Christmas Holiday Decorating

A little touch here and a little touch there really does make all the difference in the world-especially when it comes to Christma decorating. Just add a few little touches and make this the biggest, brightest holiday yet.

The idea here is to weave holiday sparkle in with your home décor by incorporating things your family already enjoys. For example, keep the antique rocking chair in the living room, but add a few holiday pillows bedazzled with sparkles and your favorite childhood doll or teddy bear. Keep the coffee table beside the sofa, but add a large glitzy plate and several candles for a festive feel. Better yet, crack out the winter puzzles and set a different one on the coffee table each week throughout the holidays. And remember: Christmas holiday decorating can be as simple or as extensive as you choose.

Add shimmer to every wall
With a little ingenuity you can make your home shimmer. Simply cover all of the photos or wall pictures with wrapping paper or foil and add festive ribbon. Try adding a bit of glitter in the form of a "To" and "From" tag scrawled across the shimmering foil packages. This idea is as easy and inexpensive as it is flashy. And it will will offer brand new holiday appeal as it brings Christmas into every room in your home.

Sparkle in every corner
Another easy way to add sparkle to your home is to tuck Christmas bulbs in and around existing furniture and decor. Take advantage of the items that normally would be displayed in your home and make them pop for the holidays. Concerned about where you'll put the hibiscus plant once the Christmas tree is put up? Just add a few bulbs, a little tinsel or a string of white lights and move it to an out-of-the-way corner. The decorated plant will make an otherwise dark corner come alive and keep your Christmas decorating theme going throughout.

Glitz and glitter
For a grand display, hang a dozen or more glittery Christmas bulbs from the chandelier. Use soft colors that match the room, but make sure there is plenty of glitter on them (add your own glitter by running a crisscross pattern over the bulbs, then dip in glitter) so it catches the light and adds to the mood. For a more romantic look, use white and clear bulbs-again add lots of glitter-and change the chandelier to low-watt bulbs.

Baubles and beads
For a spectacular show, fill several glass vases, bowls and jars with small silver and gold Christmas ornaments and strands of colored beads. Just for fun, toss in a string of miniature white lights-or colored-and watch the smiles grow as young and old alike admire your handiwork. An open shelf stacked with vintage Mason and Ball canning jars filled with marbles, buttons and old keys is the perfect place to weave a string of colored lights. If possible, find a string of colored lights on a white string so that the white blends in with the wall. If white is not possible, a few greens tucked here and there will hide the green string. Or, for a no-nonsense look, don't even attempt to hide the wires. Just let the colored lights and marble-filled jars blend for some Christmas magic in an out-of-the-way place.

Sometimes less really is more
Think back to your childhood Christmases. Was there a specific decoration that really made your holiday sparkle? Maybe it was the garland on the banister with the colored lights that twinkled, or maybe it was the square boxwood wreath that hung from a thick ribbon just above the sofa. Perhaps it was the Christmas dishes enhanced by candlelight or maybe the bejeweled fruit studded with cloves and wrapped in shiny ribbon that were added to the fruit bowl each year as well as to the Christmas tree. Though different for each of us, it's the simplicity of the memory that counts. The little touches are what made your Christmas special back then, and the little touches are what the winter holidays will bring this year, too, as you create your annual Christmas holiday decorating theme.