Fa la la la la, la la la la!

I love the holidays.  It’s such a fun time – especially for children.  All the excitement, the out-of-town visitors and, of course, gifts for your nieces and nephews!  You are probably thinking about how you are going to decorate.  Here are a few tips to get you started…

Plan your Colors
I know everyone thinks red and green are the colors of Christmas.  Try being different this year.  There are so many other colors that will make your holidays festive.  Pick one main color and then mix it with silver or gold.  Pink or lavender will look great with silver – and your niece will love it!  I also love blue and silver together.  And don’t forget about white – the winter holiday wouldn’t be the same without the hue of snow.  If you insist on red or green, pick one and use a softer shade of that color. 

Lighting up the Space
Lighting is always an important holiday element.  Make sure your home is welcoming and bright when the little ones come over for dinner.  Let’s talk a little about lighting and how you can use it to modify the mood of a space.

Lighting is divided into three categories:
Ambient Lighting – this is what generally lights up the room.  Examples are recessed lights and ceiling fixtures.  If you have dimmers in your rooms, you can use them to adjust the setting at night and create a more intimate feeling.  Or try using chandelier shades on your fixtures.  They can give you the same feeling as dimmers and they look pretty, too.

Task Lighting – lighting that is focused for a specific task like reading or making art projects with your niece and nephew.  Set up specific areas in the room for these tasks and make sure there is sufficient light so that their little eyes won’t be strained.

Accent Lighting – these lights are used to focus your attention on specific objects in the room.  Here are just a few ideas you can share with your niece or nephew:
- Put a candle on the mantle over each Christmas stocking. 
- Instead of just two candlesticks on your dining table, put out five or six.  Very small candlesticks will look great with tall candles if a collection of them are randomly placed on the table.
- Do not overdo it with the Christmas lights.  Some can be pretty but too much starts to look tacky.  I prefer using the clear ones.
- Put some temporary stick-on lights in your cabinets and bookcases.
- Place hurricane lamps with scented candles on your kitchen counters.
- Don’t forget to light the tree – but you already know this!

(Note: if you are concerned about the safety of candles, there are many flameless products on the market.)

Setting the Table with your niece or nephew
This is another fun activity to do together – and a very important one as well.  Your niece will forever remember that you taught her how to set her first table.

- Mixing and matching china makes for a more interesting table – especially if you do not have enough of one place setting for everyone.  As long as the colors go well together, you can be creative.  For example, mix the dinner plates from one pattern with the salad plates from another.
- Don’t make your centerpiece too high – you want to make sure people can communicate from across the table.
- Use different stemware for wine, beverage and champagne.  I prefer to put the taller glasses behind the shorter ones.
- The silverware is placed in the order in which the food is being served, from the outside in.  If you are serving salad first, the salad forks should be on the outside of the dinner forks, and forks go on the left side, knives and spoons on the right. Bread and butter plate is placed above the forks with the butter knife atop the plate, pointing to the left.


La Strada Décor wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season filled with beautiful moments and happy memories!


Published: December 7, 2011