Indulge your creative flair in decorating for Christmas

By Pocyline Karani

The festive mood is fast approaching and it is time to enliven your home with creative decor that will demonstrate the spirit of Christmas.

Understandably, the harsh economic reality facing millions of Kenyans today may dampen the extent to which people will celebrate Christmas, but with a few simple fix-ups, your home will look and feel. Consider these tips:

Grace your front door with wreaths to perk up the look. Wreathes are not only used for grave sites as they are also a warm and joyous way of saying; "Welcome to my home."

Display another wreath on the inside of the front door to wish your guests a merry Christmas.

Fresh wreaths add a special fragrance and yuletide charm in any room. Use eucalyptus, fresh evergreens and cyprus seeds.

Hang a wreath on the bedroom door and mark it with your children’s names to personalise the room. Use musical, sporty and puffed animals among other objects to decorate it. Hang it on the wall over the bed for happy dreams.

If you have a fireplace, a large wreath over it will create a dramatic effect in the room. Complement your Christmas tree by using the same colour scheme and theme.

Cards

Every year we send and receive cards from friends and family. Do not throw all of them away. Instead, select those hard to part with and add to the collection.

A fun way to use them, which will also involve your children, is to frame the doorway with the cards. This way, you can see every card and enjoy it all over again. It also gives it a very personal and warm look.

Use double-stick tape or fold over single-stick tape. Make a loop with the sticky side on the outside. This way, the cards you want to hang don’t fall. Place the tape on the inside of the cards in one place only, near the edge. You don’t want them permanently closed because you may want to peek inside occasionally and do a little reminiscing. If you don’t want to tape them closed, skip this step.

If you want the display to look a little dressier, place a greenery swag or large bow at each corner of the doorframe. Start placing your cards after these decorations are in place.

Thrill and delight your children by decorating the Christmas tree with sweets wrapped in favourite bright holiday colours in cute holiday shapes.

Birds and beads are another perfect idea to adorn your tree. You could hang doves from the ceiling with thin strings or with beaded strings so they appear to be flying.

Add a nest filled with tiny decorated eggs. Complete it with a mama bird to keep the eggs warm and safe in the nest. This will excite the children.

Sprinkle holiday cheer all over your home with ornaments collected lovingly over the years. Shiny balls spice up the tree, as do special ornaments like birdhouses and angels. Special handcrafted ornaments should be mixed with the regular red, white and green bauble.

Starting at the base of the trunk and working up, wrap the lights around every major branch, moving from the trunk to the tip and back.