Create a Concept
Identify your theme, then the colors you want to use. As an example, with gold and white pieces, you can change the accessory color — one year arrangements of red flowers bring in your third color; the next, soft blush accents, such as the wrapping paper and ribbons, candles or candleholders. Go with three colors max to keep your color scheme and maintain a concise look. Keep your house style in mind: A friend of mine goes mid-century modern with a silver tree and wild colors like purple, turquoise or lime green every year.
Greenery
- For a beautiful mantel, arrange fragrant eucalyptus or magnolia cuttings, which we have a lot of in Toluca Lake, and dress with clementines, persimmons or pomegranates. Tie or weave ribbons into a garland. Add pinecones tipped in silver or gold, some candles and voilà!
- Replicate the greenery for a door wreath.
- Add small vases of the greenery around the room, set off by white flowers. Coordinate the vases to the décor.
Table Settings
- Bring out the silver! Invest in little pieces that add elegance, like small stockings that hold the flatware.
- Fill water pitchers or ice buckets with flowers, and use multiple sizes of candlesticks and mercury glass votives.
- Buy small white pumpkins, hollow out the stem and put in votive candles.
- You don’t need a flower arrangement on the table: Use a runner and build a long garland, add candles, and you’re done!
Tree and Presents
- To create a “finished” look for one of the main centerpieces in the house, pick one or two different papers and a couple of different ribbons in your color scheme for wrapping gifts. Mix and match, then mound them all under the tree.
- Put ornaments around the house, too — in glass bowls, on a chandelier or on a wreath.
- Keep the base of your live tree filled with soda water; the carbon dioxide will help it stay fresh much longer than plain water.
