Decorating for a Season of Family Gatherings

 

Are you feeling the holiday entertaining season looming?  Are you ready?   (Tell the truth…do you still have pumpkins leftover from Halloween?)

Holidays can bring out the best and the worst in us.  Right about now, you may be feeling a little panicked.   Between shopping for your Thanksgiving feast, re-arranging furniture to accommodate the crowd and wondering “do I need a bigger flat screen for the big game???” you might be tempted to not even worry about your décor, figuring that once Thanksgiving is over, you need to start again for Christmas or Hanukah.  If this describes you, I have a little secret I’d like to share.

I DO decorate for Thanksgiving, but I don’t UN-decorate!  The entire time frame from Mid-October (when the Halloween stuff goes up) to the week after New Year’s when the tree comes down, is a moving picture of decorating bliss.

Realistically, the October Pumpkins won’t last and shouldn’t stay out until Christmas.  However, the day after Halloween, take down the window clings, the scary figures and turn your pumpkins around – face side to the wall.  There…you should feel better already.  Next, add a few gourds to replace the black cats and skeletons.  Now let’s dig in and plan the rest of the decorating season!

 

Have your Décor do Double Duty

Pick a holiday season theme and create a slow build up to full holiday decorating.   While green and red or blue and white might not feel traditional Thanksgiving, consider bringing in a festive or elegant neutral to your December decorating and introduce it NOW for your Thanksgiving Feast.  Gold or bronze look gorgeous and rich with reds or greens.  Pearl or silver look elegant with blue and white.  And just think…anything that comes out before Thanksgiving and stays out, is one less step to take AFTER Thanksgiving.

 

• Keep your pumpkins from Halloween up and supplement with other harvest veggies for a ‘cornucopia’ of color.
• For your Thanksgiving celebration, bring in a little sparkle with some crystal fruit.  Start bedecking your stairs and mantle early by bringing some decorative touches that can transition through the season.
• Here’s a fun one:  If fall oranges and golds are just not your thing, take those gourds and give them a coat of spray paint.  Gorgeous.

{need picture of this!}

• Add some luxurious accessory items (candles/jeweled leaves/birds/butterflies/even holiday globes) in sparkly metallics.
• Layer in some ribbons on your mantel, your stair rail, above a mirror in your dining room.   (This gorgeous show-stopper is available from FrontDoor.com)
• Add a green wreath to your front door now and wire it with your neutral color choice and cranberries, apples and/or fragrant lemons.
• All of these choices will just be added to and embellished for the holiday season yet to come.

 

And what about those OTHER holidays right around the corner?  By decorating in stages, it will be easier, less stressful, but nevertheless quite dramatic!

Still skeptical?  Take a clue from your local mall, your favorite home store or even Disneyland!  These decorating pros flip the show overnight.  With a little pre-planning, you can have a season of spectacular holiday décor.   And to help motivate you, I’ve created a special link just to motivate you!  http://www.pamelasandalldesign.com/holiday13/

 

Whatever your holiday celebration, visit me here next month for my top ten Holiday décor tips!

 

Happy Decorating!

Pamela