How do you get your home ready for the holidays?
We have a big old place, very old fashioned with lovely dark woodwork and classic lines, and we like to decorate in a very classic style. Yankee Bill and I have collected (and inherited) over 11 huge boxes of decorations over the years. By keeping to a classic style, and a consistent color theme (classic red and green) we’ve been able to create a holiday decorating scheme that lasts from year to year and doesn’t cost us a fortune.
Of course, sometimes we still want to freshen it up–but without spending a lot. There are lots of little things you can do do add to your holiday decor. On our last trip to Walmart we not only learned how to make a great DIY Floral Arrangement (which IS perfect for you holiday decor) but also were shown some of the great Better Homes and Gardens holiday line. And we didn’t just see the line in a cold, sterile warehouse or at the corporate offices. . . they put on an event for us at a gorgeous historic house there in Bentonville Arkansas. When we arrived, the entire house was set up for Christmas–all with Better Homes and Gardens items. ( You’ll see it in the video they filmed of me which is embedded at the bottom of this post.)
Now, the decor wasn’t to some of the ladies tastes–a few are into more unusual color schemes or more modern sensibility–but the classic color and styles we were shown were totally me. Seriously–I could have taken it ALL right back to the Frugal Upstate Village Homestead, no problem! I especially liked the Better Homes and Garden Mistletoe dinnerware set (you’ll see it in the video), it would look great on my holiday dinner table! And if the Better Homes and Garden Faux Fur Throw ($14–also shown in the video) hadn’t been so full and fluffy I would have tried to sneak it out of the building–I sat on the sofa, wrapped myself in it and considered never getting up–it was SOOOOooooo soft. Either one of those items could add a little new life to your holiday decor!
After they fed us a delicious meal (I told you about that in my Holiday Entertaining with Walmart post) we got a chance to play with two other interesting products–the Houdini wine opener and the Better Homes and Gardens Wax Warmers.
I’ve had a cordless electric wine opener for a year that is just like the Houdini (again-you’ll see me using it very briefly in the vide)–except I had to order mine online because I couldn’t find one for sale locally last year. Basically you put it on the bottle, press the button and the cork screw goes all the way down into the cork, then draws it up into the unit. You just hold it down till the motor stop and viola, the cork is out! To eject it from the Houdini, you push the button again and it spits it out. Trust me, its cool. Every time we have a party and folks see the opener at work they want one 🙂 Sure, it’s good for folks who don’t have the hand strength for a regular wine opener–but it’s just plain cool for anyone. And we’ve found that they hold a charge for a really long time–so we only have to plug it in every once in a while to recharge.
The wax warmers are another inexpensive way to add to your holiday decor. Scent and emotions can be tied so closely together–just think about the times in your life that a scent has triggered a memory. Adding scent to your holiday decor can really add to the ambiance. The wax warmers available for the holidays are so pretty. Something like the Embossed Red Snowflake warmer by Better Homes and Garden not only fits into holiday decor, but can continue to be used through the rest of the winter. And here is something fun–did you realize that you are not tied to using just the scents that they sell? Nope–you can make your own scent by combining multiple scent cubes in one warmer, creating your own “scent recipes”. If you want a full review of the wax warmers, Tina over at Mommy’s Kitchen did a nice review last year!
A new throw, some new plates, a DIY floral arrangement, or a pretty wax warmer. . . any of these items can add a fresh new look to your holiday decor without breaking the bank!
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