After Thanksgiving, families rush out to buy their fresh-cut Christmas trees or climb up to their attics to pull out their traditional artificial trees. Maybe you have been putting up the same ornaments year after year. Do you look at the tree after it is decorated and feel uninspired or do you look at it and go, “Blah?” If so, this may be the year that you keep those old ornaments in storage and go with a new and festive Christmas tree theme. Here are some ideas that may inspire you when designing your own theme this year.
* How about a natural outdoorsy theme? Have the family collect pine cones from outside to hang. Use raffia to tie up bundles of cinnamon sticks which not only look rustic and natural but also smell wonderful. Collect gorgeous colorful leaves and bundle them together (using glue to stick them together) for ornaments. Use outdoor berries or cranberries to string up as a garland and to add a splash of color to the tree.
* Why not go for an all flower theme? Go to a crafts store and find some different and colorful silk flowers or, for a more rustic theme, dried flowers. Create a garland of these flowers to wrap around the entire tree and top the tree with a large bouquet of flowers.
* You can create a theme based on your heritage. For example, if you have a Mexican heritage, use a large Mexican-inspired quilt for a tree skirt. Buy some small pinatas from a crafts store to hang as ornaments. You can find some small Mexican flags or tiny little sombrero (hat) ornaments that can be easily hung on the tree.
* Perhaps you do not want to spend tons of money buying all new ornaments and decorations. Have each family member come up with their own homemade ornaments for the tree. After Thanksgiving, tell each family member that they will need to make five or ten different ornaments. They can look online or in craft magazines for ideas and can be given a budget of how much they can spend on the items necessary to make their crafts.
* For a more eclectic theme, start frequenting antique stores and flea markets to look for older small items that can be used for ornaments. You can get old teacups or tiny iron tools that you can easily add a hook to for easy hanging.
* If you do not have many pets that run through the house and your kids are grown, you can have a glass Christmas tree theme. You can find beautiful hand-blown glass ornaments, elegant icicles and faux glass garlands to string around the tree. For a glittery effect, be sure to also string up plenty of Christmas lights as they will look beautiful reflected off all of the glass.
* Another simple Christmas tree theme is to choose ornaments, lights and garlands of one particular color, like silver or gold.
For a special effect, maintain the Christmas tree theme throughout your entire house. You do not have to go into debt to create some holiday spirit in your home. A few choice pieces scattered around your living room or entryway is all you need to spread holiday cheer!
