Cooking Xmas