Pine Apples

Decorating our homes for Christmas is our way of celebrating the holiday season and spreading the essence of it. Christmas trees are the most essential part of our decoration. We can see it standing brightly in every home, shopping malls, stores, and just around the city. But aside from Christmas trees, we also decorate our homes with different kinds of ornaments. Perhaps one of the most stunning decoration that we can put is a Christmas centerpiece.

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Lush and lavish are the key concepts in Victorian Christmas decorations. Rich colors, luxurious fabrics, and splendidly over-the-top embellishments make this style the epitome of sumptuous holiday elegance.
The Victorian period (1837-1901) was known for strict rules of behavior that regulated everything from ettiquette to morality, but the styles, fashions, and tastes of the day were anything but Puritanical. In both Europe and the US a burgeoning middle class were enjoying the economic effects of the industrial revolution, and they reveled in displaying their newfound affluence.
In an era when even everyday items were often ornately decorated, the holiday season was an annual explosion of color, shine, and exuberant rococo profusion. Here are some tips for giving an Victorian air to your holiday decor.

Use color to set the mood
The Victorians loved color and used it everywhere, sometimes in combinations that we would find surprising today. But very bright shades (including the fire engine red and apple green that we associate with Christmas now) were seldom seen in the decorations of the era. Colors that are typical of the period include deep gem tones of red, blue, green, and purple, along with shades of gold and cream.
Suggestion: try decorating your tree with ornaments in deep gem tones, and replace bright tinsel garland with swaths of broad burgundy red ribbon. Add accents with cream-colored bows and shiny gold balls or figurines.
Suggestion: if you don't care for deep tones, try going with pastel theme. While not as historically accurate, light shades of dusty pink or blue mixed with cream and ecru and highlighted with plenty of gold can create a breathtaking period look. Strings of pearly beads make a dazzling accent to a pastel holiday theme.
Lots of greenery wherever you look
Boughs of pine and other greenery were a basic component of holiday decor during the period. Carefully arranged with fruit, flowers, candles, and ornaments or woven into garlands, greenery was everywhere.
Suggestion: hang pine garlands wherever you can - festooned on staircases, surrounding doorways, and draped over mirrors and mantlepieces. Weave broad ribbon, silky fabric, or thick gold decorative rope through the branches and decorate with bows, flowers, figurines, ornaments, and tiny wrapped packages.
Suggestion: strictly speaking, electric Christmas lights aren't really part of period holiday decor. But they're very much in keeping with the decorating spirit of the era, and using slightly gold-tinted mini lights creates a warm glow reminiscent of candlelight.

When in doubt, embellish!
The Victorians had a real "more is better" ethic about decorating, particularly when it came to decorative ornamentation. The question was rarely "which one should I use?" but rather, "How many can I fit into the space?" This is particularly true of the holiday decor of the period.

Suggestion: to capture the mood of the era, go lavish with everything and decorate everywhere. Don't stop with hanging the garlands and decorating the tree. Make arrangements with flowers, candles, ornaments, ribbon and greenery on tables, mantles, piano tops, shelves; every flat surface is eligible. And don't think in terms of "either or" - think "both and" instead. When you're creating an arrangement, use bows and ornaments and fruit. Or pearls, flowers, and lace. Or bows, ornaments, fruit, pearls, flowers, and - well, you get the picture.

Love vintage decorating themes, but don't have a big budget for buying pricey antique ornaments? No problem. Find our how you can create the look of any era, including the warm and simple elegance of Folk Art Christmas decor and jazzy retro Christmas style, without breaking the bank.

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1. Use lots of greenery. Natural greenery like boughs of pine and fir played a major role in Victorian holiday decor - in fact, holiday parties centered around "the hanging of the greens" were a standard of the day.  Pine and fir are traditional holiday greenery, and branches of shiny, long lasting magnolia and laurel leaves look lovely on their own or in combinations.

Love vintage decorating themes, but don't have a big budget for buying pricey antique ornaments? No problem. Visit Vintage Christmas Decorations to find our how you can create the look of any era, including the jazzy retro Christmas style, without breaking the bank.

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Christmas Colors: Use Color to Emphasize Your Vintage Christmas Decorations
When you think of Christmas colors, do you see bright red and green? Don't stop there! Using some non-traditional colors can really enhance a vintage Christmas decoration theme.
For a Victorian look, think in terms of jewel tones. Intense and vibrant or deep and regal, rich shades of red, blue, green, mustard gold, and purple all work beautifully in period decor.
The Victorians loved color and used it everywhere, so don't be shy. And don't worry about using colors together! In fact, fabrics with a period-type print like a dark multi-color paisley make a superb addition; try layering them over a tablecloth or draping under an arrangement of greens.
Single-color themes can also be very effective. Consider using various shades of reds ranging from dusty pink to deep burgundy, or try the range of purples from pale lilac to deep plum.
Pale pastels, though less historically accurate, work very well in Victorian period holiday decor. For a truly dramatic theme dripping with elegance and sophistication, try using only shades of white, ecru, and cream. Highlighted with lush greenery, ropes of craft-store pearls and plenty of both gold and silver tone metallics, an all-white theme can be absolutelty breathtaking.
Whatever colors you choose, don't forget the bling. Shiny metalic trims, delicate filigree ornaments, gilt ribbons, strings of gold craft beads, you name it - if it ads glitter and shine, it can be a great accent in a Victorian-themed decor.
To establish a rustic decorating theme, look for natural tones: the warm hues of wood, the the deep green of fir and pine, vibrant apple and cranberry reds, and the gold of a crackling fire.
Neutral fabrics like linen or even burlap make a great foundation for simple arrangements of greens, fruit, and candles. But a cheery red or green gingham check can be a great accent, perhaps topped with a basket of fragrant pine cones.
Keep metalics to a minimum for authentic rustic style, but a few gleaming brass or pewter accents are great.
If a retro Christmas is your style, color is key and the brighter, the better! The authentic holidays prints of the postwar period features bright, intense reds and greens in bold graphic prints. For a real fifties vintage look, don't go over the top with metalics, but add plenty of sparkle with shiny glass ornaments and strands of silver tinsel. And big, bright multi-color lights are guaranteed to give a retro style to your tree.
However if sixties chic is what you crave, get creative with color. Go for clear, bright tones, and don't stop with red and green. Yellow, lime, turquoise, and magenta can be part of your theme, and don't forget to accent with white, black, and silver.

Love vintage decorating themes, but don't have a big budget for buying pricey antique ornaments? No problem. Find our how you can create the look of any era, including the lavish luxury of Victorian Christmas decorations and jazzy retro Christmas style, without breaking the bank.

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A lot of people to get their Christmas decorations from the attic as soon likely to appear in December. You can really go to town with decorations and there is a large market for them, so if you want to spend too much money on jewelry accessories and lightning, but it is possible. For many of us, but Christmas is a time when we need to see our expenses only way we can afford to buy Christmas presents dozens. Well, this is the good news you can do to brightenYour home and make it the perfect Christmas with handmade decorations and materials you probably already at home.

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Everyone wants their home to look bright and beautiful at Christmas time. Here are a few ideas and tips for a beautiful and eye catching Christmas light display for your home.
Whether decorating inside or outside, you should think of how you want it to look. You can choose from a very colourful display or a colour scheme for your lights and decor. For example, with a colour scheme of blue and silver you can wrap a lighted garland with blue ribbon and adorn it with pine cones painted in silver. Put the garland on a mantel or wrap it around a stair rail. Use glass jars with blue beads, a silver ribbon and a tea light candle to make accent pieces around your home.
Inside you have so many things to make your home feel warm, from the candles you put out to the smells that surround your home. A beautiful centrepiece for your table, with candles and holiday fruits will be very nice, some candy dishes filled with holiday candy, small miniature ornaments or festive coloured beads. Use cloth napkins in the colour you choose and create a ring to put around them. Get miniature presents, use a small wire and tie the gifts around the napkins. Wrap your dining room chairs in a cover and add a ribbon to tie them. Add Christmas bells to the door for a cheerful sound as guests arrive to your home. If you want a wonderful smell in your home, put a pan on the stove, turn it on low, add water, vanilla, apple slices and cinnamon; you will have a great smell with things you already have around the house.

Roxy is a lover of all interior and exterior designs, the home and the garden. Roxy is currently already getting excited for the holiday season and likes the idea of Christmas Light Displays in gardens this Christmas. Roxy also works as a consultant at UK Water Features

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Go Green this Christmas Season. Reduce the impact of your own "carbon footprint."

If you had visited Williamsburg Colonial Village this season or past Christmas seasons, you will marvel at what people can do with natural plant materials, without artificial plastic imported objects.

Pine Apples

You can put history at your front door by duplicating a traditional colonial wreath. There are lots of ways to do it. It is all up to your imagination and artistry.

You can easily construct your own with a grape vine wreath cage filled with floral foam and attach sprigs of greenery collected from your own backyard.

During colonial times, life was difficult. People then did not have a lot of material things. But they were ingenious. Using preserved plant material and any kind of fruit they had on hand, they fashioned beautiful, eye-catching Christmas decorations for their homes.

Wreaths and swags were made with what was growing in their back yard.

They used dried pods of okra, cotton pods, oyster shells, dried flowers from their own garden, sprigs of magnolia, boxwood, holly, pine, pine cones, and any other kind of greenery they had growing. They also embellished their wreaths with fresh pineapples, apples, oranges, and pomegranates; all made without artificial sprays, scent or color paint.

Fresh fruit was chosen for its color brilliance as well as its keeping quality when exposed to the harsh winter weather. All these are artistically wired onto a sturdy frame laden with greenery and dried native flowers. Why the pineapple, a tropical fruit, is used in their traditional wreath is a whole different story. You can find that in publications from Colonial Wiliamsburg.

Make Your Own Natural Christmas Decorations

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Christmas in Hawaii this year is as festive as ever, and some very well priced, holiday airfares can be found (at last check as low as $300 from US West Coast). Whether your vacation is budget or extravagant, you can create some beautiful holiday memories on Oahu.

Hawaiian Christmas memories are among my favorite remembrances of living in Hawaii. Listening to the children belt out their favorites like "Here Comes Santa in a Red Canoe," and the Hawaiian version of "The 12 Days of Christmas," and
hearing "Silent Night" sung in English and Hawaiian by an angelic choir on a balmy evening under the stars with palm trees swaying are experiences not to be missed.Just walking downtown is a delight during the holidays.

And I'll never forget arriving at the Honolulu Airport for the first time during the holiday season and being in awe of the towering tree all decked out with huge, lauhala woven pineapples and golden lights.

Holidays in Hawaii, especially Christmas are widely celebrated. This is a very churched community,but even many of the Buddhist families participate in Christmas traditions, especially the Japanese-Americans who come who have a reputation for loving to give gifts.

If you're visiting the islands for the holidays, you will find a myriad of Christmas events on Oahu, actually on all the islands, but more so on Oahu.

In Hawaii, Santa gives his reindeer a Christmas break and arrives in a canoe, barefoot, tanned and with his red furry pants rolled up. On Oahu, his first stop is, as it is for most of Hawaii's visitors, Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Keiki (children) visit their Hawaiian Santa at various cities on Oahu throughout the season.

While at Christmas time, many of the islanders enjoy watching the visitors in awe of this warm, friendly climate in the dead of winter, they also enjoy imagining what a white Christmas would be like. You'll hear many of the traditional mainland songs, like "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells."

Some Hawaiians though do have a white Christmas, that is if they're on the Big Island (island of Hawaii) and drive up above the tree line to the 10,000 foot high snowcapped peaks of Mauna Kea, transforming their boogie boards into sleds and building snowmen! With the current, cheap airfares from between Oahu and
Neighbor Islands,a side trip from Oahu to the Big Island is more affordable than its been in a long time.

It's fun swapping tropical and white Christmas stories with locals. For us visitors it's especially fun to write home about how we spent our Christmas day on a beach! Some newcomers to Hawaii will even bring miniature trees down to the beach, although Hawaii has plenty Christmas trees. On Oahu,as on the other islands, trees from the mainland are sold. And, Hawaii has its own Christmas tree: the island Norfolk Pine. The tree doesn't have the spicy pine scent, but its largely spaced branches are wonderfully easy to decorate.

Hawaiian Christmas tree decorations are found everywhere. Craft fairs are great for finding local style ones: coconut frond woven ornaments, kukui nut and tapa cloth angels, Santas on surfboards in canoes and riding dolphins; along with beautiful wreaths made of island flowers and greenery.

Many of these craft fairs are events in themselves, complete with Hawaiian Christmas entertainment and food. You'll find many of these listed along with other holiday Oahu events in newspapers and free magazines at the airport.

Some of my favorite Oahu events at Christmas are the light displays in Honolulu and the music - choirs, orchestras and local style bands are found everywhere with free concerts at malls and on the beach. Adding to the holiday fun, many of Hawaii's most popular musicians like the Brothers Cazimero and Don Ho perform regularly in Waikiki.

The Honolulu City Lights (the city was given permission by Keola and Kapono Beamer to use the name of their all time hit song) is a spectacular display throughout Honolulu, including Waikiki, making Oahu a good pick for a Hawaiian holiday vacation.

The month-long, traditional festivities begin with the Kawaiahao Church Service in Honolulu (This was the first Christian church built in Hawaii and is extraordinary), the lighting of the City's 63-foot Norfolk Pine at Honolulu Hale (City Hall) and an electric parade and concert on December 3; however festivities continue throughout the holiday season.

For example, the Honolulu City Lights Trolley Tours run from December 8 to 30. The $2.50 fare (under age 4 free) benefits the Hawaii Food bank. For details, visit Honolulu Hale If you go, be sure to check out the other Oahu event calendars mentioned above as well as this one's. And check out the holiday airfares at places like Hawaiian Airlines and Hotwire.com.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Using online calendars and many other resources, plan a 2006 Hawaii Christmas vacation and/or learn about Christmas and other holidays in Hawaii with The Coconut Roads Guide to Hawaiian Holidays

Learn about the Hawaiian islands and culture and how to plan a vacation in Hawaii (especially budget and/or eco travel) at Coconut Roads [http://www.CoconutRoads.com/] Articles and photos at CoconutRoads.com are created by a long-time Hawaii resident and award-winning journalist.

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