The Holiday Spirit

By Jennifer Matthews

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DECORATING

	in this article Entertaining ideas Potluck how-tos Cocktail party tips Decorating inside outside Entertainment

OUTSIDE

Start outside with your holiday decorating. Remember that simple colour schemes and natural materials tend to be the most effective. A few ideas:

• String white lights around your trees and evergreens, and add real or synthetic garland wrapped with lights to outdoor railings.
  
• Create an outdoor arrangement using an iron urn (or spray paint an old cream can black). If using an urn or similarly wide-mouthed container, cover the opening with chicken wire. Then build an arrangement with evergreen branches – these can be purchased at flower markets, or cut from your own yard. Use a variety of greens and add some dogwood twigs for a splash of red. If you like, add one or two bows, and you’re set.
  
• Make door hangers from assorted evergreen branches. Layer the greens, the largest on the bottom, stems together at the top, until you’re pleased with the arrangement. Tie the stems together with paddle wire (be sure to make a wire loop in the back for hanging), and wrap a bow around the top to hide the stems and wire, and balance the arrangement. These work well on outside doors. If using inside, spritz daily to keep them fresh, and remember that long-needled pines will hold their needles longer (a couple of weeks indoors) than short-needled pines like spruce.
  
• If it’s cold enough, make ice luminaries -- set one metal or heavy plastic pail or pot inside another (there should be at least an inch of space between the pots), add springs of greenery or berries between the pots, fill with water, and leave outside overnight. Once frozen, use warm water to loosen the containers, and insert a candle into your “ice bucket.” Great for lining steps or a walkway.

INSIDE

	the SPIRIT of giving Ask your guests to bring a donation for a local food bank or gifts for needy children in your community.

Inside the house, use comforting smells and sounds to create a cozy atmosphere:

• Have a pot of mulled wine or English Christmas Punch simmering on the stove, and offer guests a mugful when they arrive.
• Dim the lights and use plenty of candles. Be careful around open flames, though, and keep them out of high-traffic areas. It’s always a safe bet to float candles in water or place them in glass votives, vases, even wine glasses.
• Clear the clutter. Make room on your shelves and tabletops for your holiday decorations. Box up extra books, photos, vases until the New Year.
• Group collections of nutcrackers or vintage Santas together for maximum impact.
• Light simmer pots filled with cinnamon or pine-scented oils (better in the bathroom than in the living area, where the smells can compete with food aromas).
• Wrap real or fake garland around banisters and string with white lights.
• Use fresh greenery (stick stems in moistened oasis, in a shallow dish) to create a centerpiece, or place pillar candles in a pretty glass bowl or cylinder and add cranberries for a splash of colour. Several pretty ornaments placed in a glass bowl also make a simple, elegant display.
• Don’t forget the MUSIC: Try “When My Heart Finds Christmas” by Harry Connick Jr., Ella Fitzgerald’s recently reissued “Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas” or “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Entertainment

	Jingle bell napkin rings String several small, round jingle bells (buy them in bulk at department or craft stores) onto heavy gold elasticized thread (available at jewellery-making/bead shops), tie thread, and you’re done. The trick is using heavy enough elastic – if you can snap it by pulling firmly with your hand, it’s not strong enough.

More than likely, you’ll be busy enough just catching up with friends and family, but if you’re looking for party activities, here are a few suggestions:

Play The Greedy Game. (Tip: This game is not for the faint of heart, and is most fun when played ruthlessly, true to its name.) Have each guest bring a wrapped, unmarked gift of a predetermined value (our family uses $10) and place it under the tree when they arrive. Write numbers on slips of paper (one for each person playing), place in a bowl, and have each guest take one. The person with number one begins by choosing a gift from under the tree and opening it, maybe passing it around for examination. The person with number two then has two options:

• Take number one’s gift, requiring number one to open a new gift (in the case of later players they may open a new gift or take another player’s already opened gift); or
• Open a new gift from under the tree.

This continues until each person has had a turn. A gift may change hands only three times (the first being when it is opened). The third person to have the gift keeps it.

Watch a holiday movie. Animated classics like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” run about 20 minutes, and they’ve been around long enough to appeal to all ages.

Go skating. If you’re close to an outdoor skating rink or frozen pond, remind guests to bring their skates (and don’t forget to supply thermoses full of hot chocolate and hot toddies!)

Go caroling. Photocopy a few song sheets and sing a few songs around the fire or throw on your coats and delight your neighbours.

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Happy Holidays