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Distinctive Decorating
Creating Your Own Holiday Style By Shel Franco
"Decorating for the holidays is an extension of accessorizing; it's important, but it's not the main thing," Groves says.
Trimming Your Tree"Stay away from commercial themes," Groves says. What's a commercial theme? Groves says making it the "gold cherub Christmas" or the "farm animal Christmas" is a disaster waiting to happen. Not only does it require quite a bit of money and time to track down the ornaments and accessories that fit into your theme, it's just not appealing to your toughest critics: the kids.
That doesn't mean you are locked into a Christmas tree decorated with cartoon characters unless, of course, that's a part of your decorating style the other 364 days of the year. On the contrary, kids can appreciate a great range of interesting items, especially if they are involved.
Rita Klein, a Wauwatosa, Wis., mother of two, loves the outdoors. After applying Groves' "personal style approach" to her holiday decorating, Klein raved about the outcome. "He told me to bring the outside in," she says. "The very next day my kids and I set out on our daily walk. We took a garbage bag and collected everything that looked interesting. That year, my tree was filled with maple leaves, birds' nests and grapevine garland. My guests were forever commenting on how beautiful everything was."
Groves also thinks that Christmas trees should be interactive. "It's always nice to give your guests a reason to get close to the tree," he says. You can accomplish this by adding photos of family and friends in interesting frames handmade, even. But Groves' favorite suggestion is adding something edible. "Buy some netting and ribbon from your local fabric store," he says. "Cut out small squares, add a few chocolates and tie it up with a bow. Place the treats in the tree and encourage your visitors to help themselves."
