Tips for displaying black and white photos

Taking black and white photos is an art. It allows you to concentrate on the subject without being distracted by colors and lighting. The results are photos that you are going to want to display in an art gallery type setting. Black and white photos are dramatic and they make a real statement. Displaying black and white photos is also an art.

Displaying them to show at best advantage takes a little thought and effort but the results will be worth it. Framing the black and white photos is the first order of business. For a dramatic look either white or black frames makes a statement. If you are into color in design then, by all means, use color in the frames but be careful to keep the focus on the photos, not on the frames. Next, decide the color of matting to use.

Black, white or a bold color: the color of the matting creates a dramatic difference. The color of the wall that you are displaying the photos on is a vital part of the entire display as well. 

To make the photo the center of attention, then a dark frame will keep the photos from fading into the background. A light color wall cries for a bold, dark frame. On a bold colored wall, a white frame can make it pop or a black frame for sharp contrast. For a contemporary look, metal frames can add a bit of shine. Frames are not a necessity when planning the best way to display black and white photos. If you opt to skip the frames, don't skip the matting.

Matting can act as a frame for photos. Something is needed to pull the eye to the photos. 

Depending on the subject matter, sizing is an issue to consider. Do you want to blow up one photo for effect with perhaps several smaller photos surrounding it or go with a larger number of smaller photos? You can also blow up a photo and then split it into smaller photos to create a puzzle. Walls are not the only place to display your black and white photos. Use a shelf, a mantle, your desk or dresser, the computer screen and even your refrigerator. The idea is to create a work of art, don't be afraid to display them everywhere.

Go for the gallery look by signing your photo mats in pencil and adding special lighting that will highlight your works of art. Place the photos in a line at eye level for the look of a real art gallery or for a little extra interest, vary the heights. This is what I did in my office and it is very effective and gets lots of comments.

Displaying black and white photos can be  fun and also adds a designer touch wherever you decide to place them. Experiment, if you don’t get any comments, you are doing something wrong, rethink your plan.

Making New Year's resolutions that you can stick to

How long will it take you to forget your New Year's resolutions this year? If you are like most people, by January 10th life has pretty much gone back to normal and nothing really has changed.

Once a year, usually shortly after Christmas most people take a good look at their lives and decide there are things that need to be changed. It may be a few extra pounds, it may be the job they hate or it can be a relationship that is going nowhere. No matter what it is, it is at this particular time of year that it is the time to scrutinize all of our flaws.

By January 10th most of these resolutions have been broken and we sit in the same position as we did on December 15th except that now we feel guilty that we are a failure, we can’t even keep a resolution let alone make changes in our lives. The problem with this recurring scenario is that it is doomed right from the get-go. Change, real change is not something that happens overnight from December 31st to January 1st. It is something that takes a very strategic plan and it has to happen gradually to become part of our lives.

Do you want to make changes to your life in 2017? Then let’s make a resolution to not make a resolution, let’s make a plan. Begin by defining exactly what it is that you would like to see happen. If it is weight loss, which is something that most of us have on the agenda, then realistically what would you like to lose? Why not start with a goal that is attainable. Ten pounds is attainable, start with that. 

The next step is to set a time limit, again be realistic. By March 1st is realistic, that is five pounds a month or a little over a pound a week.

One pound is about 3500 calories. If you divide this by 7 days then you need to cut 500 calories from your diet every day. Of course, there is an alternative to the cutting; you can add 500 calories of exercise. Walking for an hour depending on your weight and the speed that you walk can burn up to 300 calories, when you consider that a donut is 285 calories,  it will if nothing else, make you think about what you put in your mouth. A quick glance at this will tell you that if you walk briskly (4 mph) for an hour and skip the donut you usually eat, you will have knocked over 500 calories from your day.

This same process will work with any change you want to make in your life. Break it down into basic components. If you have a bad day or even a bad week, with a plan you don’t have to give up your whole resolution because you are a failure. You can say okay, I still have X # of weeks and if I double my efforts next week I am right back on track.

Even if you have a hard time sticking to any changes you want to make, don’t be hard on yourself. Change is never easy. Most of us have to fail several times before we succeed. Just don’t set yourself up to fail. Be realistic, be firm, be a new you for the New Year.

Winterizing your vacation home

Having a vacation home is the American dream. Of course, like all dreams it has a practical side. Maintenance is involved in owning a vacation home. Winterizing your vacation is a lot like winterizing your regular home unless of course, you close your house for the season. If it is a summer only home, then you need to do things that you won’t do if it is a year round vacation home.

Summer home

If you have a summer home when it is time to winterize it, you will make sure that all the summer seasonal furniture and outdoor decor will come in. Take down the flag, bring in the garden elves, hose down and place the lawn chairs in the shed, basement or porch. Bring in any hoses that you may have on the exterior of the house and make sure the water to the faucet is drained and turned off.

If you have a lake home the dock must be brought in, the boat, canoes, kayaks or other water crafts need to be cleaned and either put away or if they are too large turned over in the back yard so that they won’t fill up with water and then ice during the winter.

The water needs to be drained from all the pipes and you should flush the toilet until even the tank is empty. There is anti-freeze that you can buy that is made for RVs, you can put this into the toilet to guarantee that you won’t have any freezing water.

Unplug any appliances that are plugged in, unhook the water hoses to the washer, remove any food from the fridge and pack away any food in covered containers so that you are not tempting any little critters who might break in over the winter. Put out some mouse traps just to be safe.

Call the cable and telephone companies and anyone else who you may have to call to turn off services that you won’t be using during the winter months.

Year round home

If your vacation home is a year round home in order to winterize you home you need to start with the windows. Put in the storm windows or apply the clear plastic window seal. Put in the storm doors. Have the furnace or heating system service done so that everything is ready for the heat to be turned on. Since you won’t be living there every day, be sure to set the heat at a temperature that will keep the pipes from freezing.

Be sure that you have a snow shovel, sand and salt if you plan on visiting when the weather may be bad. Be sure to have some extra bottled water and some non-perishable food on hand in case of a bad storm, as well as flashlights and batteries.

Having a vacation home is wonderful and while it may require a little extra work to get it winterized every year, the upside is that soon it will be time to get it ready for another year of fun.

Bringing the scent of pine into your home

Nothing says Christmas like the smell of a pine tree. Even when it is not the holiday season, many people enjoy the crisp clean smell of pine in their homes.This can be accomplished several different ways. 

If you have pine trees in your yard or you live near a forest where there are pine trees, you can cut some branches and place them in your house. Making a swag for your mantle if you have one is a good location to place them. You can also place them on top of a cupboard or piece of tall furniture. This will give you a fresh clean pine smell that won’t cost you even a penny to produce.

Another way to get the pine smell is to burn a pine candle in your home. These can be small votive candles or the larger jar candles. You can get a floating candle or tarts which you burn in a tart burner. If you decide to burn candles always do so safely and never leave candles burning when you leave the house.

A great way to get a lot of pine smell and not have to worry about an open flame is a scented oil plug in. These plug into an electrical outlet and produce a constant flow of scent. They use very little electricity and can give you scent for a month or more. They do produce a good amount of scent, so much so that they may be overwhelming in a small room. If you really love the smell of fresh pine you can place several of them around your home.

To add the scent of fresh pine to your bathroom, you can purchase some pine scented soaps and place them unwrapped on the back of your toilet or on your vanity. When the pine scent has been used up you can still use the soap, so nothing is lost.

One of the easiest ways to get plenty of good clean pine scent in your home is to use a pine cleaner. There is just something so clean smelling about pine cleaner. sSeveral different pine cleaners are available and some of them come in a spray format. If the one you like doesn’t come as a spray, there is no problem, you can make your own spray bottles by adding water and cleaner and either reusing a spray bottle that you have or purchasing one for about a $1.

f you want your carpet to have that fresh pine smell you can purchase pine scented carpet freshener. You sprinkle it on the carpet, let it sit for a short time and then vacuum the carpet as usual. It leaves behind that wonderful pine smell.

If you are a pine lover, there are many ways that you can bring the clean bright smell of pine into your home. These are just a few tips, the true pine lover will find even more.

Buying Fair Trade items for Christmas

The benefits of buying fair trade items for Christmas are many. The idea behind fair trade is to encourage small farmers and industries in developing countries to be self-sustaining. The profit from the items they grow and sell will help to feed them. A definition of fair trade is give a man a fish and he won’t be hungry today; teach him how to fish and he will never be hungry again. The idea behind fair trade is to give entrepreneurs in developing countries the ability to market and sell their goods in the west where there is a market.

Christmas is a time when people not only love to exchange gifts but everyone gets into the spirit. What better spirit is there than choosing to spend your hard earned money on goods where the workers are making a living wage under humane conditions? Fair Trade supports the small farmer over the huge profit-driven conglomerates. What could be better than to get the perfect gifts for your family and friends and feel good about doing so?

One place to purchase fair trade items is Ten Thousand Villages. They market the crafts from many different villages all over the world. From South and Central America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and India. Thousands of artisans have found a market for their goods. Whole villages have benefited from the entrepreneurship of some of their residents. Their model of fair value for items has inspired others to decide to earn money with dignity.

As a gift buyer, all the items offered by Ten Thousand Villages are unique. Since the items are handmade, no two will ever be exactly alike. Since there is no middleman, even though the creators of these works of art are one of a kind, the prices are considerably lower than you would pay for items made in a sweat shop. Everyone benefits. What could be more in the spirit of Christmas than that? While Ten Thousand Villages sells things like jewelry, accessories and ornaments there are also several companies who sell fair trade coffee and tea.

Green Mountain Coffee of Vermont sells a wide variety of Fair Trade coffee. If you are interested their website tells you all about the where the coffee is grown and the cooperatives of small farmers who are responsible. They come from Nicaragua in Central America and Ethiopia in Africa among other places. There is something very comforting in knowing that you and your caffeine habit are sustaining these small farmers.

If you want to feel really good about your Christmas shopping this year and all the people who will benefit from it, try going Fair Trade, you will be really glad that you did and so will all the people who are proud to be able to support themselves.

Simple ways to save money during the holidays

The holidays can be a time when everyone overindulges. This is done in many different ways. You overeat, you drink too much and most of all you spent too much. This year there just is not a lot of extra money to spend. It is the most wonderful time of the year however and everyone has social obligations that they can’t avoid. How can you meet all of these obligations and still keep your spending in check? It is going to take a little effort, some creative thinking and a lot of planning.

Avoid credit

The first rule to remember this year is cash. Put away your credit cards and don’t use them at all. Use only your debit card or cash. Handing over the cash makes you value the items purchased more and if you can’t afford to pay cash for something, then you can’t afford to buy it, period.

Gift giving

While you can pare down not only the number of people you give gifts to but also the size of the gifts that you give, you cannot eliminate some people. There is no way you can tell your children or grandchildren that there will not be any presents this year. For these gifts, use the Internet to compare prices. Sites such as Pricegrabber, Bizrate, and Nextag can help you comparison shop but for the best prices, try more than one.

Check for coupons at Toys R Us and other online retailers at one of the many coupon sites. Do not buy anything unless you have comparison-shopped and are getting free shipping. Retailers are as desperate as shoppers are and they are giving some great deals, you just have to find them. By shopping online you also avoid the temptations that are all too prevalent at the mall.

Within the family, why not have all the adult members of the family draw one name and buy just one gift. If you prefer, you can just ask all the members to bring a gift at a specified dollar amount and then do a random drawing.

Dinner

Plan your menu for any holiday meals as much in advance as you can. This way you can combine your coupons and your weekly circulars to see who is offering the best deals. Make only one trip if possible to do your shopping; this will save you on the gas and wear and tear on your vehicle.

Be creative, if you usually do a standing rib roast, this might be the year to change that to a pot roast. If you usually buy store made eggnog, try making your own. Alcohol can be a very big expense, trying going alcohol-free this year. Offer the mixers like Bloody Mary or Tom Collins without the booze. Not only will you save a lot of money, there will be fewer hangovers and regrets the next morning.

Use the store brands; no one is going to be able to tell on your cheese tray that you bought the store brand cheddar and the store brand crackers. Bring out your holiday trays and holiday decorations and everyone will be impressed.

These are just a few simple suggestions for keeping your holiday spending under control. You don’t have to have less fun by spending less money, you will just have no debt when the holidays are over, it is as simple as that. Simple can be creative and tasty, it just requires a little more planning.

Christmas tree safety tips

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. For most families, the Christmas tree is the focal point for all of their holiday gatherings. Just sitting there at night looking at all the twinkling lights is a special treat. Who could imagine that such a beautiful tree could pose so many safety hazard for the unsuspecting child? Christmas tree safety is a vital consideration.

Everyone loves the smell of a fresh, live Christmas tree. That wonderful pine scent is one that most of us remember from our childhoods. What we don't remember is what a fire hazard the trees become when they dry out. Christmas lights can become hot, the tree has become dry and it is a lethal combination.

What could be worse than losing all your Christmas gifts, your home and even your lives? Every year Christmas trees cause over  200 fires around the country according to the United States Fire Administration and these fires cause on average 13 deaths and 16 million dollars in property damage. This is a large problem that need to be considered seriously.

Whether you are using a fresh tree or an artificial tree make sure that the lights that you use have been approved by one of the testing laboratories. Never use any set that has a frayed or cracked cord or a loose light fixture. Never connect more than three strings of lights to each other. Use extension cords that are heavy duty. All these things will help prevent Christmas tree fires.

Always remember that Christmas trees are flammable. Never put a space heater or any source of heat close to the tree. By the same token don't place the tree near a fireplace or a stove. Always make sure that you have an operating fire detector in the same room as your Christmas tree and a fire extinguisher.

 

When it comes to decorations for your tree make sure that all the ones that you use are unbreakable. Children, being children will play around the tree. It is inevitable that an ornament will fall off the tree. Fragile ones can break and children are apt to try to hide the broken ornament by picking up the pieces and cutting themselves in the bargain. Using ones that won't break will make for a happier holidays for everyone.

Be very careful that no ornaments have small pieces that a baby or toddler can but in their mouth and choke on. The use of artificial or real popcorn or cranberry garlands is not recommended if you have small children. They offer too much temptation to put what looks like food into their mouths.

Know what decorations are on your ornaments. Babies and small children love to put things in their mouths and poisoning is always a concern, especially if the ornaments were painted in China where lead paint is still used.

If you have small children or pets, place a fence around your Christmas tree. It protects the tree, the gifts and most of all our precious children.

Everyone wants to enjoy their beautiful Christmas tree and decorations. Follow all possible safety precautions and let your children enjoy a safe and happy Christmas knowing that you have made it safe for them.

Choosing an artificial Christmas tree

Choosing an artificial Christmas tree has many benefits ,not the least of which is you buy it once and it is good for many years.  Over the long run, that will save you’re a great deal of money unless you are willing to wait until Christmas eve and choose a Charlie Brown tree.

No sooner have the school supplies departed and the Halloween candy been given out, then suddenly overnight, the Christmas decorations are on the shelves and it is time to start thinking about what kind of tree to put up.

If you are one of the believers in only a real tree will do then you have to wait until about December 10th to even think about getting a tree. If you pick your own you can go out earlier and tag a tree but we all know that tags are removable and if someone sees your tree and likes it, you may never find that oh so perfect specimen again.

If however, you had the forethought to purchase an artificial tree last year, your perfect tree will be stored away in your attic or basement where no tree snatchers will be able to steal it. That is certainly a very big benefit.

Have you ever found the perfect live tree and gotten it home and in its stand and found that in the bright light of your home it isn’t quite as perfect as it looked in the lot? It has happened to everyone at one time or another and is probably one of the main reasons that people decide that perhaps it is time for an artificial tree.

Once you get your live tree home and in its stand ,you will need to get out your strings of lights and start winding them around the tree. If however you have a pre-lit artificial tree all you need to do is to take it out of the box or from underneath its cover and shake out the branches. Then you plug it in and voila, your tree is lit and the lights are perfectly spaced and beautiful and tour tree is ready to decorate.

Well maybe not, if you left it decorated and just used a tree cover when you put it away last year then all you have to do is stand back and admire it. That is a major time saver and a very big benefit.

You are not going to have to crawl around underneath your tree and put water in the stand and make sure that the branches don’t get dry and cause a fire hazard. You can,however, spray a little pine scent or use a reed diffuser or a scented oil burner if you are afraid that you will miss that real tree smell.

The first of January rolls around and it’s time to think about putting the Christmas decorations away. Get out your tree cover and put your tree away or remove the decorations and place it back in the box and store it. Check the floor under the tree, check the tree skirt, check the last of the presents still under the tree, nope not a pine needle in sight. You won’t be finding them for months in the cracks of your hardwood floor or embedded in your carpeting. It’s a quick and easy clean up.

The benefits of an artificial Christmas tree are many and you will appreciate them for many years to come.

Creating a vintage Christmas

Christmas is a time for families to gather and enjoy time together. Most people get quite nostalgic when they consider their childhood Christmas experiences. Creating a vintage Christmas experience can be about recreating the holidays that you remember from your childhood or it can be just about being a little reminiscent of days gone by.

Today, many people opt to have an artificial Christmas tree. A more vintage experience would be to go out as a family to a Christmas tree farm and get a live tree. If you prefer, you can bring it home in a tub so that it can be planted in the ground after Christmas instead of cutting it down.

Vintage Christmas tree ornaments are very much in style. There are many different ways to create a vintage look. A trip to the local antique store will help you to find authentic glass ornaments. This would be quite expensive for a large tree so you might want to consider a table top tree with your vintage ornaments. If you are happy with the look and don’t need to have authentic vintage ornaments, it is quite easy to find glass vintage look ornament even at the big box retailers.

Making homemade ornaments is a great way to give your Christmas tree a vintage look of a different sort. They also sell candle lights that are much safer but just as pretty as candles would be on the branches of your tree. Before electric lights were used on Christmas trees, candles were used to make the trees sparkle. Don’t forget to add some silver tinsel especially if your idea of vintage is the 1950s.

When it comes to filling the “stockings with care” there are many ways to add a vintage touch. Go with some of the classic toys like a Yo-Yo or Silly Putty and add penny candies and fruits. Of course, penny candies no longer sell for a penny but they are readily available and certainly add a nostalgic touch to the season.

Making your home smell like a vintage holiday can be as simple as making a pomander. Creating one is something that the children can help with and it can be something that you do together every year. All you need are oranges, lemons or tangerines, and some whole cloves. If you have ribbon you can hang the pomanders or you can place them in a bowl. Take the whole cloves and insert them in lines all over the fruit. It is simple but very effective.

In the 1950′s almost every family had the same set of aluminum cookie cutters. They are available in antique stores across the country or replica versions are also available. Not only do they help make great sugar cookies but if you take them and hang them from your Christmas tree with a red ribbon, they serve double use.

Fresh greens have been used to decorate at Yuletide for hundreds of years. These days not everyone has a place where they can cut their own evergreens or holly but you can buy them from the local nursery or Christmas tree lot. They add a great smell as well as look to many areas of the home including the front door, the banister, and the mantle.

There are many ways to create a vintage Christmas experience. Use your own personal experiences or borrowing from someone else. Vintage decor and feel can turn your house into a home.

Popular Christmas stocking stuffers

Who hasn’t heard “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there“ from Clement Moore’s poem “The Night Before Christmas”. In the United States at least, it is traditional to hang stockings from the mantle on Christmas Eve and if there is no fireplace, just lay them near the Christmas tree or hang them on the wall.

On Christmas morning, one of the most exciting things to do is to go through your Christmas stocking to see all the little goodies that it holds. For those in charge of stuffing these stockings, it can be a challenge to come up with interesting items to place in the stocking. Size is a major constraint and unless it is a huge stocking, the gift items will need to be quite small.

Candy

Candy is traditionally the main component of the stuffing of the Christmas stocking. Candy canes or candy sticks are good options. With the sticks, they come in a wide variety of flavors that both children and adults will enjoy. Peppermint is the seasonal choice but sour apple, root beer, and strawberry are other options. For older children or adults, small boxes or bags of higher-end candy such as Lindt Truffles or Godiva are available as well as Whitman and Russell Stover. Hershey kisses are small and well loved and can be dropped into the stocking easily.

Fruit and treats

Fruit is another traditional addition to the Christmas stocking. Usually, an orange or a tangerine are good choices since they have a tough skin and won’t bruise or ooze all over the other items in the stocking. Depending on the kind of treats the stocking owner loves, this can run the range from bags of chips, boxes of cookies or beef jerky sticks. Whatever is something that will delight the person is the perfect choice. Stay clear of anything too fragile. Nuts are a good choice if no allergies are present. They come in small bags as well as cans so they are a perfect size.

Books and magazines

For the wee ones, this can mean a coloring book and crayons or a small picture book. Those that are bendable without damage are the optimal choice. For older children, comic books or anime might be just the ticket. A favorite puzzle book or paperback works well for adults. This writer usually includes at least one magazine in all stocking except for the youngest of children. Many choices are available, find one that suits the interests of the person who’s stocking you are filling. It can be sports, fashion, a hobby or the latest Time Magazine.

Toys and games

For children, small toys are very much appreciated. For little boys, small metal cars are a good option and small dolls or animals for little girls. Traditional toys such as Yo-yos, pick-up sticks, jacks, jump ropes and the like are choices that will provide hours of entertainment. Small handheld games fit nicely into a stocking. They can be electronic but don’t need to be. There are travel sizes of Scrabble, dominoes, Battleship and much more that fit nicely into a stocking. A deck of cards is also a good option.

Accessories and jewelry

Girls of almost any age love hair accessories. It can be pretty elastics, barrettes, clips, and hairbands. A new comb or brush is something additional to add. Scarves, hats, and gloves are useful for almost anyone. It can be real or it can be costume but almost no one dislikes a gift of jewelry. It can be a small bracelet, a charm, earring, a necklace or even diamonds or pearls. There are hundreds of options.

Toiletries and makeup

Toiletries are perfect for anyone over the age of about 10. Think cologne, shampoo, shavers, tooth brushes and just about anything else you think they might like and use. For girls or women nail polish, nail files, emery boards, eye shadow, moisturizer or hand lotion, lip gloss and blush are all small items that fit in a stocking. For boys or men shavers, nail clippers, ChapStick, shower gel, shaving cream if they are adults and will all be useful gifts.

When it comes to favorite stocking stuff, no one knows your family like you do. Use your imagination and pick the things that you know they will love. Head to the local big box pharmacy that is usually a great place to find all the favorites that you will want to put in their stockings.

Having a debt free Christmas

As Christmas approaches, many of us are thinking about how much money we want to spend on gifts and celebrating the season. We want to enjoy the holidays but not end up with any debt when it is over. How can we manage to enjoy the season to the fullest and have a debt free Christmas?

Homemade gifts

You don't have to be a craft maven to produce some very impressive homemade gifts. If you are always taking photographs of family and friends consider matting and framing one of them. For only a few dollars you can have a photo blown up to 5 by 7 or 8 by 10. Stores like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Kohl's sell frames that are gorgeous for anywhere from $5 to $10. 

If you are not sure when you are going to be seeing family and friends instead of making Christmas cookies for them you can place all the dry ingredients in a festive jar with the recipe and give it to them so they can enjoy your cookies whenever they have the time.

Scrapbooks, especially for mothers, are a great gift that can be done with a minimum of expense. If you are a scrapbooker already, you will have many of the items you need already you just need to find a special book to hold the memories.

If you enjoy doing family genealogy put together a family history using some heavy stock paper. This will be a gift that family members will treasure for years to come.

Make your own gift certificates

For your friend or family member who has a pet, make a gift certificate offering them pet sitting service. This also works for family and friends who have children or who go on vacations. You can offer your babysitting services or your house sitting services. These are gifts that are very much appreciated and cost you nothing at all except your time.

If you are good at gardening you can offer a certain number of hours of garden services to plant spring bulbs, trim the bushes or prune the roses. For senior members of the family you can offer to drive them somewhere they would like to go, bring them a special lunch or just spend some of your time with them.

Delay gift giving

Make a date to gather with friends after the holidays. The week between Christmas and New Year is going to be offering some fantastic savings, be one of those who takes advantage of them. Traditionally there are sales on clothing and anything related to Christmas will be slashed from 50 to 75 percent. 

Consider buying some lovely Christmas china pieces, mugs, serving dishes or candy dishes filled with holiday candy. Pick up a few designer Christmas ornaments and put them in a fancy gift bag, box or basket. If you can delay it even a little longer you can get cashmere scarves, hats, and gloves for a song or even less for fleece or other materials.

Christmas is a time when love is in the air. Peace is on earth and good will toward men. Nowhere in those sentiments does it say anything about spending hundreds of dollars or running up debts.

Reclaiming the holidays

Have you noticed as you grow older, how much shorter the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has become? When you were a child, it seemed endless and now there is hardly time to breathe in between. Before you know it, not only are you up to your ears in things that need to be done but you have lost any holiday spirit that you may have had. What can you do to reclaim the holidays and some of the excitement and anticipation that you used to feel?

First and foremost, just say no. Don’t allow anyone, including yourself to pressure you to do anything that you don’t really have the time or desire to do. Decide in advance of the holidays exactly how much time you have for entertaining, being entertained, volunteering, shopping, and cooking. Prioritize events that you know you will be invited to. 

Don’t be tempted to try to do too much.

Yes, you could do three parties in one day, but you will not have time to enjoy any of them and will arrive back home exhausted and feeling as if everyone was short changed. Go to only one party, enjoy yourself, relax and get to visit with the other guests. Keep in mind what you receive are invitations not commands; you are not required to attend. Be selfish, do what you want for a change.

There are going to be some events that you are not going to be able to avoid, no matter how much you might want to. That doesn’t mean however that you have to stay for the entire event, stay only as long as you need then go home to do whatever task are weighing you down.

Part of reclaiming the holidays is spending time with the people that you love. Use shopping and baking to accomplish both tasks. Plan a shopping expedition with your friends or with your family. Make it quality time, there is nothing saying that you can’t have important conversations while mulling over gift choices.

Organize a cookie swap. With a few family members and friends you can get together and exchange cookies while sipping hot chocolate and even exchanging gifts if that is part of your tradition. A little grab bag swap is a nice touch. All you need is a few dozen cookies each and a table or counter to hold all the cookies. Chinese takeout boxes make excellent cookie boxes for take-home.

If you can’t see a way out of all the commitments that seem to be thrust upon you at the holidays this might just be the year to go away for the holidays. Pack your bags and your immediate family and just get out of town. Start a new tradition.

Another part of reclaiming the holidays is not buying into all the commercialism. It is the thought that counts not the size or number of gifts. This year, in particular, it’s a good time to teach your children that it is better to give than to receive. It is also a very good time to give back to your church, your community or your neighbors. Bring the joy back into the holidays.

Keep it simple, keep it holy and keep it joyful. You don’t need to have stress-filled holidays. You can choose to have a holiday season that leaves you feeling refreshed and renewed and ready to face the New Year with a happy heart, not an aching head. The choice is really up to you.

Decorating your bathroom for Christmas

When the holiday spirit hits, you want to place decorations in every room of the house. Your bathroom/bathrooms are just another room when it comes to Christmas decorations. How much decorating you can do in your bathroom is dependent on the size of the room. If you have a large bathroom there are many more options, but with some creativity, any size bathroom can be filled with Christmas cheer.

Small bathroom

Many older homes have small bathrooms without many spaces to place Christmas decorations. One that works perfectly is the door. Every bathroom has one and unless it is a pocket door, you can use an over the door hanger to place a wreath or a hanging on the door. 

Some over the door hooks are two sided so that your inside and outside will both be decorated. Just keep in mind that the inside of the bathroom can get very damp and steamy, so you will want to choose a decoration that will not be damaged by the dampness. Some very nice looking artificial flower wreaths or perhaps homemade ornaments can work.

Your mirror is another place where you can decorate. You can place a festive poinsettia or holly swag over the top of the mirror or place bows along the top. With the suction holders, you can even attach things to your mirror. This might be a nice place to attach some jingle bells or a gingerbread man.

If you have a shower door, you can also use the suction hooks to attach any decoration that you choose to the door. The top of your toilet tank is the perfect place for a holiday placemat and a holiday-scented candle. You may also choose to place a small Christmas tree on the tank top.

Large bathrooms

With a large bathroom, you have many more choices. You may want to place a small Christmas tree or flower arrangement behind your tub if you have a jetted one with a tile edge. You can place music boxes on a shelf or on a table. Fill a pretty Christmas bowl full of colorful round ornaments and fresh greens.

No matter what size bathroom you have, you can place a holiday rug on your floor and hang holiday towels from your towel bars. If you use a shower curtain, you can go all out and get one with a holiday theme or at least a holiday color. Don’t worry, if you are not really a red and green person, you can find lovely decorations in blue and silver or gold and white.

When it comes to decorating your bathroom for Christmas, let the spirit of the season guide you, and if you can have music playing as well, there is nothing like a taking a shower to “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas.”

The Symbolism of Christmas decorations

Many decorations are synonymous with Christmas. Have you ever wondered if there is a reason why you hang an evergreen wreath on your door? Many decorations have a tradition that goes back for hundreds of years. Many are symbolic of things that are related to the celebration of Christmas.

The first decoration that many people see during the Christmas season is the Advent Wreath. It has four candles, one for each week in Advent. It is usually decorated with greens which are a symbol of life and the candles are usually either all purple or three purples and one pink with the pink candle being lit during the third week of Advent. Some people also have a fifth candle in the middle which is lit on Christmas Eve to symbolize the birth of Jesus. If the wreath is in the home, usually the candle is lit and a prayer is said before the evening meal.

The evergreen wreath is a symbol of continuity, the wreath has no beginning and no end. The evergreens are a symbol of life in the midst of winter and have their roots in pagan traditions. It may be combined with holly, mistletoe and even bells.

Holly is a common decoration during Christmas time. It is thought that the traditional colors of Christmas red and green may be a tribute to the beautiful colors of holly. Holly was sacred to the ancient Druids and it is a common part of English holiday decorating traditions. It was believed that holly placed on a door would keep evil spirits out. It came across the Atlantic with the English colonists and became part of traditional American Christmas decorations.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is an ancient one that goes back as far as the Greeks and their celebration of Saturnalia. Mistletoe was considered to have mystic properties both in Celtic and Scandinavian pagan traditions. These have transitioned to Christianity and have been incorporated into decorations all over the world.

Bells are traditionally rung when major events occur, they can be happy such as weddings and they can be sad such as funerals. Like many other traditions, the ringing of bells has its roots in pagan rituals. Christmas is one of the most joyous times of the year and it no surprise that bells would also be part of the celebration and the décor. It can be real bells such as sleigh bells or it can be bells that are strictly decorative but they are often found on the door of homes to welcome guests.

There is little doubt that the origins of the Christmas tree are German but there is some

disagreement about how long it was used as a decoration and when it started. There are some people who believe that Martin Luther was the first one to bring an evergreen into the house and decorate it with candles. 

By the early 17th century, it was a common feature in German homes. It came to the United States with the Hessian soldiers but was not found in most homes until the 19th century. The evergreen tree is a symbol of life and the candles are the light that welcomes the Christ child.

Angels are common decorations at Christmas time and it was angels that heralded the birth of Christ. There is hardly a Christmas tree to be found without either an angel ornament or an angel tree topper.

The Star symbolizes the star that led the wise men to the place where the baby lay in the manger. The crèche is the modern representation of that manger and all the figures represent those who came to worship the newborn king and of course baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

These are some of the decorations that are symbols of the amazing event that took place over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem.

Timeless Christmas tree themes

Creating a themed Christmas tree is something that many people do during the holidays. Whether you have one tree or multiple trees, one theme or several, it can be great fun to collect the ornaments and the decorations to make your vision a reality.

Angel tree

Angles are universally loved and open up a wide variety of decorating options. You can opt for cherubs or for adult angels. You can combine angels who are in flight with angels playing musical instruments. Once you have decided whether you are going to go with only one type of angel or are going to mix it up then you need to decide if you want to buy ornaments or make ornaments.

If you want to make your own you can make yarn angels in one color or in a variety of colors. You can look for angel garland to continue the theme. If you want a more Scandinavian theme you can choose straw angles and top the tree with a straw star. This is particularly attractive on a white tree with pastel lights.

An angel topper can take your tree to another level. 

Santas

Santas are one of the most loved Christmas tree themes. You can go with a traditional red-robed Santa or you can go with Santas in the Victorian color pallet. Think Santas in pastels with light pinks and blues. There are Santas for every taste, you can find him riding a chopper and drinking a Coke. Santa, he gets around. Trimming a Santa tree with little packages and snow makes the perfect winter scene.

Snowmen

Snowmen come in so many styles and sizes that this is a tree that is guaranteed to never get boring. You can make it “The Snowman” tree and go with the classic ornament with the green hat and scarf or make your own with the kids from cotton balls. You can alternate your snowmen with little shovels for a very outdoor themed tree. You can add hanging icicles to continue the winter outdoor theme.

Stars

The Christmas star is the oldest symbol of the season. You can go with little stars or large stars. You can choose glass and then use the colored light to really make the ornaments shine. The star tree topper is an all-time favorite.

Cookies

A cookie tree is the perfect way to use your culinary skills to decorate your tree. You can choose to decorate with all one cookie shape or you can use a variety. If you want to be able to eat some cookies then pick your favorite sugar cookie recipe or you want them to last for a long time then make a paste with flour and water and paint the cookies.

With a cookie tree, adding a popcorn garland is a good choice or mix it with cranberries. Putting the popcorn on a string is a good activity to do with the kids as well as decorating the cookie ornaments.

These are just a few ways to use a theme to decorate your Christmas tree, you can use one or all of them or come up with themes of your own. Tis the season to be jolly.

Creating a traditional Christmas

What exactly is a traditional Christmas?  Traditional is not antique,  it does, however, have some age to it. So a traditional Christmas experience may involve trying to recreate the experience of your childhood or even your parent’s childhood.

Christmas tree

One way to create a traditional Christmas experience is to go out with the family to a tree farm and actually cut your own Christmas tree. This is something that was done by families for many years. Conversely, it could mean putting up a shiny silver artificial tree, these have colored lights that reflect on the silver and are reminiscent of the time when many baby boomers were children.

Decorating the live tree can be done with popcorn and cranberry garlands that are made at home or with traditional ones that can be purchased at the store, it depends on how authentically traditional you want to get. Don't forget the tinsel, this is a very traditional decoration when trees were lit with larger colored bulbs, not the white ones that are so popular today.

Make your own ornaments

In the days before store bought ornaments adorned Christmas trees, ornaments were homemade. Garlands made from rings of construction paper, pipe cleaner candy canes, and pine cones hung on a ribbon, are all easy and inexpensive ways to add a traditional touch to your tree.

Bake Christmas cookies

While many people bake Christmas cookies every year, a traditional Christmas cookie can be cut with vintage cookie cutters. These can be found at antique stores around the world. If you have a hard time finding the vintage ones, replicas are available both in stores and online.

Window wax

To give your house a real old fashioned look, get a bottle or can of Window Wax and some stencils and decorate your windows. Whether it is Santa, some bells or the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer these are what you would have found on almost everyone's windows in the 1950's and 60's.

Wrap all the presents

In days gone by there were no gift bags. Every present was wrapped with bows and placed under the tree. The gifts from Santa always had their own special wrapping paper different from what was used to wrap the other presents. Make your own bows especially with the type of ribbons that can be curled. It gives the presents under the tree a beautiful vintage look.

Mom in an apron

If your idea of traditional is the 1950's then mom would be wearing a pretty apron as she cooks and served the Christmas dinner. Picture June Cleaver and you get an idea of the look.

Oranges and cloves

Pick up some oranges and whole cloves at the grocery store. Cover the entire peel of the orange with cloves and then place the oranges in a glass or crystal bowl. They will fill an entire room with the scent of the season.

Greenery

Greenery around the house is something that adds a warm touch. It can be garland on the banister, pine wreath on the door or a green sway on the mantle. Any use of greens adds a wonderful look and smell to your home. Family movie time

Movies

Watch all the holiday favorites in their original versions. The kids will love Rudolph and Frosty and A Christmas Story is always a favorite.  Versions of  A Christmas Carol go back over 70 years and Miracle on 34th Street with Natalie Wood and It's a Wonderful Life in black and white are traditional favorites.

No matter what you consider traditional, there are many ways to create a memorable Christmas experience.