Lately i have heard about excellent deals for Christmas  at Target. Sadly, we had our local Target close down, but if you have one nearby, please go and look!

Pinterest, Hometalk and those of us in ‘blogland’ seek to inspire you to use non-descript items to make a beautiful look for your home. Let me elaborate…  a simple red pillow might seem dull. But pair it with some “dingle-ball”  trim in your colour theme (and no, i don’t know the read name. you know..those mini-pompom things..)and it suddenly takes on some pizzazz! Perhaps even your dollar store has some festive trim options you can temporarily hand stitch onto your regular pillows! (pull stitches next year and voila! back to non-seasonal pillow)

And please, please, get your kids involved in imagining beautiful options. (They have confidence we sometimes lack! ) And please parents, teach your children what looks nice, what’s beautiful and even admit, when something you tried was a flop. Like most skills, good taste has to be taught…seen…experienced. Otherwise, they spend their adult lives muddling and trying to learn what looks good! (can i get an AMEN?)

If you’re planning to revamp your Christmas decor plans, please stick with two colours. Go nuts with patterns, if you wish, but please…select a two-tone theme and add texture rather than more colour. This year, our family will be using turquoise/aqua and red. Of course, we live at the beach, so the aqua is rather logical. i avoided red for years (being a redhead seems to have something to do with it???) but now i can see it’s just a shoe-in for Christmas! We don’t have red in our home’s regular colour story, so its a fresh injection of zip for Christmas.

And go find pinecones…maple tree seed clusters, chestnuts with your family and set them in beautiful wooden bowls, ceramic trays or whatever you have. Three types of items per bowl/tray otherwise it looks like you swept the drive and dumped it in there!!!

If nothing else, decorate on purpose. Let your children decorate their own rooms with things they made at school. Nothing knocks a child over like a string of xmas lights in their own room! Set up high for younger children, for safety..(and please ….respect their current decorating tastes while showing them what you do and why in the rest of the house.) Get everyone in on stringing garlands. This year we shredded some muslin fabric into 1 inch strips and have tied them far apart on hemp string (doubled). Between these we will hang pinecones and small tree ornaments (perhaps choose ones too precious for kids to knock off your tree!) Our  garlands will be strung across our living room windows- up high and safe from lil fingers.  Make good use of natural materials. Go with a creative eye (and unhurried pace) to a dollar store, thrift shop and see what strikes your fancy.

i love metal stars, for example. But for my garlands this year, i plan to buy star cookie cutters! i’m sure i can find some of these at my thrift/dollar store locations. see?  choose a theme. think frugally. Check your local, online selling website for items being sold for a song. (ie. craigslist, used.ca, etc)

And have fun. there’s only one Martha Stewart. Let it go. Figure out what you love. What it is that makes your home feel like YOUR HOME. then go for it. Bottom line? There’s no HOME DECOR police. If you love it, then it is doing what it is supposed to : making your home feel special for Christmas for your family and loved ones. Go have some fun!! Happy Advent as you prepare your homes and hearts for Christmas!