I’m a big fan of mixing luxury looks and bargain buys. I also love mixing materials — like fresh and artificial, for instance. This column is about how to do both while transitioning your Thanksgiving décor for the Christmas holidays.
Thanksgiving accessories seem to stay out for such a short time, so why not incorporate some into your Christmas look? All you need to do is swap out some of the fall colors with a wintry palette and add a bit of holiday sparkle and “bling.”
As an example, these birch pumpkins with tiny pin lights were part of the centerpiece of my Thanksgiving table. For added life and color I stuffed the pumpkins with different fresh foliage each day.
How to update this for Christmas? I’ll be tying on these D-C-N initial ornaments for the pop of red, and stuffing the pumpkins with different combinations of red and green. Small fronds and poinsettias, perhaps, or pine boughs from the Christmas tree with red baby apples.
The best part of updating is using things you already have. To make the dark birch pop, this arrangement is on a white counter. For Christmas, you also can use silver or white platters or table runners in any Christmas color. On top you can put an inexpensive glass vase with fresh green foliage and red flowers, or plain glass votive candles that we all seem to have. Tie or hot-glue Christmas ribbon around them to add to the festive look.
Gold chargers always look beautiful in a Christmas place setting. If you don’t have these, what about some extra wide gold mesh ribbon under your white dinner plates? Sprinkle some nuts and berries, set some candles on the table and you’ll have a warm holiday look.
Finally, your Christmas arrangement will look best if you mix high and low items, as well as different colors and materials. So look in your cupboard, mix prize pieces with other items you have, and you’ll be ready for your Christmas guests.
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