Holiday Tips and Ideas Countdown Series: Gathering Ideas

I'm not going to rush through the up-coming holiday of Thanksgiving but . . .

With only eight weeks until Christmas minus a couple of days(can you believe it!!??), I am finding myself filled with questions and ideas. 

For example do you prefer a real tree or artificial, do you like a traditional green, a white tree or perhaps a flocked tree . . .?

Do you decorate with a theme in mind or do you like to have several themes?  Or perhaps you chose to decorate in a traditional way each year.  Do you think More is More or Less is More? 

And when do you start to decorate?  Do you have things up and ready by Thanksgiving or do you enjoy each holiday as It's own before breaking into the archives?

How much do you decorate a little or A Lot!?

Each year I find myself becoming more anxious to start pulling everything out and sorting through it all.  Sometimes I already have an idea(s) of what I will be doing and other times, ideas come as I am unpacking my treasures.

I have always been one to finesse each holiday, I refused to even go into the  Christmas aisles until after Thanksgiving was officially over, but since I have gotten older and my son's are not at home to remind me that we haven't had Thanksgiving yet and because I truly believe the older we get; the younger we become I find it more difficult to wait.

I suppose having an interior design business adds to that excitement as well, I start realizing it's time to think about getting things out and preparing for business events, home tours, workshops and client's needs.

So with the Christmas holiday fastly approaching here are some tips on what  you can do to get yourself more prepared:

In the weeks before Thanksgiving:

1.  Now is a great time to start brainstorming your ideas about what you would like to do this year.  Are you decorating using a theme?

2.  If you have a space or spare room that you can organize your decorations in; use it to lay things out and for re-packing once you have finished decorating.  This allows you a place to take your time to sort, organize, decorate and close the door so no one sees the mess until you're finished.

3.  Begin by sorting through your decorations to see what you have.  Decide what you are keeping out to use, what you will not be using, what you may need to replace or what you may no longer want.  Even if your decorations are packed neatly away sometimes we forget what waits inside especially if you purchased new or clearance items at the end of the previous year.

4.  Search thrift stores for extra ideas and unique items (take the items you no longer want with you to donate).

5.  Start with small preparations.  If you have a guest room(s) that you may not be using until the holidays, you may want to begin decorating with some slight touches.

Add a simple garland

Change out the bedding

Add touches of greenery

And just so we don't get too far ahead of ourselves let's not forget this beautiful holiday as well.  I will be doing more on Thanksgiving during the  weeks to come.

  Do you have your tablescape(s) in mind for your holiday table(s)?