Decorating for the holidays is often one of events people most look forward to. There’s just something special about the twinkling lights, the smell of pine in the air and the festivity. If you’re tired of fancy decorations or want to take your holiday decorating in a new direction, why not go au natural? Give your home a pure and simple holiday feel this Christmas.

Pine Cones

Pine cones are a natural element of the holidays. People often place pine trees in their home and decorate them for the holidays, so it’s only natural that pine cones are also part of the season. You can go on a family hunt for pine cones in the woods and make it a true homemade decoration. You can also purchase pine cones at most craft stores during the holidays.

Decorating with pine cones is simple and can be quite diverse. You can make wreaths and table centerpieces with a hot glue gun, a bit of wire and pine cones. You can be really organic and set them in a bowl or basket to display. Or you can get a bit festive with them and use glitter or spray paint to add flair. Imagine a crystal bowl of gilded pine cones. It’s an inexpensive and simple craft with a lot of drama.

Branches

In addition to pine cones, pine branches can make wonderfully simple decorations. Again, you can collect pine branches on a hike with your family in the woods. You can also find them at your local tree nursery. They often trim the branches after a customer has cut down their tree. The trimming is part of the tree packaging to make it easy to haul the tree home. The extra branches usually end up being mulched, so you should be able to take a few home without a problem.

You can also purchase real or fake pine tree branches at your local craft store. Also like pine cones you can use them to create a simple centerpiece or wreath. Or you can get creative with them. Add a few pine cones, shiny ornaments or a small bird for extra flair. Additionally, consider hanging the boughs on the wall for a focal point during the holidays.

Candles

Candles are great for setting a mood. They can be festive, solemn or simply beautiful. Candles collected in groups of like colors are best. White, symbolizing peace, and the twinkling effect of small candles can be quite lovely. Red candles, green, silver or gold candles can be festive. Group them in varying sizes for aesthetic appeal. Place them on tables and in windows for the most ambiance. Take care to keep a fire extinguisher nearby and always put out your candles before leaving your home or going to sleep.

Snowflakes

If you’re skilled with paper cutting and folding, the fun childhood activity of making paper snowflakes can take on a new look. Cut out elaborate snowflakes in beautiful paper and display on a table or hang in a doorway.

Holiday decorating doesn’t have to be bright, colorful and noisy. It can be simple, pure and quiet too. If you’re looking for new ideas to decorate your home this holiday, look to nature and the items you already have in your home.

Imagine walking into a home that smells like homemade bread, cookies or cinnamon rolls. The scent envelopes you and makes you feel like a child again. Baking is good for the soul. Not only because the aromas and flavors can take you back to childhood, but also because it can help you find focus and joy. This holiday season, consider taking time to bake and experience the great pleasures that holiday baking can bring to you.

Baking as Meditation
Being able to single-mindedly focus on a task is meditative. Baking allows you to be in the moment and to focus only on what you’re doing. One of the most meditative types of baking you can do is to bake bread. The kneading by hand is one of the most meditative aspect of the bread-baking process. You can bake bread and give them away as Christmas gifts or simply enjoy it with friends and family. Imagine a gorgeous loaf of homemade bread coming out of your oven.

Baking as a Family Tradition
Children love to bake. They love to eat too! Baking cookies and holiday treats is a tradition in many families. You can set aside an entire day or weekend to bake with your family. Make a list and create a plan. Who is going to bake what? Who gets to decorate the cookies? What kind of cookies and treats will you make? Get everyone involved in the baking decisions and process. Even the youngest children can contribute. They certainly have a favorite cookie and their decorating skills are unmatched!

Baking as a Way to Unwind
There’s something simple and joyful about baking. It cannot be hurried. You must follow directions. Everything is laid out for you, yet there’s a creative element to it as well. Baking for loved ones, for pleasure, and for family doesn’t have to feel like a chore. It can be a real pleasure. During the holidays in particular, baking is a fantastic way to unwind. You can spend an afternoon or an entire weekend filling your home with the delicious aromas of fresh-baked goods.

Remember when you’re baking that it doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of the best recipes are also the easiest. Bake a loaf of white bread. Make sugar cookies. Enjoy the holidays and all the simple pleasures that come with it. Bake to find focus, bake for pleasure, bake to de-stress and bake to connect with your loved ones. Happy Holidays!

By Don Crass

If your company holiday parties have become a little ho hum over the years, perhaps it is time to shake things up a bit. Consider adopting a theme to help this year’s party to be the best yet. Spread the word that this year’s party is “A Winter Wonderland” and let the good times begin !

The DJ
Hiring a DJ for this type of party can make the difference between a night to remember and a night too quickly forgotten. The DJ does more than play the songs you hope to hear. It is important to realize that he or she will actually set the pace for the night and guide the guests through an evening of fun. Trust the DJ to encourage the wallflowers to participate in the evening’s various activities, to draw attention to particular highlights during the night, to coordinate the meal and generally just ensure that all party guests have a wonderful time.

The Decor
Set the stage for an evening of fun by decking the halls in wintry decor. Light blue and white are a perfect color scheme for a winter theme. Use this combination wherever you have a color choice to make: the table linens, drink napkins, etc. Sprinkle sparkling white confetti here and there and drape as many things as you can think of in shiny white tree garland. Add a few well placed snowmen (from the local craft store) and you will have transformed the room into the perfect winter scene.

The Music
Christmas music will of course be the choice for the night, but consider including classic carols from Sinatra and his contemporaries to really bring out the theme of the night.

The Games
Too many games can take a corporate party from professional to elementary in a hurry, but some clever and well chosen activities might be just the thing to get everyone into the spirit of the night.

Consider a snowman contest. Place a gift bag of “snowman supplies” at each table. The “snow” can be a container of white modeling clay for kids. The snowman’s accessories can be fashioned from various other craft supplies you will include in the bag such as buttons, modeling clay in other colors, bits of fabric, etc. Choose an impartial judge and award a prize to all members of the winning table.

Set up a cookie decorating station to help everyone relax a bit and get creative. Just provide a table full of baked, snowman shaped sugar cookies along side a tray of decorating supplies such as frosting and colored candies and let guests have fun trying to outdo each other’s creations.

Extra Touches
You’ll likely pay close attention to the most important details such as the DJ and the decor, but don’t overlook the importance of the little extras. Why not use plastic snow globes with each guest’s name attached as place cards? Serve roasted chestnuts as an appetizer. Ask the caterer to include some warm drinks on the cocktail list. What about setting up a wintry background and hiring a photographer to give guests the chance to get a nice photo with their significant other in time for the holiday cards? Little extras like these will definitely add to the fun.

The company party doesn’t have to be a dreaded holiday commitment. With a clever theme, a well chosen DJ and a bit of creativity, this annual party can become the social event of the season.

Don Crass is a professional Houston disc jockey with over 10 years of experience and co-owner of RetroDJtoGo, LLC located in Houston, Texas.

Corporate Parties, Holiday Parties

By Nicole Dean

You look outside and see a beautiful blanket of white snow covering the ground. Your children are inside getting more and more restless as the morning progresses.

The next time this happens, turn off the TV, bundle up the kids, and head outside for some old-fashioned fun in the snow.

Snowman
Who says lumps of coal are a bad thing at Christmas time? All you need to make a snowman is a few lumps of coal (or rocks) for eyes and a mouth, a carrot for a nose, sticks for arms, and a scarf and hat to keep him warm, and you’ll
have a snowman to make Frosty the Snowman envious. If you have very ambitious children, send them out to make an entire
snow family. Your kids will be entertained for hours.

Snow Angels
Have your children lay down in the snow and move their arms up and down, and their legs in and out. Then, have them stand up. Your little angel will have made an angel in the snow. Add glitter or a garland halo to make your snow angel sparkle.

Build a Snow Fort or Igloo
There’s no cheaper way to build a playhouse than with snow. Invest in some warm mittens for your kids, and send them outside with some buckets. They may get inspired and create an entire home, with snow-furniture and decorations. You may even provide them with a spray-bottle with water and food-coloring so they can ‘paint’ their igloo. Serve them hot cocoa with yummy marshmallows in their new home.

Snowball Fight
Older kids love a good snowball fight. If you have a fluffy snowy day, jump into the fray with your kids and show them how a good snowball fight is done.

So, the next time you see the kids getting restless, bundle them up in cozy clothes, send them out into the snow, and start some hot cocoa brewing. Grab the camera and enjoy the day.

Nicole Dean welcomes you to http://www.ShowKidstheFun.com — a free website filled with activities to make memories with your children and http://www.ShowMomtheMoney.com — a fun and informative resource for moms who want to make money and save money.

You don’t often think to play games on Christmas Eve, but playing a game or two can be a lot of fun.

One fun game is ideally suited for anxious children, but could also be for adults, if you want to add some fun for gift giving. For children, this is a way to make that “open one gift on Christmas Eve” rule a little more exciting and make it last a little longer.

You create a hunt with clues, so the children have to follow the clues to find their gift. Instead of the gift being under the tree, for example, you might put it somewhere else, but the children will follow clues to find it. For this game, you can use anything to write your clues on. You could use Christmas cards in their envelopes that you had extras of, you might cut out Christmas tree shapes for this, or you might want to use ornaments.

Whichever method you choose, write a clue on each of your items and leave those around the house. You start by handing each child the first clue. It might say, “you sleep here every night” and the children will run to their beds. On their pillow you have placed another clue that might say, “mom’s eggs taste better with this” and the children head to the spice cabinet, where they find another clue on the salt. The final clue (and depending on the ages of your children and their tolerance, you might have only 5 clues for this game, or many more) will be the gift itself. To make it extra fun, have the gift be under the tree. Your children won’t see that coming!

If you have a large gathering on Christmas Eve, try a circle game. Have everyone get in a circle and the first person will start with, “in my Christmas stocking there is an apple” and the next person will add, “in my Christmas stocking there is an apple and a boot”. Each person will continue on, remembering the previous items and the adding one of their own, and all in alphabetical order. If you miss an item, you’re out of the game and the winner is the person who successfully remembers all the stocking items over and over again each time they have to recite the items and add to the list.

Looking for a little physical activity on Christmas Eve? How about a rousing game of musical chairs using Christmas music? This one can be particularly fun if you use upbeat and well-known Christmas music. Use songs everyone knows and require they sing along and dance while they run around the chairs. This adds a fun element because you are likely to have at least one person who gets so caught up in the music and dancing they don’t realize the music has stopped. This game is played like any traditional game of musical chairs with the loser being the one who doesn’t get a chair when the music stops.

Since the big event on Christmas Eve is Santa’s arrival, play a game of “where’s Santa”? In this game, everyone sits in a circle and one person is chosen to be Rudolph. That person leaves the room for a minute. A Santa is chosen among those left in the room. Rudolph returns and begins hunting for Santa. Rudolph should stand in the center of the circle and try to figure out which person is Santa. Santa, meanwhile, winks at other people in the circle. If someone gets winked at, they yell, “ho ho ho”.

Once Rudolph figures out where Santa is, another Rudolph and another Santa are chosen and the game continues.

By Christmas Eve, your Christmas cards have been on display for a few weeks, so maybe it’s time to play a game with them. Have someone set up a laundry basket, or a gift box a few feet away (the distance depends on the age of your players and ability). Have them try to toss the cards into the box or basket. This sounds easy, but different cards of different weights and styles will react differently and can be harder than expected to get into the box or basket.