Ten Holiday Decorating Tips From Christopher Radko

1. A bouquet of ornaments nestled in a crystal bowl.
2. Finials used architecturally on candlesticks.
3. Keeping a tree fresher longer with hot water, corn syrup, and bleach.
4. Safest gift is a snowman ornament (sure beats a toaster or a blender), even more meaningful if personalized.
5. Wrap tinsel around the trunk of a tree to double the sparkle on your tree.
6. For holiday dinner attach small ornaments to each napkin ring as a memento and gift.
7. Broken ornaments can be given new like by being hot glued into a wreath.
8. Secondary trees or wreaths are a chance to express a person’s individuality and show off personal collections such as a vintage jewelry brooch tree, a family tree with tiny pictures of all the family members, a baseball card tree, a chef’s tree with vintage utensils, a gardener’s tree with silk flowers, butterflies, vintage seed packages, etc., a kid’s tree with popcorn garland and plastic dinosaurs.
9. Fresh flowers and plants look more festive set in champagne buckets or silver mirror glass vases.
10. No time to wrap? Try decorative gift bags, hat boxes, handmade mittens, or Christmas stockings as wrap and tied up with a simple bow.

More of What’s Hot for the Holidays

It’s All About Classic Sparkle and Vibrant Color

• Mini white lights are out. Oversized jewel tone color lights are the new bright idea.
• Traditional red, gold, and green is being nudged out of center by sophisticated and retro looking blue and silver.
• Ornament colors in deep day-glo shades of fuchsia, pink, aqua, and lime are the new accent colors for a green tree.
• White and silver trees are a new fun alternative to the traditional pine.
• Bright colored plaid ribbons are hot and can be used on solid colored, glitter dusted paper on gift wrap, as well as on trees, wreaths, and flower arrangements.
• For flowers—think pink and a combination of pink and off-white flowers.
• Retro vintage look of the 50’s is back with a vengeance. The glittery decorations of your grandmother’s day are being scooped up in flea markets and garage sales across America.
• The spiritualism of angels, crosses, and stained glass designs create a lush renaissance revival.
• Brightly colored citrus and pomegranates are the new apples and pears.
• Cheery flamingoes are the new reindeers.

Christmas 2004 Trends

Nostalgia

Nostalgia for Christmas's past is a cross-generational trend this year. Mature consumers are seeking old-world decorations that harken back to elegance, European craftsmanship and quality from what may feel like a by-gone era. Younger consumers are nostalgic for their memories of the 60's and 70's with simpler shapes and bright, bold colors that can be found in our Shiny Brite collection which appeals to multiple generations. A more mature consumer remembers Shiny Brite from the post WWII era and through the early 60's while the younger generation remembers the brand from their parents and grand parents Christmas collections. The Shiny Brite brand and designs have made a strong resurgence with younger consumers due to the return of fashion styles of the 60's and 70's. Silver foil trees, flocked trees in white, pink or blue, color wheels and a return to larger light bulbs on light strings are all the new rage.

Spiritualism

There is a strong return to spiritualism and religious beliefs that is reflected in holiday celebrations today. This includes nativity scenes, angels and religious icons such as crosses. Families are focusing on collecting nativity figures and creating nativity scenes as a focal point in their holiday decorations. Ornaments that depict the nativity, crosses and angels are very important fort he family tree and for gift giving.

The Family Diary

More than ever, the Christmas tree has become a family history and the ornaments that are purchased and given as gifts have taken on even stronger meaning and importance. Events such as births, first Christmases together and new homes are recognized on the Christmas tree and, because of the importance placed on those events, the quality and value of those ornaments has increased. Decorating the Christmas tree has become an event that's shared with extended family members, friends and neighbors and the ornaments that are hung each has a story to pass on to the next generation.

Decorating the Entire House

Decorating for the Christmas holidays has extended beyond the Christmas tree and spread throughout the entire house. As average American homes have increased in size, the need to do more decorating has followed. Families are purchasing more garlands, wreaths and tabletop and mantel decorations to create a joyous atmosphere all around. Holiday cookie jars, snow globes and holiday dinnerware are brought out as a way to distinguish this time of year as a special celebration for the family. Multiple Christmas trees are not uncommon with the children having their own tree to express their own creativity and begin their own ornament collections. More families are also extending their decorations outside the house with lights and outdoor figures to share the holiday experience with their community.

Multi-Cultural Celebrations

While Christmas dominates most of the season it's important to remember that many other cultural celebrations also take place in December. Hanukkah is probably the 2nd most recognized holiday of the season and new ways of celebrating it have also increased. There are many families that share mixed cultural heritages so the celebration of the season can include both traditional Christmas themes as well as the traditions of Hanukkah. In many homes the Christmas tree has evolved to become the Hanukkah "bush" where ornaments of dreidels and menorahs hang along with garlands of geld. Kwanzaa is another growing cultural celebration that focuses on the family and the rich heritage of the African-American community. Regardless of who we are and where we came from, the holiday season is a time for us all to step back from our increasingly hectic lives and focus our attention on what we all consider to be most important - our families, loved ones and friends.

By Christopher Radko