Holiday Decorating Doesn’t Need To Be Costly

Decorating your house for the holidays doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Michael and Aline Gerard, owners of a floral gift shop, say that their ideas for festive decorations are for people who “lack the time and the money that Martha Stewart has.”

Decorate a small potted tree on your kitchen table with orange and lime slices (bake to dry them), cinnamon sticks, cookie cutters and small ribbons. Smells wonderful!

Hang your old skates, skis or sled next to your door, decorated with ribbon and pine branches.

Use prunings from evergreens around your home for decorations, along with rose hips, hydrangea blossoms, grasses and interestingly shaped twigs.

Buy wired ribbon keyed to the colors of your rooms. You can save and reuse the ribbon year after year.

Feature a grouping of small items that you collect on a mantel or sideboard with greens interspersed among them. For example, you might feature Grandmother’s blue glass collection, or angels or Santas.

Accent a room’s year-round features with greenery or ribbon. For instance, the mirror top could have a pine bough and bow.

Drape a green garland across the arms of a chandelier. Tie ribbon bows, too, if you like.

Make a centerpiece in your refrigerator: Fill a basket or bowl with red apples, green pears and grapes. Tuck in some pieces of pine, pine cones and some candles.

Make a Santa’s Sack for the front steps (or even the roof by the chimney) by taking an old piece of burlap or red blanket, weighting it with a brick and filling with leaves or crumbled plastic bags. Tie off with a pretty ribbon.

Use braided drapery tie-backs, strips of fancy fabric, or even napkins to tie around the necks of crystal decanters, goblets or wall sconces. Anything can be dressed up for the holidays.