Christmas Doesn’t Scare Me
By: SJE (with a few thoughts from AEM, sorry couldn't help it.)
But I am horrified to think of how I went beyond bonkers to decorate the house when my children were young….it looked like Father Christmas threw up. Confession: I used to put up three Christmas trees, each a theme tree. Sad but true.
AEM: It's worth interjecting here to note that the smaller tree in the kitchen was "duck-themed" which meant every ornament was some kind of duck. It fit in well because our kitchen at the time (let's hear it for the 80's) was also "duck-themed" which meant the fireplace was lined with tiles that had a handpainted duck family on them. Duck plates on the walls? Yes. Cermaic ducks on the counter? Yes. But the thing about my mom and how she tended to pull everything off all the time was that the duck kitchen and the duck Christmas tree were totally IN. And I predict all her lady friends, after seeing the ducks in our kitchen, wanted ducks in their kitchens too.
SJE: But I have seen the light. I have moved from Christmas Cringe Worthy Moments to a more organic approach. And the truth of it is that I am totally exhausted with it all and have been known to slip into Profanity Turrets when I see Christmas decorations up in stores before Halloween, for crying in a bucket!
So here is where I am: Christmas décor ideas on the cheap and organic (totally overused word, I know.)
A large glass bowl, or giant Ironstone platter with dark red and green apples (make homemade applesauce later…see my daughter on that.)
Think: Clear glass short vases, or plain glasses of any sort, down the center of the table. Fill with water and submerge bunches of radishes with the greens attached and above the water line. Use enough so the red/green repetition makes a statement. We are still in the produce section my friends. Now take bunches of swiss chard (leafy greens with those fabulous dark red stems). Create a large graceful bouquet in a clear container. On a buffet table? Mantle? In the Foyer?
I’m big on greens during the holidays. Shop your yard. Or your friend’s yard. Or my favorite, always have a pair of clippers in your car. You never know when beauty will strike. Don’t forget the berries, pods et al.
AEM: She's not kidding about the clippers in her car. I've seen them. And now, when I'm out walking in my neighborhood, it's really hard not to scan these innocent people's yards for a little something to make the house a little happier. And even though I have a feeling pomegranates are so last year (are they, mom?) in the last week or so I've yanked 9 from the tree down the street (along with the berry branches in the photo above.)
More on Christmas later.
