Holiday decorating trends
Some tips for successful holiday decorating
By Alexandre L’Hour
The year-end holidays are fast approaching and you are undoubtedly in the midst of choosing presents for family members, finding the perfect Christmas tree and decorations, and thinking up ideas on how to dress up your holiday table. No worries, you still have time to plan everything to the last detail for a perfectly decorated interior and successful parties, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share this year’s holiday decorating trends with you.
First, choose the right Christmas tree that will be the centrepiece of your living or family room this holiday season. A few suggestions are: the Norway Spruce (Epicea), the Nordmann Fir (Abies nordmanniana), the Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) or go for an artificial tree. Here’s an overview of the different natural trees to help you find the one that best suits your needs.
The Norway Spruce is the traditional Christmas tree, with a strong delightful pine scent. However, if you want to keep your tree longer, we recommend the Nordmann Fir — its scent is more subtle but it will retain its needles much longer, about two months. Grown in Canada, the Fraser Fir would also be a good choice. If you prefer to purchase an artificial tree, many stores offer faithful reproductions of the Nordmann Fir, Christmas lights included.
The trendiest colour for Christmas 2015 is white: this quintessential winter colour suggests purity, innocence, peace and serenity and will make all your Christmas decorations remarkable. From fir trees dusted with fake snow and Christmas lights, to candles and centrepieces, white is everywhere!
From fir trees dusted with fake snow and Christmas lights, to candles and centrepieces, white is everywhere!
The other trendy colour for this year-end holiday season is black and gold, two elegant colours that will lend a distinguished air to your decor. The chic and cosy look of these colours will bring charm and originality to your parties. Red and white balls and Christmas lights prevail to brighten your Christmas tree. Of traditional Anglo-Saxon inspiration, these colours are in this year as well, as are all kinds of accessories and decorative objects of yesteryear. As you can see, this year the focus is on the classics.
Another must to add magic to this particular time of year: a beautifully decorated table to dazzle your guests. Feel free to add an original touch to your table with a beautiful heirloom tablecloth, candles, your best dishes and cloth napkins. You can also add placemats. Ideally, all should reflect the colours of your interior design.
For practicality and to add fun in sharing a meal with family or friends, use large serving dishes to help create an intimate and convivial atmosphere around the table. However, be careful not to overload in order to preserve easy access to food and fluidity around your table. The use of natural materials like wood (branches, sticks, pine cones) will add warmth to your table decoration.
The use of natural materials like wood (branches, sticks, pine cones) will add warmth to your table decoration.
Joe Buckingham via Flicker – Creative Commons
The last but not least popular trend is the DIY (Do It Yourself) — the creation of your very own decorations just for the occasion. If you have the creative spirit and time before you, why not jump at the chance of designing and making your own unique Christmas tree decorations that you will not find anywhere else. For that, nothing is simpler: blank balls (as found in specialized craft stores), tape, brush and paint. There are many easy to achieve examples on the Internet. Other possible holiday craft ideas are murals, centrepieces and table runners, or make your own original gift wrap to surprise loved ones.
Keep in mind that these celebrations are above all an occasion to get together with family and friends to share some good times. So enjoy your guests’ company with the opportunity of creating fond memories along with the pleasures of giving and receiving. Wishing you happy year-end festivities!
Alexandre L’Hour is a member of the Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC), the International Political Science Association (APSA), the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) and the Société Québécoise de Science Politique (SQSP). He aims for a career in media (radio, print, television), political activism and entrepreneurship.
There are no comments
Add yours