Quick and Easy Christmas Decorating
One thing many people like to decorate is the front door of their home. An easy and inexpensive way to do that is to purchase foil wrapping paper. Roll it out and tape it to the front door, cutting around the door knob. Cut strips of another color foil or use wide ribbon to cris-cross and decorate the door like a Christmas present. Use a purchased bow or make your own and place it where the ribbon crosses.
To make a beautiful centerpiece quickly, grab an old plate and arrange a section of garland on the bottom, covering it completely. Hot glue into place or use spray adhesive on the plate before laying the garland. Now hot glue pine cones and mini craft cranberries here and there on the garland. Place real fruit, nuts and candies on it or add additional craft items to the mix, like mini foil gifts or plastic candy canes.
Purchase tinsel sticks at a craft store. They come in a pack and look like pipe cleaners, but they’re made of tinsel and are available in gold, silver, red and other Christmas colors. Shape the tinsel sticks to form words like “Noel”, “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Holidays” or other seasonal sayings. It will be necessary to continually add another stick and you can do so by simply twisting the end of one stick to the end of the other. So, for example, make as much of the “N” as possible, then twist on another stick. Finish the “N” and begin shaping the “O”, and twist on anther stick. Continue until you have spelled out the words or phrases. Use dots of hot glue to hold certain letters in place, as you see necessary.
Cut foil wrapping paper in wide strips then cut it like fringe, leaving one long side in tact and fringing the bottom. These are great for taping across a fireplace mantel or along the edges of shelves. The wrapping paper is great for cutting shapes, too, then attaching them to windows. Silver or gold snowflakes, red stockings or blue snowmen are nice touches on the windows.
Print out light switch covers with a Christmas theme on your home computer and printer. Find the image you like and use a printing program to adjust them to the size you need for your light switches. Print them on adhesive paper which will easily peel off after the holidays. Make sure the paper you use is the clear kind of adhesive paper. If some sticky feeling is left behind after removing them use a little rubbing alcohol to get them squeaky clean.
Christmas table cloths are expensive but you can save by purchasing a single flat sheet in red and green plaids or solid white, red or green. Lay the sheet on the intended table and trim to slightly longer than you actually need. Use fabric glue to quickly make a hem or sew the hem in if you prefer. Fabric glue is inexpensive, goes a long way, and won’t wash out when you launder the tablecloth. (Make sure to read the back label of the glue to be sure it’s permanent – some aren’t).
Purchase a second flat sheet and make chair covers by drawing the pattern of the seat on to a piece of paper, then transferring it to the sheet. Cut two of each pieces, for each chair. Use fabric glue to attach the two pieces, wrong sides outward, then allow to dry. Turn the cushions inside out and stuff. Use fabric glue to close the opening and clothes pins to hold the opening shut until the glue dries. Pillowcases make great chair back covers, if your chair backs are squarish. Simply slide them on then make the matching chair pads. Make napkins by using the left over fabric and cut into squares, hem with fabric glue.
Use a round table or another pattern to cut a giant circle, out of a sheet or other fabric, for a tree skirt. Cut an approximate 6″ circle out of the very center of the circle, then cut from the small circle to the outside edge. This will leave a split for putting the skirt around the tree. Enhance the tree skirt by using fabric glue to add ruffles, lace, or other embellishments.
Sheets can be used to make runners for tables, curtain panels, kitchen chair-back covers, Christmas pillows, pads for setting hot dishes on the table and much more. Make a cover for your basket of bread this season by simply cutting a square or rectangle from a sheet or other cloth and hem it with machine or fabric glue. Make a coverlet for any basket or bowl by cutting a square of Christmas fabric. Set the bowl in the center of the square and pull the sides of the fabric up and around the bowl. Use a tie or rubber band to hold fabric in place as you trim to just a couple of inches above the bowl. Remove the bowl, fold down the edges and hem. Sew elastic inside, around the edge, keeping it loose enough to slide on and off the bowl as needed.
Use ordinary towels of white, green or even red then decorate them yourself for Christmas. Purchase gold or silver roping and attach it to the towels with needle and thread or fabric glue. You can also attach small, flat, stuffed animals or figures to the towels, on one end. These can usually be found at any craft store.
If you have solid colored curtains in navy, red, Christmas green, white, gold or black it’s easy to make tie-backs for a holiday theme. Either purchase gold, silver or red rope and use them for the tie-backs or make your own by cutting a strip and hemming it. Fold another strip into a bow and attach to the tie-back. Instead of bows you can use stuffed reindeer, Santas or snowmen.
Take wired garland and wrap Christmas lights around a length, then attach it around doorways, fireplace mantel, counter edges, mirrors, entertainment center, bannisters, book shelves or even the refrigerator. The garland is also great for attaching to the sides of stairways.
Use stickers to give a holiday theme to candles. The stickers will peel off after the holidays, if you don’t intend to burn the candle. If you do burn the candle, remove stickers before lighting. Another way to dress up candles for Christmas is to turn a coffee mug upside-down then add lace or Christmas fabric around the sides. To do this, measure the height of the cup, double that measurement, then add two inches. Cut and fold the fabric so that wrong sides are together and the fabric is long enough to go all the way around the cup twice. Use a needle and thread to baste the top edges of the fabric together, with the fold facing the bottom. After pulling the thread tight, allowing the fabric to gather, hot glue the sewn edge of the fabric to what’s now the top of the cup. Set round pillar candle on the cup. Leave a split in the fabric to use the cup handle to carry the candle, or leave the handle covered.
Make a quick Christmas purse for a little girl by purchasing red and green plaid flannel or another thick fabric. Cut two rectangles (size depends upon how large you want the purse to be). A good size is 10″X20″. Place the two pieces of fabric, right sides together, then use fabric glue to secure 3 of the four sides. Allow to dry, turn right side out, and glue the last side. Now fold the rectangle in half and glue two sides, leaving one side open for the top of the purse. You’ll need a strand of beads for a strap. As you’re gluing the two pieces together on each side, lay the beads in between the cloth pieces on each side. Hold closed with clothes pins until dry. A velcro dot or square works great for a closure on the purse.
Remove the label from any clear jar and make sure to get it squeaky clean. Now insert clear Christmas lights – a small strand of small bulbs – into the jar. Allow plenty of cord to hang out over the side of the jar but make sure all lights are inside the jar. Fill the remainder of the jar witih your favorite Christmas-scented potpourri. Use a wooden spoon handle, or something similar, to push the potpourri well into the jar. Cover the opening of the jar with a piece of lace and tie it on with red, gold, or silver ribbon. Plug in the lights and the jar will glow. As the lights warm the potpourri, the scent will be released through the lace covering, for a beautiful and aromatic gift or addition to your own decor.
Turn ordinary sweat shirts into Christmas shirts by adding your own embellishments. One easy way to do this is to cut patterns such as snowmen or angels out of a thin piece of fabric. Place the image on the sweatshirt using fabric glue to attach them. This is a great project for kids. Give the image more depth and appeal by outlining it with fabric paints. Purchase the kind that squirt directly out of the tube and are available in glitter, pearl and other types. Outline the image, then use the paints to write “Merry Christmas” or “Ho-ho-ho”.
There are just millions of things you can do yourself, when it comes to decorating for the holidays, and most of them are inexpensive and fun. Look around a craft store or craft department to see what all ideas you can come up with this year.
