Christmas Joys

Unique Christmas Tree Themes
By Enid Edginton

If you are a style maven who is a bit bored with the traditional then you might be interested in unique christmas tree themes. Here are some unique suggestions for christmas tree themes that are sure to be real conversation starters.

The Christmas Cocktail Party Tree

This christmas tree theme looks great on both big and small trees. First, if your tree is not a prelit tree try stringing it with a string of novelty lights instead of the usual egg shaped lights. You can buy plastic novelty lights in the shape of Chinese Lanterns (for a 50’s feel), chili peppers (for that modern martini bar feel) and Pink Flamingos (for that Tikki cocktail party atmosphere.)

Then try decorating the tree with tiny cocktail parasols and multicolored cocktail picks. If your tree is really big you could also decorate it with plastic champagne glasses into which you have glued sequins or glitter. Miniature chocolates filled with liquor also make nice tree decorations.

The Gingerbread Tree

This most gorgeous of christmas tree themes never goes out of style. It looks best on a green or red tree. Decorate it with gingerbread man cookies, red glass balls, tons of candy canes, red velvet bows
and homemade paper snowflake ornaments.

This tree looks great accented it with white or gold beaded garland or a bushy red or white tinsel garland. or icicle-look garland. Top it with a Christmas themed stuffed white or brown teddy bear.

The Chocolate and Gold Tree

This is probably the trendiest of the christmas tree themes described here. It looks great on a red artificial tree. The color scheme in this case is reds, browns and golds. Tiny twinkling gold and red
lights look best. Think of the eighties when you decorate this one. Decorate this tree with walnuts, pinecones and chocolates wrapped in foil. Gold coins are a nice touch. Then tie large transclucent gold
and red ribbons, using the kind of ribbon that has bendable wire inside onto the ends of the trees. The ultimate effect of this tree should be very opulent and lush.

The New Baby Tree

If you are celebrating the birth of a child or a child’s first birthday this is a great tree to honor how happy you are about the new arrival in your home. The decorations suggested look great on
any kind of tree but you could consider buying a small blue or pink artificial tree. This is a good idea so any toddlers or infants around can’t get ahold of any shed needles. Also if you buy prelit artificial trees then you don’t have to worry about them yanking lights and pulling the whole thing down. If you have lots of toddlers around then you might want to opt for a small ceramic christmas tree until they are old enough not to grab at decorations and xmas tree limbs.

Pink, mint green, lavender and blue frosted glass christmas balls look particularly nice on pink or blue artificial trees. You can also decorate these trees with baby toys, baby bottles filled with candy,
teddy bears, baby booties and socks, pacifiers and wooden alphabet blocks. Little stuffed animals look great on this type of tree and a larger teddy bear or soft plush toy makes a great tree topper. If the
baby is a girl you might want to consider topping the tree with a doll dressed as an angel.

The Peppermint Twist Tree

This most minimalist of christmas tree themes looks fantastic on a bright white, prelit artificial tree. The color scheme of this is red and white but you can add a touch of green in the lights that you
string around it. Purists however think that keeping the whole thing red and white in every way looks best.

When it comes to the decorations stick with red and white round glass balls. Red and white frosted glass balls look much better than the conical ones. Also festoon the branches with as many red and white peppermint candy canes as you can find. Remember too that you can also stripe red or white christmas balls with white or red glitter by simply adding some glue in a striped shape to the ball and rolling it in the glitter.

You can also accent this look with red and white ball shaped peppermint candies. A large lollipop with red and white striping and surrounded by a sunburst bouquet of candy canes makes a great tree
topper.

The Sea Side Tree

This most unusual of christmas tree themes looks best on artificial trees in aqua or light blue colors. However it would also suit any tree that has a coral color such as light orange or pink.

This tree is decorated with treasures from the sea including seashells, sea horses, and ornaments made from aquarium decorations (treasure chests, coins and corals.) Strings of pearls can be used as
a garland and novelty lights shaped like seashells or even fish can be strung to enhance the aquatic theme.

The Snow and Ice Tree

This is one of the most unusual of christmas tree themes as it is white and icy blue instead of the more familiar red and green. First decorate it with a garland of novelty lights shaped like icicles or snowflakes. Your decorations should be made of see through plastic or crystal so it looks like the tree is dripping with frozen, glittering shapes. Instead of cotton batten, drape the tree with faux spider
webs or cotton shreddings to simulate boughs heavy with snow. You can even mound this cotton at the ends of the bough so it looks like it has been clumped there.

Your final step is to spray the whole thing down generously with flocking. Flocking is simulated snow that comes in an aerosol can. You can spray this stuff on just about any kind of tree including artificial prelit christmas trees and ceramic trees to make them look frostier.

This treatment is stunning on a white artificial tree but it also looks great on red, purple, blue or other artificial trees as all of the white provides a nice contrast to the tree’s original color.

For more information on Christmas trees, visit http://www.o-christmas-tree.com - a year-round resource for all your christmas tree and decoration needs.

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Make Christmas Eve a Magical Day Your Family Will Never Forget With the Twelve Hours of Christmas
By Cathy Ramage

Create a magical Christmas Eve for your family by preparing the Twelve Hours of Christmas. It will inspire family togetherness and foster a feeling of the true Christmas Spirit in your home as you spend time together having lots of fun! You can adapt this activity for young or old. It will help you pass the time until Santa arrives!

Come up with 12 activities that take less than an hour to complete. These activities can include putting a holiday puzzle together, a treasure hunt, a Christmas Bingo game (which if you or one of your children are computer savy, you can make fairly easily), Christmas Charades game, enjoy a special snack together, etc…

You will need a bell to ring which will signal time for everyone to gather for the next activity. You ring the bell on the hour. Designate a room to meet in and then introduce the activity. If you like, start with a fun breakfast for Christmas Eve. A special lunch can be one of the hours as well. You could have the day’s activities culminate with a visit from St. Nick himself and a family party with Grandpa and Grandma invited along with cousins, aunts and uncles. (This might take more than an hour but it could count as a couple of activities if you like.)

Plan and prepare all of this before Christmas Eve. If you want, you can put each child in charge of one of the activities. Really make it something special. With a little time and a lot of thought you can create a Christmas Eve that your whole family will enjoy. Make this a new tradition and don’t be surprised if your family wants to continue the fun next year!

For more activity ideas for the twelve hours of Christmas visit http://www.christmastwigs.com and look in the article section. Also visit http://www.holidayhearthandhome.blogonize.com for good holiday cheer ideas.

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The History of Christmas Lights: How Did the Tradition Begin?
By Anne Clarke

Originally, Christmas lights were used in Germany in the homes of only the very wealthy as long ago as the 17th century. This was before electricity, and the lights were actually candles. They were only used on trees at that time, and were strategically placed to illuminate the ornaments that hung from the branches. The candles were held in place by either gluing melted wax to a tree branch or using pins to hold the candle. Around 1900, candleholders were being used, and by 1915 small lanterns and glass balls became a means of holding the candles in place.

Then, in 1882, Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric Christmas lights. He lit up a Christmas tree in New York City with 80 small electric bulbs. Within 20 years, stores were displaying electric lights and they were being mass-produced and sold to customers. Then, in 1917 there was a tragic fire in New York City there was a tragic fire caused by candles on Christmas lights. Albert Sadacca then invented safety lights for Christmas trees and created a multimillion dollar company that became the largest Christmas lighting company in the world (NOMA Electric Company).

The outdoor Christmas tree that ran on electric lights became very popular throughout North America and the use of them began to regularly take place all over the world shortly thereafter. Decorating a live Christmas tree outdoors became the attractive thing to do, and many people still do it today, some even going as far as to decorate it as well as they would their own indoor tree.

This slowly evolved into using electric lights on trees not only outdoors, but indoors as well. It also led to the use of lights for houses that everyone uses today. It took many years for Christmas lights to become what they are today, and many ideas and inventions helped lead us to the brightly lit and decorated homes and yards we see every year.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, recreation, education and décor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles about other kinds of Christmas décor, please visit Christmas Lights History

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Finding Your Baby’s First Christmas Stocking
By Morgan Hamilton

Parents can have a lot of options when it comes to their baby’s first Christmas stocking. However, finding a baby stocking that can be a real keepsake is a little more challenging. You should do a little browsing before any purchase to make sure that you invest in the right item for your baby’s first Christmas stocking.

Parents can be overwhelmed by the excitement of having a new baby and may feel a compulsion to purchase the initial baby’s first Christmas stocking that they see. However, if you want to keep this for your child in future years, you should put some consideration into the choice you make.

Some new mothers like to put a lot of time and effort into creating a keepsake for their child’s collection. Most of them will crochet a blue or pink baby’s first Christmas stocking for the special commemorative holiday. If you are capable of doing it, you can choose different shades that reflect the holiday season as well. I would love to be one of those moms but I have trouble tying my shoes let alone crocheting a baby’s first Christmas stocking.

Lovely baby’s first Christmas stockings can also be found on the Internet. Music is very important in my home and I was thrilled to find musical Christmas stockings online that can be used as keepsakes for the special holiday. There were three of these options available n the World-Wide-Web. One of the items featured a snowman and played the song “Frosty the Snowman” and another featured a reindeer and played “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”. The third featured Santa and played “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

I loved each one of these but I thought about it for awhile and figured that I wasn’t really that crazy about the song choices or the images. They just didn’t appeal to my sensibilities when it comes to my baby’s first Christmas stocking. I decided that getting a personalized item was the right choice for me. The stocking is timeless because I chose a traditional red and white-fur stocking for the project. The personalized stocking is perfect because it is my baby’s first Christmas stocking.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Babys First Christmas Stocking. Visit our site for more helpful information about Babys First Christmas Stocking and other similar topics.

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Adding Christmas Spirit to the Outdoors
By Andrew Caxton

People love looking at a yard full of outdoor Christmas decorations. Christmas is a time of celebrating around the world and many families see it as a time of extensive decorating, both inside the home and outside the home. Some towns and cities even have contests that are centered around lighting and decorating the outside of your home. You can find almost any type of outdoor Christmas decoration that you can imagine.

Homemade decorations are just one type of outdoor Christmas decoration. They are usually very sentimental and are typically created when family gets together to make these outdoor decorations. They are usually less expensive than buying decorations at a store and can be much more interesting and fun. You can create outdoor Christmas decorations from almost anything, including wire coat hangers. Wire coat hangers can be shaped into almost any shape that you can imagine and then you can wrap outdoor lights around them to help give them pop and interest. You can use strips of wood to create a figure, like Santa, and then place lights around it to give it visual interest.

A string of lights is another wonderful way to decorate your yard. They are the most popular Christmas decoration available and come in all different shapes and colors to help you create the look that you desire. They even have lights that you can hang on your home that look like icicles or you can use a simple strand of lights. White lights or colored lights will look great on any home, whether you want flashing lights or not.

Another type of outdoor Christmas decoration is a pre-made figure or statue that has lights on it or around it. You can find almost any kind of character that you would like from religious ones to Santa to cartoon characters. The air inflated decorations are becoming more popular every year. They stay inflated with a constant flow of air and are lit inside for added visibility. They are quite inexpensive and easy to set up and operate.

Adding outdoor Christmas decorations can be an important part of your holiday decor. By choosing the right decorations for you, you will be sure to enjoy adding that extra dose of Christmas spirit to the outside of your home.

Andrew Caxton is a journalist who has written more articles and newsletters on the subject for http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com. A focused website that offers the best articles on xmas ornaments and gifts , read more about how to add your personal touch of interior Christmas decorating to your home.

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