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 Tania Farley and Steve Vandergriff, both of Charlene's in Halls, transform a plain lighted tree into a holiday vision by adding additional greenery, ribbons and oversized ornaments. The team decorated the tree in about 20 minutes, while Charlene Roberts provided decorating tips during the Healthy Woman Girls Nite Out event earlier this month. [Click to enlarge] |
So, do you have to give up favorite family decorations if you want your home to be fashionably attired for the holidays?
No, you don't. Charlene Roberts, owner of Charlene's in Halls, said you can have a fashionable holiday and maintain family traditions at the same time. Make a few simple changes and your decorations will take on a whole new look. For example, she said wide, netted ribbons are new - and popular - this year. Try using them instead of garland.
Roberts offered holiday decorating tips during the Healthy Woman Girls Nite Out event earlier this month. Her assistants, Tania Farley and Steve Vandergriff, worked like elves behind her as they decorated a bare tree in minutes.
Roberts recommended:
* Fluffing the branches of artificial trees. Start at the bottom of the tree, poufing the needles from the base to the tips.
* Using 100 lights for each foot of the Christmas tree. For example, if your tree is 6 feet tall, use 600 lights. The more lights you use, the fewer ornaments and ribbons you'll need.
* Plugging no more than three strings of light together at a time.
* Lighting the tree from the bottom up and decorate from the top down.
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* Using ribbons to decorate the tree. Roberts recommended using the new wide, wired, net-like ribbons. Don't try to wrap the tree with long ribbon streamers; cut the ribbon into 1-yard lengths. Place one end of the ribbon at the tree trunk and let the rest drape on the branches' outer tips. This technique makes it look like one big ribbon, but you actually use less ribbon, she said.
* Adding larger ornaments but don't confine them to the branch tips. Place some of them closer to the center to provide more depth.
* Adding smaller ornaments.
* Using a thin, pliable wire to hang ornaments. Use different wire lengths to make the ornaments hang in the right place.
If you want to add the smell of Christmas to your home, consider potpourri, diffusers or oil rings that are placed on light bulbs. Roberts and her crew provided bags of potpourri for the 265 women attending the Girls Nite Out. She advised the women to hold the bag over a bowl and trim the bottom of the bag. The potpourri will fall into the bowl without a mess, she said.
Diffusers - reeds that absorb scented oil and release the scent into the air - last two to three months and do a good job. Roberts said diffusers now come in smaller sizes. She said the reeds and oils may be purchased separately and may be used in vessels you already own.
The most efficient way to scent your home, however, is with an oil ring on a light bulb. The ring is filled with a scented oil and, when the light bulb is turned on, the heat diffuses the scent into the air. Once the smell is distributed throughout the room, turn the light off and the fragrance will linger. Roberts warned that the oil ring should not be used on any bulb stronger than 40 watts.
Charlene's provides holiday and interior decorating services for a fee, but consultations are free. Take a photo of the area you want to decorate, bring the photo to Charlene's and one of the employees will show you how to decorate it.
Farley said Charlene's provides custom floral arrangements, furniture, upholstery fabrics, paint, wallpaper, artwork and custom bedding.
The Healthy Woman program is coordinated through the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center. Membership is free. Monthly programs focus on a variety of issues of interest to women. For more information, call Healthy Woman Coordinator Judy Boehmler at 287-2109.