I’m curious. Do you match your holiday decorations to your decor, or just go with the traditional red and green? I must admit, I have never used red and green. Don’t get me wrong, there might be something red and green around my house during the holidays, just not my choice for my chosen decorations. {continue reading…}
My first Christmas in my own home, I decorated the tree in the “it decor color” of the time “
Williamsburg Blue” mixed with silver, which co-ordinated perfect with my
Williamsburg colors of blue, dusty mauve and moss green! That was 1980 and of course I thought everything had to be perfect for my first Christmas. I made all the ornaments on the tree because there wasn’t anything in the stores that resembled that color palette. That was before retailers offered multiple color palettes for the holidays. In the 80’s everything was red and green or white and gold when it came to holiday decorations. I could probably dig out photos of that first Christmas, but I’m sure they would be so grainy you wouldn’t want to see them. I’ll leave it to your imagination.
In the 1986, I began collecting
Christopher Radko ornaments. When my first child was born in 1987, I started the family tradition of giving each family member a new Radko on the eve of decorating our tree. Somewhere around 2000, my mom adopted the idea of using beautifully wrapped Radko ornaments as her table decorations each year. So with the ornaments I give and the ones received at my parents, we have slowly amassed quite a collection of Radko ornaments through the past years. The only semblance of my designer tree was the white twinkle lights, which eventually were replaced with multi-colored lights due to the protest of my children. The only way I interject my desire for a co-ordinated tree in our family room is with matching ribbon and gift wrap. Other than the gift wrap and ribbon, our tree is a vision of rainbow delight. Since wrapping the gifts is about all I can dictate, it has become one of my favorite activities of the holiday season. I always put on some holiday music and gather all my supplies and enjoy making each gift special. I don’t know about you but give me a pretty wrapped box and I’m a happy girl.
Here’s my plan to help you co-ordinate your holiday decorations to your decor
1) Decide the colors you want to use, by looking at the room’s decor. Pick three colors from the room’s color scheme or three that will co-ordinate with the room. Actually, any three colors will work. Gifts wrapped and under a tree look always look festive if they match the room.
2) Shop for gift wrap and ribbon in the colors chosen. Choose one paper to be the dominate paper, then choose two co-ordinating papers. The dominate paper can be the one chosen to wrap the majority of the packages. The other two could be options that would be more fitting for men or children. Note: don’t limit yourself to the holiday wrapping section. Check out the everyday section for options as well.
3) Use co-ordinating ribbon for the tree. This is a guaranteed way for your tree and packages to look unified. It doesn’t have to be the same ribbon, just co-ordinating. I like to make half knot ribbon bows for the tree, but if you aren’t the bow type, the ribbon can be draped in and out of the tree’s branches to create a garland effect.
4) Pack up everyday accessories. Purchase a few vases, or flowers that repeat the colors you are using for the gift wrap and tree.
5) If you have a party or entertain through the holidays, make sure to choose the same colors for your invitations to insure a color co-ordinated holiday.
I decided it would be fun to take a couple of rooms and co-ordinate the gift wrap to demonstrate how pretty holiday decorating can enhance your everyday decor.