The holidays are no place for anything but glitter and shine, frolic and fun, love and laughter ... oh, sorry, that’s the Hallmark movie channel. Those people have stagehands, but we’ve mentioned that before. So, how do we ordinary people keep the holly in the holiday without losing our cool?
My friend is a professional decorator. Her clients hire her so they can just frolic in the sparkle without investing the sweat effort. She makes other people’s dreams of the holiday come true ... very cool. For those of us who can’t hire a decorator, we can still keep the happy in Happy Holidays. Rule No. 1 is to lower our expectations. We don’t have stagehands and we aren’t Martha Stewart (who also has stagehands).
There are many shortcuts and common sense things that can be done to make it one smooth, slow, aromatic simmer instead of a spitting pressure cooker. Yes, it’s easy to talk, but I decorated nine rooms in my house for the holidays for over 30 years, alone, and on a budget. I know it can be done, and I have many tips for organized and easy decorating even on a dime. It’s work, but it can be wonderful fun.
Yes, we’ll be pressed if we wait until after Turkey Day to start our shopping and decorating. Still, that’s what most of us do, and it doesn’t mean the glitter will be flying. It can be fun and engaging, starting with a great game of cat and mouse, hunting for all the bargains in decorations and decorating components. It’s even better if we start shopping for next year, right after the holidays this year. Then, we can “do it up,” as my daughter says, and we can do it for 25% to 90% off, if we know what we want and enjoy hunting after the storm.
We can also learn how to make our own lovely holiday things. I made almost everything myself, seeking components on sale, over time. Things we collect over the years become great memories, and give us the whole dream eventually. Having a color coordinated plan and a theme for each room is easiest and has the greatest impact. We can scope out merchandise before the holidays. If we don’t like the price and are willing to risk it, we can wait for “post holiday” sales. Things we buy right after the holidays can be put up immediately and enjoyed throughout the remainder of the season.
Also, doing rooms the same way each year has several perks. First, it creates a cozy sense of familiarity. Whether it’s our children who live home or come home for the holidays, or annual guests, they’ll love the timeless look they’ve come to expect. It also makes putting it all up and taking it all down much easier.
Labeling things is imperative. Small tags on garlands can tell us which end of each garland strand goes on which end of each wall, and they’ll always fit properly. Keep one room’s decorations all together in one or two boxes or bins. Put a contents label in a clear sleeve on the box so it can be changed if necessary. Having a rough sketch or a photo of the decorated room in the box will also help, and decorate one room at a time; holiday music is imperative. We should wear an apron with many pockets and, in them, carry a small household hammer, push pins, small brads, tape, our sketch and our telephone. When “un-decorating,” we should do the same thing ... music included. Focus on achievable goals like one large or two small rooms in a day; appropriate enough days to enjoy the process without pressure.
As for shopping, we’ll do best with wish lists and a reliable shop-from-home service when possible. Some of us prefer to support our small local stores and that’s great. We’ll need lists there too and it’s best to keep our receipts. Phoning ahead to see if they have what we want is always a great time-shaver and have them hold it for you.
Malls definitely require our list, keeping receipts, and it’s smart to take a wheeled wagon for packages instead of straining our wrists and making time-wasting trips to our car. Making a full day of each trip and going alone, gets more done. Rejuvenate with a lovely lunch, sit periodically, get ideas from the decorations, hear the music and enjoy the bustle for a few minutes. It only happens once a year.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
