White Christmas

As promised: Theme Decor Ideas! Theme One: 'White Christmas' (Thank you, Mr. Bing)

This one is SOOOOOOOO easy...it is based on the concept of a cocktail party, very chic, very simple, very Cosmopolitan (pun intended!). That being said, you can easily remove the references to alcohol and use other items, changing the focus but keeping the sleek, modern vibe. This design is all about using things you have already, things that you may not think of as 'decorations' - but with a twist and a flourish, they are!

The photo above shows a variety of ideas, and they all started with household items. The glass and silver/aluminum barware, vases, and serving pieces all act as decor items. By adding a bit of greenery, some snowflakes (or Sno-Wonder!) and a minimum of ornaments, it becomes a low-cost, low-energy way to celebrate for a night or a whole season. My own holiday decor this year will be an expansion on this slinky theme! (With some chartreuse green added, of course....)

So, if you DO go with the cocktail party idea, haul out all of your shakers and shot glasses, champagne saucers & flutes, martini & wine glasses. No, I'm not advocating a go-for-broke binge, I'm helping you set the stage for decorating! Some of those glasses, and ice buckets, too, will look FABulous filled with ornaments. Simple silver, white, and clear balls. Grab 'em by the dozens for pennies at Wally's or Ksmart or Tar-jay. Or the dollar store, for unbreakable resin ones. (Good when you mix drinks, friends, and decor!) Heap them in there. The martini glass shown above has some silver tinsel in it to create a 'nest' (yes,m that's a theme with me!) to snuggle a vintage ornament in. Show off a few special ornaments by doing this - the champagne 'saucer' shown has a gorgeous silver bird-in a crystal ball ornbament sitting in it. Gather them on a tabletop, a mantel, a bookshelf. Easy, instant sparkle.

Black and white photos evoke vintage style AND Hollywood glamour - get some old movie stills of Cary and Bing and Frank and Fred, all tuxedo-ed and dapper, along with winter scenes. Hang them and prop them and scatter them around. If you will have placecards, try using silver-toned aluminum plant stakes, as shown above. Or simply a name on a card, tucked into a wire spiral in a clear glass bottle. You could add a chic white tulip or freesia flower, too. In that glass fishbowl above, you'll see some round clear ornaments - that aren't ornaments at all. They are the glass 'floating rings' that are made to hold blooms up above the water to float them. Pile cool items like this (and those big C-9 light bulbs too!) into clear bowls & vases for more sparkle. OR.....

Twist some wire around them, and hang them as ornaments. Test tubes/florist tubes work really well for this, too, and enable you to have live flowers on your tree or hanging from your chandeliers.Easy, fast, simple! You can actually hang drink glasses on a tree, too - same concept. But really, with this modern look, you don't NEED a tree....

Unless it's one of those cool aluminum ones with a color wheel! ;o)